Business

Business briefs

Vanishing act

The US government posted a 38 percent smaller budget deficit in the 10 months through July than a year earlier. The US remains on track to post its lowest annual budget gap in five years.

Yum bummer

KFC parent Yum Brands said a key sales figure for its critical China unit fell 13 percent in July as diners remained reluctant to eat chicken amid an outbreak of avian flu. The news sent shares down 4.1 percent to $71.40 in after-hours trading.

‘Jet’ fillin’ up

JetBlue Airways’ traffic rose 7.3 percent in July from a year earlier, as the passenger airline continued to increase its capacity and flew fuller planes. Shares closed up 1.2 percent to $6.36.

Got its ‘Wish’

Pinnacle Foods, the maker of Hungry Man dinners that’s majority-owned by Blackstone Group, agreed to buy Unilever’s Wish-Bone unit for $580 million, adding the US market leader for Italian salad dressings.

’Essence’ chief

Vanessa Bush was named editor-in-chief of Essence magazine on July 31. The Post’s “On the Newsstand” reported on Monday that the position was still vacant.