It seems that after local news stations heard about the rat sightings they flocked to the store to catch the rodents having their way around the restaurant. The rats were taped running between counters and tables and climbing on children's high chairs. Yikes, definitely not a good scene.

While today's rat race is definitely a disturbing event, it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to the restaurant owners. Back in December when the store had a health inspection they were giving a passing grade but the inspectors noted at that time that there was evidence of rat droppings in the store.

The store has been closed until the store is completely re-sanitized and given a clean bill of health. According to a statement from KFC/Taco Bell construction in the basement on Thursday "temporarily escalated the situation."

Whole Foods Market Inc., the largest U.S. natural-foods grocer, said it agreed to buy rival Wild Oats Markets Inc. for $565 million after reporting its first profit decline in five quarters.

Whole Foods will pay $18.50 in cash for each share of Boulder, Colorado-based Wild Oats, 18 percent higher than its closing price today. First-quarter net income fell 7.8 percent to $53.8 million, or 38 cents a share, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods said today. Earnings missed analysts' estimates.

Buying Wild Oats will help counter slowing growth at Whole Foods, which faced competition from Safeway Inc., Trader Joe's and other grocery stores selling organic and prepared food. First-quarter sales at Whole Foods stores open at least a year rose 7 percent, down from 13 percent a year earlier.

"Whole Foods had won the size game and was able to call the shots," said Matt Patsky, portfolio manager at Boston-based Winslow Management Co. which overseas $350 million, including Whole Foods shares.

Wild Oats posted a loss in two of the past five years and its sales climbed 26 percent over the period to $1.12 billion, while Whole Foods doubled profit and sales.

Experts have been saying for months that approval of a combined XM-Sirius depends on how the FCC and anti-trust regulators view the industry. If considered broadly, with digital music players and the Internet thought of as competition, then approval ought to be granted. However, if the government sees competition for XM and Sirius stemming only from each other and from free radio, then approval isn't likely.

Sirius and XM said Monday that they're confident they will be a single company by the end of the year. What they haven't yet decided is what their new company will be called and where it will be headquartered. Sirius is based in New York and XM in Washington, D.C.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin and XM chairman Gary Parsons will have those titles at the combined company, while a role for XM CEO Hugh Panero -- if there is to be one -- is unclear, except that he will remain CEO of XM until the merger is consummated.

The pace of U.S. home construction fell 14.3% in January, sharpest drop since October and much worse than economists had expected, a government report on Friday showed.

The drop followed two months of increases.

The Commerce Department said housing starts clocked an annual pace of 1.408 million units in January compared with a 1.643 million pace in December. January's pace was the lowest in nearly 10 years.

Economists had forecast January housing starts to fall to a 1.60 million pace from December's originally reported 1.642 million units annual rate.

Zander, speaking to analysts at a meeting in New York, said the move will save the company about $400 million over two years. The cuts from Motorola's workforce of about 70,000 are to be spread across the company globally and completed in the first half of 2007.

The world's No. 2 handset manufacturer also said it will beat Wall Street estimates for 2007 sales by as much as $3 billion, forecasting a full-year total of $46 billion to $49 billion. Analysts had predicted sales of $45.9 billion.

The announcements sent Motorola's stock surging despite a fourth-quarter earnings report that showed profits down 48% from a year earlier on a stumble in operating results from its handset business.

The announcement came after the world's No. 2 handset manufacturer reported that fourth-quarter profit fell 48% despite record sales as operating results stumbled during the key holiday selling season.