Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

NEWS AT A GLANCE

Wal-Mart bill passes

Maryland lawmakers voted to require Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health insurance, overriding a veto by the state's Republican governor. Legislatures in 30 states are considering passing similar bills. One Democrat said the bill would ensure that Wal-Mart couldn't "bully" workers into taking stingy benefits. A Wal-Mart spokesman said the measure was just "partisan politics" that didn't address the real problem -- the rising cost of health care. (The Washington Post, free registration required)

Putting a scandal in the past

American International Group is expected to pay $1 billion to settle charges that it used improper accounting to make its profits appear bigger. If approved by the New York State Insurance Department, which sued AIG in May, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the penalty would be one of the steepest ever paid by a financial company. Former CEO Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg retired in March and was replaced by AIG veteran Martin Sullivan. (The Wall Street Journal, paid registration required)

Another salvo in the Guidant war

Boston Scientific sweetened its $25-billion offer for heart-devices maker Guidant by $330 million, hoping to trump rival suitor Johnson & Johnson. Guidant's board has endorsed J&J's bid, which was smaller than Boston Scientific's but could be completed more quickly. Boston Scientific said its offer would expire at 4 p.m. today unless Guidant's board declared its proposal the better deal. (USA Today)

Retailer for sale

Federated Department Stores is trying to sell Lord & Taylor, a fashionable 55-store chain it picked up when it acquired May Department Stores. Since August, Federated has been converting its new properties into Macy's and Bloomingdales stores. Federated Chairman Terry Lundgren said Lord & Taylor "does not fit" into that plan -- its stores are half the size of the average Macy's or Bloomingdales. Also, its shoppers are wealthier than those at Macy's, but less affluent than those at Bloomingdales. (The New York Times, free registration required)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

The real mileage problem

Hybrid critics will get a boost from the EPA's new rules for calculating car mileage, says Bradley Berman in BusinessWeek Online. The old method overstated hybrid fuel economy by as much as 50 percent, so correcting the problem will narrow the "wide gap" between hybrids and conventional cars starting with 2008 models. That's fine, but if the government really wants to help the environment it will do something to "curb the nation's voracious thirst for gasoline."

Time for pensions to go

The press is treating the demise of traditional pensions as a tragedy, says Justin Fox in Fortune. But these overly generous retirement plans have become an overwhelming burden. The only way for companies to honor commitments to past employees is by chipping away at retirement benefits for current and future ones. "The real shame may be that we ever put so much faith in such an inherently unstable, unfair and economically perverse means of providing for retirement."

GOOD DAY FOR: The little guy, as a federal judge ruled that family-owned Black Bear Micro Roastery of New Hampshire could keep selling its "Charbucks" and "Mister Charbucks" coffee beans, ending a decade-long legal fight with Starbucks Corp. (CNNMoney.com)

BAD DAY FOR: The little guy, as Starbucks won a different battle last month when another court told an Oregon woman whose maiden name was Samantha Buck that she couldn't name her coffee shop Sambuck's. (CNNMoney.com)

NOTED:Seventy-six percent of American adults say they have put their names on the Federal Trade Commission's do-not-call registry to block unwanted telemarketing pitches. In 2004, only 54 percent had signed up. (Chicago Tribune)