Business news in brief

The Campbell Soup Co. is introducing more beverages aimed at getting people to eat vegetables. The maker of V8 V-Fusion juices, as well as more traditional canned soup and other snacks, told analysts that its new line of V8 V-Fusion teas will hit stores next month. Like the juices, the teas will include vegetables but their flavor will be dominated by fruit. The teas are the biggest product introduction the Camden company announced Monday as part of a strategy to increase spending on its beverages and healthy snack lines. The company also announced new products for China and Russia, where it has focused on broths until now. In China, it plants to test condensed soups sold in pouches and cans. - AP

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine says she will vote to overhaul financial regulations, pushing the legislation to the verge of final passage and a victory for President Obama. Snowe becomes the third Republican to announce support for the bill, almost guaranteeing 60 votes to overcome procedural obstacles to the legislation. Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska said Monday he was still reviewing the bill. Nelson voted for an earlier Senate version of the legislation. Without him, Democrats would have to wait for West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, who is a Democrat, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Manchin said he would make an appointment as early as Friday. Earlier Monday, Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts announced that, after some misgivings, he would support the regulatory overhaul after all. - AP

Insurance conglomerate Aon Corp. said it had agreed to buy human resources specialist Hewitt Associates for $4.9 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that would nearly triple the size of its consulting business. Aon is the world's largest insurance broker but trails rival Marsh & McLennan Co., whose subsidiaries include Mercer and Oliver Wyman Group, in the size of its consulting business. Hewitt, based in Lincolnshire, Ill., is one of the world's biggest human resources consulting and outsourcing companies. - AP

A federal regulator is taking steps that could lead to the recovery of some losses sustained by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it was looking to get back money that the two government-controlled companies have lost on mortgage securities packaged and sold by Wall Street firms. During the housing market's boom years, the two government-

sponsored companies snapped up those securities, which contained some of the riskier loans made during the housing boom years. But they declined dramatically in value after the market went bust. The regulatory agency said it had issued 64 subpoenas seeking loan files and other documents to determine whether the sellers of those securities made any false statements or omissions. - AP

Federal bank regulators agreed to give the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. unlimited authority to investigate banks fully, clarifying the agency's power, which was in question during the financial crisis. The FDIC's board approved the agreement between the insurance agency and regulators at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department. It spells out the FDIC's authority to make special examinations of banks. It was approved 5-0. - AP

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said small businesses are having a tough time getting loans they need to expand or stay afloat and keep the U.S. economic recovery going. Some creditworthy firms with "strong" cash flows and a decline in collateral values are have trouble getting loans, Bernanke said in opening comments in Washington to a Fed-hosted conference. The central bank chief is increasing pressure on lenders to expand credit to help boost growth and employment after a report this month showed private employers added fewer workers to payrolls in June than forecast. Banks' loans to small businesses fell to $670 billion from $710 billion over the last two years, Bernanke said, citing government data. - Bloomberg News

Shopping mall owner General Growth Properties Inc., which is trying to emerge from bankruptcy protection, said it is getting a $500 million infusion from a Texas teachers' pension fund. The Chicago developer, whose properties include Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem, Bucks County, said the Teacher Retirement System of Texas would receive shares priced at $10.25 per share in the reorganized company in exchange for the cash. General Growth also owns Christiana Mall in Newark, Del. The deal is part of the requirements for the company to emerge from Chapter 11 protection and needs bankruptcy court approval. - AP

Greece's Finance Ministry says the country's budget deficit has been cut by 46 percent in the first half of the year, exceeding government targets. A ministry statement says preliminary data show overspending amounted to $12 billion on a fiscal basis in the January-June period, compared with $22.4 billion in the first half of 2009. The government is targeting a 39.5 percent cut this year to bring the deficit from 13.6 percent of annual output in 2009 to 8.1 percent. - AP

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.150 percent, down from 0.165 percent last week. Another $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.200 percent, down from 0.205 percent last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,996.21 while a six-month bill sold for $9,989.89. - AP

The Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, was 0.31 percent last week, unchanged from the previous week. - AP