The actions would build on a campaign that began about a year ago to call attention to the difficulties of living on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Customers want a deal when they order burgers and fries. But those cheap eats squeeze franchise store owners who say they already survive on slim margins. And the fast-food corporations have to grow profits to keep shareholders happy.

Fast-food protests are under way in cities including New York, Chicago and Detroit, with organizers expecting the biggest national walkouts yet in a demand for higher wages.

PepsiCo gave CEO Indra Nooyi a pay package worth $12.6 million last year, which is down 11 percent from the previous year, as the soda-and-snack food giant changed the way it awards long-term incentive compensation.

It wasn't too long ago that America had a love affair with soda. Now, an old flame has the country's heart.

Billionaire Warren Buffett is dipping into the ketchup business as part of $23.3 billion deal to buy the Heinz ketchup company, uniting a legend of American investing with a mainstay of grocery store shelves.

Coca-Cola became one of the world's most powerful brands by equating its soft drinks with happiness. Now it's taking to the airwaves for the first time to address a growing cloud over the industry: obesity.

Hostess Brands Inc. and its second largest union will go into mediation to try and resolve their differences, meaning the company won't go out of business just yet.