NEWS WATCH: NO FEDERAL CHARGES FOR CONAWAY, SCHWARTZ... FORMER WAL-MART VICE CHAIR SEEKS SUIT DISMISSAL... GIANT EAGLE CUTS PRICES FOR THIRD TIME...

NO FEDERAL CHARGES FOR CONAWAY, SCHWARTZ

will not bring charges against Charles Conaway, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Kmart, and Mark Schwartz, the company's former president, after a three-year investigation into the events leading up to the chain's 2002 bankruptcy filing, reports said last week. Conaway and John McDonald, Kmart's former chief financial officer, still face civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in August alleging that they misled investors about the company's financial condition before the bankruptcy filing.

FORMER WAL-MART VICE CHAIR SEEKS SUIT DISMISSAL

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Tom Coughlin, the former vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores here, signed an agreement saying the retail giant could not sue him, his lawyer argued in court here last week, reports said. Coughlin is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Wal-Mart accusing him of misspending more than $500,000 of the company's money. Coughlin retired as an executive in January and as a director in March. A ruling on the dismissal is expected this week or next, reports said.

GIANT EAGLE CUTS PRICES FOR THIRD TIME

PITTSBURGH -- For the third time in less than a year, Giant Eagle here lowered its everyday prices on around 3,000 items. The price cuts, which average about 10% per item, went into effect last week at all of Giant Eagle's 216 stores, the company said. The latest cuts include about 1,000 health and beauty care items and 2,000 grocery, dairy and frozen items, some of which may have already been reduced in phases last November and this April. The company said it is funding the price cuts through expense reductions and greater efficiency, and that it may make further price cuts "on a periodic basis for the foreseeable future."

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL OVERRIDES HEALTH CARE VETO

NEW YORK -- The City Council here last week voted to override a mayoral veto on a bill that would require superstores to increase health care pay for employees. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had called the Equitable Health Care Act "misguided and legally flawed" when he vetoed the bill last month, but a 40-2 override set the stage for the regulations to go into effect next summer. New York's bill would apply to stores with at least 35 employees or 10,000 square feet of space devoted to groceries. Similar measures are under consideration in Maryland and Suffolk County, N.Y., reports said.

BUEHLER FOODS TO CLOSE 6 FORMER WINN-DIXIES

JASPER, Ind. -- Buehler Foods will close six more stores it acquired less than a year ago from Winn-Dixie, the company said. Buehler acquired 16 former Winn-Dixie stores last October but with the latest round of closings will have shuttered all but four of them. Debt incurred with the purchase required Buehler to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. The six stores slated for closure, all located in the Louisville, Ky., market, began liquidation sales Friday. Those stores lost around $4.6 million between May and July, reports said.

METRO PLANS $600 MILLION NOTE ISSUE AFTER A&P BUY

MONTREAL -- Metro here said it would issue $600 million Canadian (about $508 million U.S.) in two series of notes to raise money to repay outstanding credit facilities used for its recent purchase of A&P's Canadian operations. Series A is a $200 million, 10-year offering. A second series is a $400 million, 30-year issue. The notes are redeemable at any time before maturity and were rated BBB by Standard & Poor's, Metro said.