Consumers may be cutting back on restaurant visits and car purchases but they are still buying crackers and juice, as Campbell Soup raised its full-year profit forecast.

The maker of Pepperidge Farm cookies and V8 juice has raised prices to offset soaring commodity costs and announced a $1.2 billion share buyback program that should help boost shares.

In more news on consumer staples, UBS is recommending that investors look to price leaders such as Wal-Mart Stores and Kroger, saying they are poised to gain market share as consumers shop for the best deals. That firm downgraded shares of grocers Safeway and Whole Foods.

Also in the basket:

Spending less at the ballpark

Growth in negative equity pressures homeowners

Check out signs of possible acrimony in InBev’s takeover bid for Anheuser-Busch.

Could InBev be bringing a new flavor — Hostile Light — to the beer wars as it pushes forward with its $46.3 billion takeover bid for the maker of Budweiser?

On Thursday, InBev reiterated its preference for a friendly combination that would create the world’s biggest brewer but filed suit to establish that Anheuser’s shareholders could remove their entire board, possibly setting the state for a more contentious battle.

Anheuser, which rejected InBev’s bid on Thursday, said on Friday that it will challenge its would-be acquirer’s lawsuit over the board removal.

Still, some say the door is open to a friendly deal. Stay tuned.

Also in the basket:

Anheuser-Busch sees year profit above Wall Street views

U.S. consumer confidence falls in June

Lovefest with SUVs is over, thanks to high fuel prices

(Photo: Anheuser-Busch)

Check out Nike just not doing it in the U.S.
 
The athletic shoe and apparel maker apparently is not immune to the sluggish U.S. economy. The company said Wednesday that U.S. orders for goods through November were flat.
 
It also said sales in the fourth quarter rose 4 percent in the U.S., compared with a 16 percent increase for the entire company. U.S. apparel sales rose only 2 percent.
 
Nike said it will focus on more premium merchandise that is better distributed and can stand out. It also stressed that U.S. profit margins are not eroding.
 
For Nike, getting through the tough U.S. economy might just be an invigorating workout.
 
“Strong companies who are able to navigate through those tough times can come out even stronger,” Nike CEO Mark Parker said in a conference call.
 
Ooh, feel the burn!
 
Also in the basket:
 
Anheuser-Busch to reject $46.3 billion InBev offer
 
The road runs out: Streetwear adapts as market implodes (WWD)

Steve & Barry’s Hits Trouble: Hyped clothing retailer hires turnaround help (WSJ)

Check out a couple more bleak consumer signals.
 
The Conference Board on Tuesday said that U.S. consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in 16 years. One analyst, Dresdner Kleinwort Securities’ Dana Saporta, said the sentiment gauge has dropped 55 percent from its peak in July 2007, a bigger decline that seen after the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
 
So even with consumers getting those tax rebate checks, they might not be in much of a mood to ramp up spending in the face of soaring gasoline and higher food prices.
 
In fact, Citigroup retail analyst Deborah Weinswig lowered her estimates on department stores and several other retailers today.
 
“While (the second and third quarter)  could benefit from the tax stimulus checks, we expect current pressures facing the consumer, including across-the-board inflation, housing and credit concerns, and a deteriorating employment picture, to continue to weigh on consumers for at least the remainder of 2008 into 2009,” she said in a research note. 
 
Consumers are also showing some signs of cutting back at the grocery store.
 
Kroger said on Tuesday that it has seen an increase in sales of its private-label brands. That could be bad news for makers of brand-name foods. Both brand-name and private-label food prices have gone up as manufacturers try to offset soaring commodity costs.
 
The branded food companies have argued that as long as the gap between their price and the price of private-label products does not get out of whack, then consumers will still see the value in the branded products.
 
But if consumers are getting to the point where they just need to save money, even if it means giving up the brands they love, that could squeeze the big food companies.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Hollywood Labor strike: Retailers dread impact of walkout by actors (WWD)
 
Athletic-Wear Firm’s Olympic Dream Fades (Wall Street Journal) 
 
(Photo: Reuters)

InBev has timed its $46.3 billion bid for Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch well. Anheuser's shares have gone nowhere for five years, Chief Executive August Busch IV is not the leader his father was, while InBev is buoyed by strong revenues from Brazil, where the real is riding high.

That probably explains the wall of silence from the Budweiser brewer's home town of St Louis. What does it do to fight off the $65 a share bid -- sack its chief executive, sell
off its non-core assets or look for a friendly white knight?

The Busch family has had influence over the group well beyond its small 3.5 percent stake. But with hard cash on the table, hedge funds moving in and investment guru Warren Buffett sitting on 5 percent, the family no longer pulls all the strings.

It could move to sell off its SeaWorld entertainment parks and its packaging non-core assets for $4 billion, but the Stella Artois and Beck's Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev has already said it will do that anyway if its bid is successful.

And finding a friend? Well, SABMiller already owns U.S. No 2 brewer Miller, Diageo doesn't want a massive gamble on the U.S. economy and beer market, and Heineken simply can not afford it so soon after swallowing half of Scottish and Newcastle.

InBev may well have to pay a few dollars more to win, but with half its earnings coming from Brazil and the real on a roll, it is confident it can get the financing -- credit crunch or no credit crunch.

Time for a Bud?

InBev thinks so.

Check Out the quarterly profit at Kroger Co.

The largest U.S. grocery chain posted a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, thanks to its emphasis on lower prices and gasoline discounts – music to its shoppers’ ears and higher sales for itself.

“Kroger continues to help customers stretch their budgets in a number of ways, including lower prices and our expanded generic drug and gas discount programs,” chief executive David Dillon said in a statement.

The price cuts, he said, were helping Kroger’s customers save $1 billion annually, at a time when shoppers deem every last dollar precious, as they face skyrocketing prices for necessities such as gasoline.

Kroger also raised its outlook for the full year, based on the strength of the results from the reported quarter.

Also in the basket:

ConAgra sees higher than expected fourth quarter profit

Dollar Tree recalls 470,000 China-made glue guns

Williams-Sonoma is trimming its catalog mailings (WSJ - subscription needed)

 J.C. Penney Faults Fake Ad on YouTube (WSJ - subscription needed)

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out the quarterly results at Walgreen, one of the largest U.S. drugstore operators.

The company posted a 2 percent increase in quarterly profit, amid a weak U.S. economy and slowing growth in sales of prescription drugs —  in the reported quarter, Zyrtec was switched to over-the-counter status.

And a slower-than-usual flu season — (good for you and me) – wasn’t so good for Walgreen. The company also pointed to the milder flu period for a slowdown in prescription drug sales volume in the quarter.

The company said it is on track to beat its goal of opening 550 new drugstores this year — and perhaps even come to the rescue of cash-strapped shoppers in the process.

“We’re adding neighborhood locations for today’s customer who is searching for value and struggling with high gas prices,” President Greg Wasson said in a statement on Monday.

As of May 31, the company operated 6,727 store locations in 49 states, but will be in all 50 states when it opens its first Alaska stores in 2009.

Also in the basket:

Bunge to buy Corn Products for $4.4 billion

Costco plans Australia foray to challenge duopoly

Busch family member backs ’strong’ Anheuser Busch

Jones Apparel takes stake in Asian partner

(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out more news from the Anheuser-Busch front.

The company, which owns half of Mexico’s Groupo Modelo, said Modelo’s chief executive Carlos Fernandez resigned from Anheuser’s board, even as the American beer company tries to thwart an unsolicited takeover bid from Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev NV.

Modelo is an important player here — it has been approached by Anheuser about a possible combination, according to the Wall Street Journal, while Reuters’ sources, who are familiar with the situation, have said that InBev also courted the Mexican company.

Separately, Anheuser also said that it will acquire the remaining 50 percent stake of the Crown Beers India Ltd joint venture from partner Crown International.

Crown International and Anheuser formed the Crown Beers India venture last year to distribute Budweiser and Armstrong, a beer developed specifically for India, throughout southern and western India.

Also in the basket:

InBev: US Anheuser breweries to stay after merger

EU raids detergent firms on suspicion of price fixing

Retail companies mull tactics ahead of holidays

Trying to hide price hikes with trends, fabrics

Clothing makers see fashion in color, detail

(Photo: Reuters)

First LL Cool J. Now MTV.

Sears may not be striking the right note with parents (or investors) but the struggling retailer is hoping it can at least make some inroads with teenagers.

In May, Sears announced plans to roll out an exclusive line of clothing named for rapper LL Cool J in its stores.

Today, Sears said it was teaming up with MTV to launch a new movie musical from the executive producers of “High School Musical” — “The American Mall.”

The movie  is about a group of “young adults” who work in a mall over the summer.  Scenes were shot in a Sears store and characters wear Sears clothing. Of course, extras carry Sears shopping bags in the background. 

But the partnership is much deeper than just a movie musical. ”A multi-layered integrated marketing campaign built around the movie targets the core MTV audience on-air, online and in stores — in time for the back-to-school shopping season.”

Sears will have “in-store experience zones” featuring “The American Mall” character looks, “The American Mall” merchandise and the movie DVD. The movie will premiere on MTV on Aug. 11.

But Sears may have an uphill battle when it comes to gaining lasting traction with teens. The age group is a notoriously fickle and fashion can turn on a dime, leaving retailers that stock the wrong trends left to clear through piles of unsold merchandise.

Teens also like wearing what other teens are wearing. That could be challenge for Sears, which is struggling for two years with declining sales at existing stores, meaning it is very likely that teens have not been flocking to the retailer to do their shopping,

(Photos: Reuters)

Check out what Michelle Obama was wearing the other day on “The View.”

It was a Tank Leaf Print Dress from White House/Black Market, the Chico’s chain that sells women’s clothing exclusively in black and white.

Obama, whose husband is making a bid for the U.S. White House, mentioned that she bought the dress at White House/Black Market during a discussion about her style (which starts about 12 minutes into the YouTube video).

White House/Black Market made sure the mention wasn’t missed, sending out a press release to point it out. (The dress, by the way, retails at $148.)

“The View” co-host Joy Behar noted that Obama has been compared to Jackie Kennedy, who set the fashion trend for a nation when she was First Lady in the early 1960s.

Chico’s could use that kind of comparison.

If Obama could do anywhere near the same, inspiring women to run out and by a Tank Leaf Print Dress, for example, it could be a boon for Chico’s, which has been in a major slump since last year with same-store sales falling. The company also has seen profits fall and even reported a loss for the key fourth quarter.

The women’s apparel sector has been depressed for more than a year, hurt by a slumping economy and a lack of compelling fashion.

But if Obama’s mention can help generate sales at White House/Black Market, think what she could do for other sectors. Perhaps in her next appearance, she could remodel a home, using tools from Home Depot and installing Whirlpool appliances?

Or maybe a big-screen TV from Circuit City.

Also in the basket:

Big push for Penney’s: Retailer aims to rule juniors with new lines (WWD)

Grocery shopping made easy (N.Y. Times)

UK’s Cadbury boosted by strong start to 2008

(Video: BarackObama.com via Youtube)