The Buzz On Business

MIXED DAY ON WALL STREET: Wall Street began the third quarter with an erratic session and modest gain Tuesday after a mix of news made it clear the country is still deep in economic problems but might have some positive trends, including some better than expected sales for General Motors Corp. Prices rose early in the session, turned sharply lower for much of the day and then recovered in late afternoon. The uneven performance wasn't surprising; some bargain hunting was to be expected after a dismal first half, and in particular, a dismal June. The session brought more discouraging news for investors: Oil rose again toward record high levels, a report showed that U.S. manufacturers are still under duress, and Ford Motor Co. said its June sales tumbled.

LEAD PAINT COMPANIES OFF THE HOOK: Rhode Island's Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a first-in-the-nation jury verdict that found three former lead paint companies responsible for creating a public nuisance, rejecting a closely watched case that had been seen as a bellwether for potential lawsuits across the country. The 4-0 decision ends the nearly decadelong court fight and spares the companies from potentially billions in cleanup costs for hundreds of thousands of contaminated homes. The court said the state's lawsuit should have been dismissed at the outset. It said that though lead paint may be a public health problem, it was not the companies' responsibility to clean it up because they, unlike landlords and homeowners, had no control over how the paint was used or if it was used in properties where children were poisoned.

LUNCH WITH BUFFETT GOES FOR $2.1M: A Chinese investment fund manager's bid for the chance to have lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett was the largest ever in a charity auction on eBay and surprised even Buffett. "It kind of blew me away," Buffett said Tuesday. Zhao Danyang of the Hong Kong-based Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund won the auction, which ended Friday evening with a bid of $2,110,100. The Oracle of Omaha said the size of Zhao's bid doesn't mean the meal will stretch past the three hours Buffett usually spends with auction winners. All of the auction's proceeds will go to the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco.

FAMOUS EDITOR DIES:

Clay Felker, who revolutionized the magazine genre as founding editor of New York, bringing readers a smart, sassy mix of gossip and news that was replicated relentlessly across the country, died Tuesday. He was 82. Felker died with his wife, writer Gail Sheehy, at his side at their New York City home after a battle with throat cancer, the magazine said. Felker's New York became indispensable in the 1960s and '70s for those craving the latest on the city's social scene, inside knowledge of its business and politics, and consumer tips from its endless "best of" lists. Felker published, edited and wrote for dozens of publications including Life, Time, Esquire, the Village Voice, Adweek, Daily News Today, Manhattan Inc. and U.S. News & World Report. In 1995, the University of California at Berkeley named its magazine journalism program after Felker, a senior lecturer there.

INBEV SAYS THIS BUD'S FOR ME: Brewer InBev SA on Tuesday urged Anheuser-Busch shareholders to challenge the biggest U.S. beer company's rejection of its $46 billion buyout bid. InBev CEO Carlos Brito insisted in a statement that his offer of $65 a share was "full and fair" and would give shareholders immediate certainty as stock markets plunge. The Belgian-based maker of Stella Artois and Beck's has set the scene for a hostile takeover battle by saying it would "pursue all available avenues that would allow Anheuser-Busch shareholders a direct vote." The Anheuser-Busch board on Thursday rejected InBev's offer as "financially inadequate." The St. Louis-based company accounts for about half of the U.S. beer market with brands including Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob.

BEE NEWS SERVICES

Figuratively Speaking

38: Percentage of employees who describe their wireless device as a necessity

25: Percentage of survey respondents who admit to putting their wireless device down only when they are sleeping

5: Percentage of respondents who admit to being 100 percent offline when not in the office (down from 8 percent last year).

JOHN MacINTYRE, UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE