Also

* Omnicom Group Inc. said second-quarter profit rose 9% on improvements in the beleaguered advertising sector and soothed jittery investors by saying its newly hired auditor, KPMG, had cleared its controversial Seneca partnership, formed to house Omnicom’s Internet properties. Omnicom’s earnings rose to $187.3 million, or $1 a share, in line with the average estimate of analysts.

* Spirit Airlines Inc. said flights would be free to passengers who use the low-cost carrier Sept. 11, to encourage customers to fly on the anniversary of last year’s terrorist attacks.

* A unit of Christian Dior filed a lawsuit accusing Guess Inc. of copying its design for sunglasses. Los Angeles-based Guess sells sunglasses by the name Axel for $50 that are “confusingly similar” to Christian Dior Couture’s Mini-Motard sunglasses that sell for more than $200, the lawsuit filed in federal court in New York said. Officials at Guess didn’t return calls seeking comment.