Only days after announcing that it's not in talks involving a leveraged buyout, Dow Chemical Co. has shown the door to a senior adviser and a company officer, accusing them of trying to negotiate a deal behind the company's back.

Senior adviser Pedro Reinhard, who retired as the chemical giant's chief financial officer in October 2005, and Romeo Kreinberg, a divisional executive vice president, were dismissed with the approval of the board of directors, Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical chairman and CEO, said Thursday.

Reinhard remains a member of the board because only shareholders, not management, can remove directors.

The statement said Reinhard and Kreinberg had "engaged in business activity that was highly inappropriate and a clear violation of Dow's Code of Business Conduct."

On Monday, Dow Chemical issued a statement saying it "has had no discussion about a leveraged buyout" and that the board "fully supports Dow's management team."

RETAILERS WARN OF BLEAK SALES

NEW YORK — Spring looks bleak for the nation's retailers. After robust sales in March, there are signs that consumers are already spending less. And a trifecta of problems — rising gas prices, a rougher housing market and the specter of higher interest rates — are likely to make the retail business even tougher in the months ahead.

Although many stores reported Thursday that they had surpassed expectations last month, several warned of upcoming disappointments.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose customers cut back on shopping when gas prices were high last year, said April's selling environment will be tough, while Federated Department Stores Inc. said its first-quarter sales will come in at the low end of expectations. Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. said its first-quarter earnings per share would be roughly flat with last year's, missing Wall Street estimates.

The nation's retailers were clearly helped by a number of temporary factors in March. The arrival of warmer weather following an unusually cold January and February helped retailers like Wal-Mart recover from a slow start to the spring selling season.

NESTLE TO BUY GERBER BABY

GENEVA — The famous Gerber Baby will change parents, with Nestle SA announcing Thursday that it will buy Gerber Products Co. for $5.5 billion, giving the world's biggest food and drink company the largest share of the global baby food market.

The acquisition from pharmaceutical maker Novartis SA helps further Nestle's recent focus on health and nutrition, following its purchases of the U.S. weight control company Jenny Craig and Novartis Medical Nutrition.

Nestle, which owns brands such as Nescafe, Perrier and Dreyer's, is also the world's largest manufacturer of infant nutritional products — largely through its leading positions in developing countries such as Brazil and China — but had no presence in baby food in the United States.

The cherubic face of the happy Gerber infant dominates the U.S. baby-food market, with the company holding a 79 percent share, according to Morgan Stanley.

Adding Gerber will help the company's nutrition business generate annual sales of close to $8.2 billion. The company said it expects Gerber to generate sales of around $1.95 billion this year and a 10 percent sales growth in the long run.

CBS FIRE RADIO HOST IMUS

NEW YORK — CBS fired Don Imus from his radio show Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation's most prominent broadcasters.

Imus initially was given a two-week suspension, to start Monday, for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" on the air last week, but outrage continued to grow and advertisers bolted from his programs.

Rutgers women's basketball team spokeswoman Stacey Brann said the team did not have an immediate comment on Imus' firing but would be issuing a statement later Thursday evening.

Time Magazine once named the cantankerous broadcaster as one of the 25 Most Influential People in America, and he was a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

But Imus found himself at the center of a storm after his comments. Protests ensued, and one by one, sponsors pulled their ads from Imus' show. On Wednesday, MSNBC dropped its simulcast of Imus' show.

VONAGE CEO RESIGNS AMID RESTRUCTURING

NEW YORK — Vonage CEO Michael Snyder resigned Thursday as the troubled Internet phone company reported weak preliminary first-quarter results and announced a restructuring plan that includes an unspecified number of jobs cuts.

Chairman and founder Jeffrey A. Citron will act as interim chief executive as the company seeks a replacement for Snyder, who joined Vonage in advance of last year's initial public offering of stock, a debacle for investors.

The sudden management change and disappointing first-quarter update follow a month of legal setbacks in which Vonage was found guilty of infringing on patents held by Verizon Communications Inc.

Despite the unsettling developments, a late morning bounce boosted Vonage's battered share price by 13 percent.

Vonage Holdings Corp. is attempting to overturn the federal jury's verdict, but the trial judge ordered Vonage to stop signing up new customers if it continues using the disputed technology during the appeal.

CLAIMS FOR JOBLESS BENEFITS JUMP

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in two months.

The unexpected spike was blamed on the Easter holidays rather than fundamental labor market weakness.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless benefits totaled 342,000 last week, up 19,000 from the previous week.

The increase, which followed a rise of 13,000 the previous week, was much larger than forecast and pushed total claims to the highest level since the week of Feb. 10.

But analysts attributed the surge to problems in adjusting the data for changes in layoff patterns that reflect different times each year for school breaks and the Easter holidays.

MEDIMMUNE CONSIDERING TAKEOVER OFFERS

CHEVY CHASE, Md. — Drug company MedImmune Inc. said Thursday it is willing to consider takeover offers, reversing its stand against a sale because of interest from big pharmaceutical companies and investor unhappiness with the company's performance.

MedImmune said its board of directors authorized company management to gauge interest from potential bidders. It also hired Goldman Sachs & Co. and the law firm Dewey Ballantine to help with a possible sale.

Medimmune shares jumped more than 15 percent in trading on the Nasdaq stock market.

The company, based in Gaithersburg, has a market capitalization of nearly $9 billion and posted $1.28 billion in revenue last year, mostly from its childhood respiratory drug Synagis. MedImmune also makes the inhaled influenza vaccine FluMist.

But the company's recent performance has rankled some major shareholders, who said MedImmune should consider selling itself because its failure to meet some major milestones has hurt investors.