Wal-Mart Refuses to Do Business With Sugar Producer on Slavery Blacklist

"Cosan had problems with a contractor three years ago and solved them immediately," [Agriculture Minister] Stephanes said. "It has good practices." The slavery blacklist is managed by the Labor Ministry. Stephanes suggested Cosan and Labor Ministry officials meet to discuss its removal from the blacklist. The Labor Ministry said 42 Cosan workers were found and "liberated" from conditions analogous to slavery. Another 163 employers are also on the ministry blacklist, which was created in 2004 and is updated every six months.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA's fuel distribution unit, which buys ethanol from Cosan, may consider "restrictions" on the company, a BR Distribuidora spokesman, who couldn't be named because of company policy, said yesterday. Petrobras is Brazil's state-controlled oil producer.

Developer's Plans Reveal for New Apple Store Prototype in Palo Alto

There it will build an Apple Store that project developers referred to in planning documents as "a new prototype for the company." The facade will be entirely transparent at ground level, vast skylights will flood the store with natural light, and trees will grow inside, fed by the sunlight from above, according to a proposal submitted to the city's architectural review board.

The building at 340 University Ave. is an 86-year-old structure best known as the longtime home of Liddicoat's grocery. More recently it housed Z Gallerie furniture store, and it has mostly stood vacant since that store closed several months ago.

Macy's Closing Five Stores

Macy's recent store closures will be leaving malls already hurt by a wave of national chain closures since 2008, according to Equity Research Analyst Brian S. Sozzi. He added the exit of Macy's could cause others to vacate, creating a "dead mall" syndrome, which is when vacancy rates rise above 70%.

"All in all, the store closures were in cities with unemployment and median income levels significantly worse than state and national averages," Sozzi said. "People in these areas shifted what discretionary purchases they were making to better kept/promoted malls or big box stores able to drive low prices on a range of merchandise in a one-stop format."

White House to Lost Fans: We Won't Preempt Season Premiere

The White House on Friday assured fans of the television show "Lost" that President Obama's State of the Union address would not disrupt the show's highly-anticipated three-hour premiere.

"I don't foresee a scenario in which the millions of people who hope to see a conclusion to 'Lost' are pre-empted by the president," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at his daily briefing. "You can quote an administration official on that," he added cheekily.

The date on which Mr. Obama will deliver the annual address is not yet set in stone. Gibbs would only say that it would take place "soon." The State of the Union is typically delivered in late January, and networks anticipated this year's speech would fall on Jan. 26. The date, however, appears to be in flux, and news that the president may deliver the speech on Feb. 2, the date of the "Lost" season premiere, set off a flurry of Internet protests.

Foot Locker Plans to Close 117 Stores

The closures, affecting mostly Foot Locker and Lady Foot Locker outlets in the U.S., would bring to 190 the number of shutterings for the fiscal year ending Jan. 30. The company had 3,601 stores as of Oct. 31.

Aside from the economic downturn, the athletic apparel and footwear chain has been hurt by a longer-running fashion shift toward casual shoes and away from sneakers. Foot Locker has reacted by lowering costs, closing stores and weeding out poorly performing products.

Feeling Rejected? Study Suggests a Tylenol Will Ease the Psychological Pain

Getting the snub from friends can feel like a slap in the face. Now researchers say treating such social pain may be as easy as popping a pain pill. They warn, however, that more research is needed before anyone tries the approach.

The finding builds on research showing that psychological blows not only feel like they hurt us, they actually do. For instance, scientists have found a gene linked with both physical pain and a person's sensitivity to rejection. And some of the same brain regions are linked with both pain types. So perhaps it's not surprising that a painkiller would alleviate both as well.

"The idea that a drug designed to alleviate physical pain should reduce the pain of social rejection seemed simple and straightforward based on what we know about neural overlap between social and physical pain systems," said lead researcher C. Nathan DeWall of the University of Kentucky. "To my surprise, I couldn't find anyone who had ever tested this idea."

But DeWall warns more research is needed to firm up the results. "Our findings do not constitute a call for widespread use of acetaminophen to cope with all types of personal problems," the researchers write in a forthcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science. The study involved two experiments involving acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol.

Hannah Montana to End After Four Seasons

Miley Cyrus -- who plays Miley Stewart, a down-to-earth high schooler who leads a secret double life as pop star Hannah Montana -- has been making noises for more than a year that she is ready to move on.

But the news quietly marks the end of one of the most successful kids' shows ever. The show still averages nearly 5 million viewers a week.

"You never know in this business . . . but right now we're scheduled to wrap [forever] after shooting this new batch of episodes," says Disney Channel Worldwide's Adam Bonnett, senior VP/programming.