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IN BRIEF
Governments seek more Google data Subway sued on short footlongs Ikea planning to add 25 stores Web Talent wins marketing contest ENB lifts dividend
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google is being pulled into an increasing number of police and government investigations around the world as authorities seek to learn more about the people who use its Internet search engine, email and other services.
The latest snapshot of law enforcement agencies' efforts to extract personal information from Google emerged in a Wednesday report from the company.
Governments presented Google with 21,389 requests for information on 33,634 of its users during the last six months of 2012.
Authorities in the U.S. delivered nearly 8,438 of the requests, representing nearly 40 percent of the worldwide total. The U.S. volume was one-third higher than in the same period the previous year.
(AP) -- Two New Jersey men sued Subway this week, claiming the world's biggest fast-food chain has been shorting them by selling so-called footlong sandwiches that measure a bit less than 12 inches.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Superior Court in Mount Holly, may be the first legal filing aimed at the sandwich shops after an embarrassment went viral last week when someone posted a photo of a footlong and a ruler on the company's Facebook page to show that the sandwich was not as long as advertised.
Stephen DeNittis, the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the New Jersey suit, said he's seeking class-action status and also is preparing to file a similar suit in Pennsylvania state court in Philadelphia.
STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Ikea says it plans to open 25 new outlets and recruit 75,000 more workers overall by 2020, as its global market share last year increased with annual net profit growing 8 percent to $4.3 billion.
The world's largest furniture retailer on Wednesday reported revenue of $36.4 billion for the 2012 fiscal year, up from $34.6 billion a year earlier. The company does not release quarterly figures.
Ikea Group CEO Mikael Ohlsson said most growth last year was in China, Russia and Poland, closely followed by the United States and Germany.
Web Talent Marketing finished fourth in the Reader's Choice online marketing competition held recently by PromotionWorld.com. Votes were cast by SEO agencies, their clients and the public.
ENB Financial, owner of Ephrata National Bank, on Wednesday raised its dividend by 1 cent, to 26 cents per share. The new dividend is payable March 15 to shareholders of record Feb. 15.
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