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Dubai, India -- A Monday report by Reuters said that French retailer Auchan has entered into a franchise agreement with Max Hypermarket, India.

Max operates 13 hypermarkets in India, which will be rebranded as Auchan stores in early 2013.

The pair said they plan to open 12-15 new stores annually across India. Because Max Hypermarket India Ltd is controlled by retail and hospitality company Landmark Group, which operates hypermarkets under the Max brand only in India and therefore is not restricted under foreign ownership regulations.

The retail industry in general may not be so keen on the new Affordable Care Act, but the nation's largest retailer has come out in support of a Democratic proposal to control spending.

Walmart stores is endorsing a new plan, co-authored by former Obama and Clinton administration officials that would slow healthcare spending and keep it in line with wage growth.

Read more from the Reuters report here.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will adjust its future financial reports to add more detail on legal proceedings and cyber security after U.S. regulators asked the retailer to better explain certain matters in its latest quarterly and annual filings, Reuters reported.
  
Wal-Mart's correspondence with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission took place in June and July and was made public on Monday.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will adjust its future financial reports to add more detail on legal proceedings and cyber security after U.S. regulators asked the retailer to better explain certain matters in its latest quarterly and annual filings, Reuters reported.
   
Wal-Mart's correspondence with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission took place in June and July and was made public on Monday.

New York -- Seven Walmart stores in Missouri were evacuated after receiving bomb threats but no explosives were found and no injuries were reported, according to Reuters.

The threats were called in late on Friday to stores in Raytown, Gladstone, Jefferson City, Nixa, St. Peters and Ozark, the report said.

An “exclusive” report from Reuters this week suggests U.S. authorities are poised to put the retail industry under the microscope as a result of Walmart’s bribery scandal in Mexico.

Chicago -- A Thursday report compiled by Reuters and published in the Chicago Tribune said that U.S. authorities are weighing whether or not to launch a wide-scale investigation of the retail industry for bribery violations.

The news comes after Wal-Mart de Mexico came under scrutiny for potentially violating an anti-foreign bribery law, allegedly orchestrating bribes of $24 million to facilitate its growth in the region.     

New York -- J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson said that he is sticking with the chain’s new pricing strategy and that the company’s board of directors was “totally supportive.”

In remarks at Fortune magazine's Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Col., Johnson acknowledged that J.C. Penney initially confused customers when it came to explaining the new pricing strategy.

Best Buy intends to cut 2,400 jobs, including 600 Geek Squad technicians, which would make up 1.4% of its work force, Reuters reported Friday.

According to the report, these cuts are in addition to the job reductions related to the 50 store closings the company announced in March.

Click here to read the full report.

Allegations of worker abuse prompted Walmart to suspend a small seafood supplier earlier this week pending the outcome of an investigation, according to a Reuters report.