Retail

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney said Monday that it has adopted a shareholder rights plan, or so-called poison pill, in light of "recent rapid accumulations of a significant percentage of the company's outstanding common stock." The plan has a term of one year. The rights have a 10% trigger.

• The news follows the announcement that activist investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management and real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust recently disclosed a 16.5% and 9.9% stake each in the retailer.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment, released Friday, showed that confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly declined in October, with Americans more pessimistic about current economic conditions.

The index decreased to 67.9, the lowest since July, from 68.2 in September.

Unemployment projected to remain above 9% through next year may keep weighing on sentiment and make Americans reluctant to ramp up their spending, which accounts for 70% of the economy.

New York City -- A renovated McDonald's in Riverside, Calif., became the first McDonald's west of the Mississippi, and the fourth in the United Sates, to seek LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification.

The building, which has stood as a McDonald's restaurant for 44 years, reopened after a renovation that made the building more sustainable and energy-efficient. The new green features include: