Legal

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands - Royal Ahold NV, the world's fourth-largest food retail and foodservice group in sales and the parent company of Ahold USA, said today that it has come to an agreement with the lead plaintiffs to settle a securities class action, In re Royal Ahold N.V. Securities & ERISA Litigation, which was pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Philip Morris has agreed to pay $1 billion to the European Union to tackle smuggling and counterfeit products and simultaneously resolve a long-standing legal dispute between the two parties, Reuters reports.