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A judge blocked Kroger's $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons Cos., finding the takeover would lessen competition for grocery shoppers in a ruling that marks a likely death knell for the deal.

American Tire Distributors, which sought bankruptcy protection in 2018 after the defection of two major manufacturers, has filed for Chapter 11 again as it considers a sale process to cut debt.

Albertsons and Kroger insist a merger would help them lower prices and better compete with big rivals such as Walmart, Costco and Amazon.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The CEOs of Kroger and Albertsons were set to testify in federal court Sept. 4, midway through a three-week hearing in which the grocery chains have defended their proposed merger.

Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. are finally getting their day in court. Nearly two years after the acquisition was announced, the grocery giants on Aug. 26 started a federal court hearing in Portland, Ore., on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s bid to block the $24.6 billion deal.

Halliburton, the world’s biggest provider of fracking services, said it is alerting customers and other stakeholders after an unauthorized third party gained access to some of its systems.

Albertsons Cos. was sued by an e-commerce software maker that claims the grocery chain conducted trials with its product for three years only to steal its trade secrets to build its own system.

Kroger is poised to sell investment-grade bonds in at least seven parts to help fund its proposed acquisition of Albertsons as antitrust scrutiny continues to hang over the plan.

Kroger Co. has pledged to cut grocery prices by $1 billion, doubling its initial promise, as it seeks to win regulatory approval for its $25 billion merger with Albertsons Cos.

Darling Ingredients soared the most in eight years after California signaled it may limit the use of seed oils in green diesel, which would be a boon to companies that use rival feedstocks.