Shares of meat producer Tyson Foods Inc. dropped Thursday after the company said it plans to sell 20 million shares and $450 million worth of notes in a public offering.

Among the stock activity stories for Thursday, Sept. 4, from AP Financial News:

Meat producer Tyson Foods Inc. said Thursday it will offer 20 million shares of its Class A stock in a public offering.

It's a game of political chicken, and U.S. poultry producers are caught in the middle.

THE BAN: Russia, the top market for U.S. chicken exports, will start banning imports from 19 plants on Monday. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the bans are because of ignored warnings about inspections.

Credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has placed the ratings of Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat company, on review for a potential downgrade.

Russia, the biggest market for U.S. poultry exporters, will ban imports from 19 producers in the United States and warned on Friday that another 29 suppliers face a possible ban on health and safety grounds.

Shares of the nation's top meat producers continued to fall Thursday on worries of potential cuts by Russia to chicken and pork import quotas.

As the stock market slogs through a dismal year, some investment pros think it's time to look beyond the relative safety of index funds and take a chance on specific sectors and individual stocks.

Despite the looming slowdown and possible recession in global economies, the emerging markets trade continues to survive.

Even in the face of economic numbers seemingly showing a big pop in the Consumer Price Index, investors have begun to consider inflation almost an afterthought.

Stocks declined Monday, led by financials after two more banks folded. Oil ticked higher after three straight weeks of decline, clipping consumer-discretionary stocks, including homebuilders, airlines and retailers.

CNBC asked the market pros for their best investment advice right now. Here's what some of them had to say.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that Tyson Foods Inc. routinely gave chickens an antibiotic that can be used in humans, even though the company had defended its "raised without antibiotics" claim by saying it only used an antibiotic not used in people.

Stocks finished flat Monday as concerns about the Federal Reserve's rate decision in a couple of days kept a lid on activity generated by merger buzz.