Biz Buzz

LONG ISLAND

Eye on medical do-gooders

A Garden city eye doctor and his daughter this week are featured in a new ad campaign promoting their charitable work at a clinic in Ghana helping equip and train staff in advanced techniques for restoring sight to the blind. Marchon Eyewear Inc., with a Long Island workforce of 500, is mostly known for its upscale lines of sunglasses and eyeglasses for labels such as Fendi and Sean John. The company's promotion includes ads in optical trade magazines and a video on Marchon's website highlighting Dr. Gerard D'Aversa, of Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island, and his daughter, Jaclyn, a Barnard College senior. The D'Aversas spent 10 days in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, and donated equipment supplied by Island Eye Surgicenter of Carle Place and other firms. -- Joseph Mallia

NATION

Wal-Mart focuses on China

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to buy a controlling interest in the fast-growing Chinese online retailer Yihaodian. The big-box chain operator said it has agreed to increase its stake in Yihaodian's holding company to approximately 51 percent. Yihaodian sells more than 180,000 products, including groceries, electronics and apparel. It has expanded rapidly since it was founded in July 2008. Wal-Mart eCommerce executive Neil Ashe said the deal improves Wal-Mart's access to Chinese consumers who use smartphones and social media to shop. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It still must be approved by Chinese government regulators. -- AP

TV ads march to peppy beat

Dr. Scholl's wants to massage its arthritic image. The 106-year-old company Monday began airing TV ads to recast its orthopedic shoe inserts as "energizing cushions" that help people live life to the fullest. The campaign will replace the brand's "Are you gellin'?" commercials, which featured actors in stressful situations being transformed by the gel inserts into a relaxed mood. Company executives hope the new "Get up and go" tag line will help dispel the notion that Dr. Scholl's products are only for older people suffering aches and pains. The first ad shows a break-dancer slipping a gel pad into his shoe before flipping in the air. -- AP

Novel touts '08 meltdown

"The Darlings" tells a fictional tale about the downfall of a hedge fund and the wealthy family that owns it during Wall Street's 2008 meltdown, but many aspects of the novel are drawn straight from author Cristina Alger's reality. As a former Goldman Sachs analyst and bankruptcy attorney at a white-shoe law firm in New York, Alger knew that the twists and turns that led to many a Wall Street fiasco could make for a fascinating story. "No one's dying or no cars are blowing up, but it's incredibly fast-paced and interesting and complex," she said. The book, released Monday, is one of the first novels centered on the 2008 financial crisis. -- Reuters

Tycoon fights Wynn buyback

The biggest stakeholder in Las Vegas casino company Wynn Resorts Ltd. will fight the company's effort to forcibly buy back all of his shares. Kazuo Okada will "take all legal actions necessary to protect its investment and prevent" Wynn's attempt to sever ties with him, according to a statement late Sunday from Okada's Universal Entertainment Corp. Earlier Sunday, Wynn had accused the Japanese tycoon of making improper payments to overseas banking regulators, a violation of U.S. anti-corruption laws. -- AP

WORLD

Lloyds eliminates bonuses

Lloyds Banking Group has canceled bonus payments for its former chief executive and a dozen other directors over their involvement in the costly misselling of payment protection insurance. Lloyds, struggling to emerge from part-nationalization, has set aside 3.2 billion pounds ($5.1 billion) to reimburse people persuaded to buy policies which they did not need. That's by far the biggest provision by any British bank. Former chief executive Eric Daniels will lose 40 percent of his 2010 bonus, worth about $920,000. -- AP