Business Briefing

THE ECONOMY

Consumer confidence rebounds

U.S. consumer confidence rebounded in March after falling sharply last month, the Conference Board said.

The consumer confidence index rose to 52.5 in March from 46.4 in February. Confidence had dropped significantly in February from 56.5 in January.

The gain in confidence was above forecasts. Economists expected the index to rebound to 51.0.

The February confidence index was revised up from the initial estimate of 46.0.

HEALTHCARE

Chamber targets overhaul backers

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which lobbied against the new healthcare overhaul, is planning to spend at least $50 million on “pivotal” congressional races to let voters know where their lawmakers stand on the issue.

“The chamber will make healthcare a major focus of our voter education and issue advocacy activities leading up to the 2010 elections” in November, Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said in a letter to his board of directors.

FOOD

FDA to probe icing of seafood

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is reviewing the results of a multistate investigation that found that shoppers have been paying for large amounts of ice that are not supposed to be included in the price of frozen seafood.

The investigation -- conducted by weights and measures inspectors in California and 16 other states -- found that a coating of ice applied to frozen seafood to preserve quality during storage and distribution was often wrongly included as part of the labeled weight of seafood. In some instances, the investigation found, ice accounted for up to 40% of the product’s weight.

TECHNOLOGY

Chairwoman of Xerox to retire

Xerox Corp. Chairwoman Anne Mulcahy will retire in May, stepping down after more than 30 years at the world’s largest maker of high-speed color printers.

Mulcahy, 57, will step down May 20, the date of the annual meeting of shareholders.

Ursula Burns, who assumed Mulcahy’s responsibilities as chief executive July 1, becoming the first African American woman to lead a company as large as Xerox, will take on both roles.

AUTOMOBILES

Chrysler plans to upgrade lineup

Chrysler Group, the automaker run by Fiat, is using its $5 billion in cash to overhaul its vehicle lineup starting with a new Jeep to be introduced in June, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said.

“I’m producing cash that I keep reinvesting in the product portfolio,” he said in New York at a conference sponsored by the National Automobile Dealers Assn.

“I feel a lot more comfortable today than I did 12 months ago, by far.”

MUSIC

EMI, Universal resume talks

EMI Group Ltd. and Universal Music Group resumed licensing talks that may help EMI stave off default and give its rival rights to artists including the Beatles, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

The negotiations resumed in the last two days and may lead to Universal paying EMI as much as $300 million over five years, said the person, who declined to be identified because the talks are private.

Vivendi’s Universal Music, the world’s largest record label, said last week it walked away from the talks.

Universal would gain rights to distribute EMI’s catalog in North America, the person said, adding artists including Coldplay and Norah Jones.

-- times wire reports