A new analysis, which involved a review of three prior studies, suggests eating about a bar of chocolate a week can help cut the risk of stroke and lower the risk of death after a stroke. But the evidence is still limited, says study author, neurologist Gustavo Saposnik at St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto.

"This is something that requires further investigation," Saposnik says.

One study they looked at found that 44,489 people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22% less likely to have a stroke than people who ate no chocolate. Another study found that 1,169 people who ate 50 grams of chocolate once a week were 46% less likely to die following a stroke than people who didn't eat chocolate.

Kraft may sell at least $4 billion of notes due in 3.25, 6, 10 and 30 years, said a person familiar with the offering who declined to be identified because terms aren't set. The Northfield, Illinois-based company won the approval of Cadbury’s shareholders for the 11.7 billion pound ($18.6 billion) acquisition on Feb. 2.

Kraft is marketing its debt as yields on investment-grade corporate bonds rose to 4.623 percent on average yesterday, the highest level since Jan. 13. Investors concerned about the strength of the U.S. economy may favor the foodmaker's debt because its businesses aren't highly susceptible to recession, said William Larkin, who helps manage $500 million at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts.

"The food business is less economically sensitive, so it's the perfect play in this kind of marketplace," Larkin said. "Could banks have another leg down? It's possible, if unlikely. Will Kraft be around in 10 years? It's very likely."

Hershey Co. abandoned a plan to bid for Cadbury Plc after the U.K. confectioner accepted Kraft Foods Inc.'s 11.9 billion-pound ($19.2 billion) offer.

Hershey doesn't intend to make an offer, the company, based in the Pennsylvania town of the same name, said in a statement today. The decision not to consider an offer was made at a Jan. 20 board meeting, according to people familiar with the matter.

Kraft said Jan. 19 that its cash-and-stock offer for Cadbury won the U.K. candy company’s approval, after Hershey's board had spent months debating whether to bid and on what terms. U.K. takeover regulators gave Hershey until Jan. 25 to announce a bid or back out.

"It was always going to be a long shot for Hershey to get all their ducks in a row for a bid, and even if they put one together, they were up against a much larger suitor in Kraft," B. Craig Hutson, a corporate bond analyst for Gimme Credit in Chicago, said yesterday.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Kraft's biggest shareholder, urged fellow investors to oppose a plan to issue as many as 370 million shares to help buy the U.K.-based candy maker. Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld is seeking a "blank check" for the deal, Berkshire said yesterday.

"I think Buffett's got it nailed," said Donald Yacktman, founder of Yacktman Asset Management Co., which holds Kraft shares. "Kraft is hemmed in -- there's only so much they’re going to be able to do to make this acquisition." Buffett, who has said shareholders must act like owners, urged caution in negotiations after Cadbury rejected Kraft’s bid of 10.6 billion pounds ($17 billion). In publicly asking others to join him, the 79-year-old Berkshire chairman is drawing on his power as a 9.4 percent owner of Kraft and his standing in financial markets as the world’s preeminent investor.

Berkshire said it may support a Cadbury takeover if it concludes this month that the final offer "does not destroy value for Kraft shareholders." Buffett's assistant, Carrie Kizer, said the company had no comment. "If he says no, everybody else is going to pile on and say no too," said Justin Fuller, a partner at Midway Capital Research & Management who runs the buffettologist.com Web site.

Susan Dougherty, the investor, yesterday asked a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, to order the board to fulfill its duties to the company and shareholders by engaging in good-faith negotiations with Kraft. Cadbury is fighting a 10.4 billion- pound ($16.8 billion) hostile bid from Kraft.

"Rather than negotiate with Kraft in good faith in order to maximize value in a possible going-private transaction, the board has breached its fiduciary duty by spurning Kraft's offer to acquire the company for a significant premium," according to Dougherty's amended complaint. "Cadbury's purported justification for such conduct is untenable."

Cadbury Plc Chief Executive Officer Todd Stitzer told investors in New York last week that Hershey Co. could expect higher earnings per share if it bought Cadbury, while a Kraft deal may present more cost-cutting opportunities, according to people who heard him. Hershey and Ferrero SpA have said they are reviewing options for Cadbury. Neither has made an offer.

China saw chocolate confectionery sales jump 18 percent this year, while in the Ukraine sales rose 12 percent. Each of those countries has seen steady increases since 2005 and Mintel expects growth to continue through 2013.

In Cadbury’s home of Britain, sales of chocolate increased 5.9 percent in 2009. In America, the home of potential buyers Kraft and Hershey, people bought 2.6 percent more chocolate this year than last.