NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Kraft Foods launched a $16.3 billion hostile takeover bid Monday for British candy company Cadbury after the deadline for the initial bid passed without a deal.

Cadbury, which initially rejected Kraft’s $16.7 billion offer in early September, spurned the deal again Monday.

“Cadbury is an exceptional standalone business,” said Roger Carr, chairman of Cadbury, in a statement. “Kraft’s offer does not come remotely close to reflecting the true value of our company, and involves the unattractive prospect of the absorption of Cadbury into a low growth conglomerate business model.”

Kraft did not increase its bid for Cadbury before taking the matter to shareholders.

The dark side of merger talk

“We remain convinced of the strategic merits for both companies of combining Kraft Foods and Cadbury,” said Kraft Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld, in a statement. “We believe that our proposal offers the best immediate and long-term value for Cadbury’s shareholders and for the company itself compared with any other option currently available, including Cadbury remaining independent.”

Details of the offer. Kraft has 28 days to draft a proposal to Cadbury’s shareholders and 60 days to round up a majority of shareholders to vote the deal through.

Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, is offering Cadbury’s shareholders $5 in cash and 0.26 share in Kraft.

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Are you worried about identity theft prevention? If you own a small business, you certainly should be! Find out what steps small business owners need to take to protect themselves, their employees, and their customers from identify theft.

Identity Theft Prevention: An Important Issue for Small Business

Identity theft is a problem that can impact any type of business, regardless of size or industry. If you’re a small business owner, it’s essential that you install a system of checks and balances to protect your company, your employees, and the people who do business with you against the dangers of identity theft.

Set and Enforce Effective Policies and Procedures

Review your policies and procedures to verify that they are written in a manner that provides for protection of the privacy of those who work with your company in any capacity. For example, make sure that you have a clear privacy policy and that the procedures for storing and safeguarding private information about your employees and customers are solid.

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As small business owners, we get to experience customer service from both sides, as customer service providers and as customers of other businesses. What was your worst customer service experience and how do you ensure that your customers and/or clients don’t experience that kind of customer service at your small business?

Your story will help other small businesses provide good customer service.

More Places to Share Your Stories

• How Did Your Small Business Survive the Recession?
• How Did You Get Into Starting a Small Business?

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Getting a job for the holiday season used to be as easy as heading to the local mall and asking for one. With the current economy, things are not quite as simple as they used to be. Even holiday jobs have become tough opportunities to come by, and it has become more vital than ever that you are prepared before you go looking for one. Still, it is possible to get a great job for the holiday season if you’re willing to put in the work to locate one.

One of the first things that you must do before you go looking for a holiday job is to have your resume in order. Many people make the mistake of thinking that a holiday job will not need a resume. While it’s true that this might be the case for some jobs, for other holiday jobs it could be exactly what causes you not to get the job. Holiday jobs are not just for teens and retirees anymore. Because so many people are out of work, even the normal working class will be looking for these types of jobs. If they have a strong resume, and you do not, then they have a leg up on you before you even begin.

Go outside your typical box in your search for a holiday job this season. Whi

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