APPAREL

ADIDAS MAY BUY REEBOK

Shares of Reebok International climbed as much as 16% in after-hours trading amid press reports that the second-biggest American maker of athletic shoes is in talks to be acquired by Adidas-Salomon AG.

Adidas is in talks to buy Reebok in an acquisition that values the company at more $3 billion, the Financial Times reported late yesterday, citing people whom the newspaper didn’t name. It’s unclear whether the negotiations are continuing or if a final deal will be reached, the paper said.

Adidas’s American business is rebounding after a focus on sneakers with price tags above $100 led to collapsing sales in 2003. An acquisition of Reebok would make Adidas a stronger rival to market leader Nike Incorporated and allow the company to further increase its share of the American market. Adidas is based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

– Bloomberg News

PHARMACEUTICALS

NEW GUIDELINES FOR DRUG MARKETING UNVEILED

The pharmaceutical industry unveiled new guidelines yesterday for the marketing of medicines to patients, including pledges to educate doctors before beginning consumer campaigns and more clearly outline the risks involved in taking prescription drugs.

“With these principles, we commit ourselves to improving the inherent educational value of advertisements,” the president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Billy Tauzin, said in a statement. Details of the plan were being announced at a conference in Dallas.

But critics responded that the voluntary code is toothless, and many of its 15 principles – such as presenting information that is accurate and not misleading – are already required by law. The guidelines also lack elements some critics have sought, including a mandatory waiting period for advertising new drugs and restricting when sensitive medicines such as erectile dysfunction drugs could be advertised. Pharmaceutical ads have been under an intense spotlight since Merck & Company’s removed its pain reliever Vioxx from the market last year after a study found it doubled patients’ risk of heart attacks and strokes. Vioxx was heavily marketed, and doctors say the ads may have pushed many patients who really didn’t require the pricey drug to take it, potentially exposing them to dangerous side effects.

– Associated Press

AUTOMOTIVES

AUTOMAKERS POST STRONG SALES AMID DEEP DISCOUNTS

CHICAGO – American automakers, struggling to boost market share and profitability, posted a blockbuster month of sales in July thanks to deep discounts that helped clear bloated inventories of 2005 models.

Sales at Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Group, the American unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, rose 29% and 25%, respectively, as the manufacturers reaped the benefits of discount programs introduced in July.

– Dow Jones Newswires