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NEW YORK — Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it will cut up to about 8,000 jobs and streamline its operations in an effort to cut costs as it braces for changes in the health care industry. The New Brunswick, N.J., company said the cuts will affect 6 to 7 percent of its global work force of roughly 118,700 workers. The restructuring is one of Johnson & Johnson’s biggest ever and will prompt a restructuring charge of up to $1.3 billion pretax in the fourth quarter.

ATLANTA — AT&T Inc. is suing Verizon Wireless over its competitor’s "There’s a Map for That” commercials. AT&T filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Tuesday accusing Verizon of false advertising and deceptive trade practices. Verizon’s ads show United States maps with areas highlighted to depict its available "3G” coverage — which allows users to access data faster. In comparison, it displays a map with AT&T’s "3G” coverage with blank spaces to show where the service is not available. AT&T says those maps are misleading because there is still coverage in areas where "3G” service is not offered.

NEW YORK — U.S. retail sales figures from a key data service show signs of a rebound in October from last year’s plunge. SpendingPulse, a service of MasterCard Advisors, reports that categories including jewelry and apparel posted gains in October compared with a year earlier. Michael McNamara, vice president at SpendingPulse, said the sales look better mainly because they are being compared with abysmal spending a year earlier as the financial meltdown ballooned. He noted that discounting, which depresses total sales figures, wasn’t as deep this October as last, and he said more people are coming out to shop in recent weeks than earlier this fall.

WASHINGTON — Seeking to help fight climate change, the Walt Disney Co. says it will spend $7 million in partnership with three conservation groups to protect tens of thousands of acres of forests lands in the Congo basin, the Amazon basin and in two regions of the United States. The projects announced are designed to work with local communities to either plant trees or set aside forest lands for protection against logging. Disney said it will work with the Nature Conservancy and provide $2 million for tree planting on 2,000 acres of former forest lands in the lower Mississippi Valley, and $1 million for the Conservation Fund’s forest protection project along California’s North Coast.

WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories rebounded in September, helped by strength in autos, heavy machinery and military aircraft. The fifth increase in six months bolstered hopes that a revival in manufacturing will help support an overall economic recovery. The worry is that if consumer spending falters in coming months, orders will slump again. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that orders rose 0.9 percent in September.

WASHINGTON — Two more large investment companies have together raised enough money to join with the government in buying toxic assets held by banks so they can resume more normal lending to support an economic recovery. The Treasury Department said Tuesday that New York-based Angelo, Gordon & Co. LP and Norwalk, Conn.-based GE Capital Real Estate together raised more than the $500 million minimum needed to close investment funds. The partnership joins four other firms, and the six have raised a total of $3.58 billion in private sector capital. Treasury will match that money and provide additional investment capital.

Pelican Bay Ltd. is recalling all of its Caramel Chocolate Truffle Hot Chocolate Mix because the product might contain tree nuts not declared on its packaging. Those who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to tree nuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they eat the products. No illnesses have been reported to date, according to the Dunedin, Fla., company. The recalled Caramel Chocolate Truffle Hot Chocolate Mix was distributed nationwide through direct delivery, mail order and retail stores. The mix was distributed between January 2007 and Nov. 2. For details, call (800) 826-8982.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The state of Florida is suing online travel reservation companies over hotel taxes, the latest in a string of lawsuits nationwide claiming the sites owe local authorities millions of dollars. Attorney General Bill McCollum sued Expedia and Orbitz on Tuesday, claiming they failed to pay Florida the full amount of taxes collected on hotel room rentals through their sites. "The customer is paying the tax already,” said McCollum, who is running for governor in 2010. "Orbitz and Expedia are not remitting to the state all the taxes they have collected.” Consumers are charged a rate when they book a room online, and the company later reimburses the hotels a lesser amount, allowing them to pocket service fees. The taxes are paid on that rate.

FROM WIRE REPORTS

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