Consumer Products

Newell Brands reported core sales growth in all of its businesses in its last quarter as a standalone company, boosted by strength in its writing and baby segments, and gave a rosy outlook for the year after its combination with Jarden.

Helen of Troy posted financial results that easily topped expectations for the final quarter of the year, as the consumer products company saw growth in its housewares segment, which benefited from new-category introductions.

Comcast Corp.’s talks to purchase DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., the studio behind “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda,” are about everything except the movies, people familiar with the deal discussions said.

Procter & Gamble, one of the biggest marketers in the world, is increasing its investment in advertising as it looks to reinvigorate sales growth and improve the efficiency of its capital spending.

A new study shows that concentrated laundry-detergent packets are more dangerous to young children than other kinds of detergent, and were involved in two deaths and another two dozen life-threatening poisonings in 2013 and 2014.

Procter & Gamble’s boss has promised investors $10 billion in belt-tightening, as the big consumer-goods company tries to adjust to a future of slower growth. Trouble is, analysts don’t know how he will get there.

Maybe he should join the movement of textile jobs back to the U.S.

With a $6 billion takeover up in the air, Sharp this week highlighted its latest lineup of offbeat products, displaying the tradition of innovation suitor Foxconn would gain if the deal goes through.

Bottles of Honest laundry detergent say they don’t contain SLS, a chemical that the consumer-products company says can irritate skin. But the company that makes the detergent for Honest dropped such marketing claims from its own website last year.

The startup co-founded by actress Jessica Alba says its household products are safer than mainstream brands, but tests found an ingredient that it pledged not to use.

Software provider E2open buys retail forecaster Terra Technology in bid to improve inventory planning

Gap Inc. said its core sales declined 2% in February, hurt by another double-digit drop at its Banana Republic chain.

Faded sportswear icon Adidas is hoping Kasper Rorsted, who energized German consumer-products company Henkel with his aggressive approach, can help it get its U.S. game back.

Unilever named Marijn Dekkers, the chief executive of Bayer, as its new chairman, bringing aboard an executive with a reputation for shake-ups.