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Can General Mills invest enough in itself to compete?

Years of cost-cutting have limited spending on new products and advertising, its CEO says

Boxes of Cheerios ceral, made by General Mills. 
Boxes of Cheerios ceral, made by General Mills. 
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

It’s a tough time to be a packaged food company. Yesterday, General Mills reported disappointing earnings. Conagra — maker of Chef Boyardee and Reddi-wip — reports tomorrow. On one side, American shoppers are increasingly skeptical of processed food. That means once-iconic products aren’t selling as well as they used to. On another, Wall Street keeps pressing for higher profits and cost-cutting, which makes it harder to invest in developing new products. 

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