FLASH! FROZEN

recently became 100% owner of the TOPS supermarkets in Malaysia. Ahold, who already owned more than 65% of the joint venture with PPB Group Bhd, operates 39 TOPS supermarkets in Malaysia and has new sites targeted...ConAgra, Omaha, Neb., reported 61% rise in earnings for its second quarter, bringing its Q2 earnings to $302 million. The purchase of International Home Foods, Inc., maker of Chef Boyardee pastas and Pam cooking spray, and the growth of other key brands added to the increase... FsXchange, a provider of marketplace solutions, recently selected i2 TradeMatrix solutions to build its marketplace focusing on the foodservice equipment and supplies industry. The new i2 platform allows marketplace participants to integrate their business and back-office systems with the marketplace for end-to-end transactions throughout the supply chain...A new study released by the New England Journal of Medicine confirms that consumers can reduce their blood pressure by adding more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy to their diet...Global Food Exchange, Atlanta, Ga., provider of web-based software for the perishable food industry, has been ranked among the top 25 largest independent net markets, and as the number one net market in the food and beverage category by Jupiter Media Metrix. Information for the ranking was obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission documents and surveys sent to approximately 1,000 international Net Markets, and highlights the Web's most effective e-commerce sites...Grand Union, Wayne, N.J., is reportedly short $22 million of the $205 million it needed to pay the pensions of almost 17,000 workers and retirees. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., Washington, D.C., announced that it is taking over the company's pension plan and promises that the 17,000 plans are protected... The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P), Montvale, N.J., reported that although its Q3 figures increased by 1.4%, up from last year's $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion, they are disappointed by operating results...Supermarket chain Asda, London, owned by U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, announced that it would invest 450 million pounds ($677 million) in new stores in 2001 and create 5,000 new jobs. Wal-Mart said that it will build 13 stores in the next year, with four of them on or near existing sites. In other Wal-Mart news, the company plans to open a subsidiary in Japan this summer and could open a store as early as 2002, intensifying a price war between it and France's Carrefour, which opened a store near Tokyo...Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, Ill., rival of Wal-Mart, is closing its doors after 128 years, letting go at least 28,000 employees. The company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in three years after weak holiday sales...After another round in the ongoing boycott of the U.K.-based supermarket group J. Sainsbury, the company could possibly be preparing to sell its stores in Egypt. A rumor that the company is Jewish-owned has weakened business, but has not officially discouraged the supermarket chain...Major retailers such as Carrefour, Jusco, Tesco Lotus, Royal Ahold and The Mall Group are reportedly eyeing the growing retail business in Thailand, which is expected to rise between 8% and 10%, reaching 222.2 billion baht ($5.2 billion) in 2001. The companies will spend about 400 million baht to renovate existing stores, improve product quality and introduce more innovative marketing...Tops and Food Lion are expected to add 30,000-40,000 square meters to existing total supermarket area; Tops is also planning to open five to 10 stores and Food Lion is planning to open 11 new supermarkets...Nestlé SA agreed to buy Ralston Purina Co. in a $10.3 billion deal, putting the company ahead of the previous pet food market leader, Mars Inc. ...The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. entered into an agreement with Bradlees Inc. to help sell the leases of more than 100 store sites. Stop & Shop owned Bradlees for 30 years before the companies parted ways in 1992...U.K. Asda supermarket, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., formed a joint venture, BL Grazeley Ltd., with the property trading group British Land Co. Plc to develop two distribution sites on approximately 80 acres of land...In response to the recent California power crisis, senior Clinton administration officials are meeting to reach a compromise between state, federal, and utility company officials and save consumers from electricity blackouts, utilities from bankruptcy, and the country from a possible economic spillover.