McDonald's and others supporting 'genocide Olympics,' activists say
BusinessWeek Feb 20, 08 1:19 PM CST
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Activists are preparing to plaster college campuses with posters with charges like “McDonald’s: Proud Sponsor of the Genocide Olympics,” hoping to pressure multinational corporations sponsoring the Beijing Games into doing more about Darfur, BusinessWeek reports. Buying oil from Sudan makes China a sponsor of the region's genocide, the thinking goes, and Olympics backers like McDonald's are sponsoring the sponsors of the killing.
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Slumping company looks to both high-end and low-end products
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Feb 15, 08 9:03 CST
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Struggling with its first major sales slump, Starbucks hopes to lure back customers with a $2.50 cup of luxury coffee. The company hopes to find a high-end niche among serious coffee aficionados with the new brew, made in an $11,000 gizmo similar to a French press, Bloomberg reports. The company already is experimenting with a $1 cup with free refills.
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MARKETS
Investors look for grim housing numbers to lead to a cut
MarketWatch Jan 28, 08 3:48 PM CST
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Stocks finished in positive territory today, riding hopes that grim new housing numbers will lead the Fed to cut interest rates this week. "The main event for the week will be the Fed-rate decision on Wednesday," a strategist tells MarketWatch. The Dow was up 176.72 to 12,383.89, the Nasdaq 23.71 to 2,349.91, and the S&P 23.36 to 1,353.97.
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McDonald's training program will result in nationally-recognized credit
Guardian (UK) Jan 28, 08 8:11 CST
(Newser)
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Gordon Brown parried criticism today for his government's decision to give students school credit for completing a McDonald's "basic shift manager" course, and other entry-level corporate training programs. "It's not that standards are going to fall. It's going to be a tough course," Brown said of the new vocational credential. "Once you've got that qualification you can go anywhere."
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Java giant also trying free refills in Seattle experiment
Wall Street Journal Jan 23, 08 2:50 PM CST
(Newser)
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Starbucks is offering a low-cost option as it experiments with new approaches in the face of fresh competition from McDonald's, the Wall Street Journal reports. While Starbucks made its fortune on extravagantly named $4 offerings, an 8-ounce “short” cup is now available for $1 in the Seattle area, and the firm is also offering free refills on some brews.
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MARKETS
Index nosedives after more bad news about spending
Wall Street Journal Jan 11, 08 3:25 PM CST
(Newser)
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The Dow plunged 246.79 points to 12,606.30 today as investors, worried about consumer spending, fled retailers and credit-card issuers. Analysts are concerned the mortgage crisis has finally hit pocketbooks, hurting credit, jobs, and public confidence, the Wall Street Journal reports.The Nasdaq slid 48.58 to close at 2,439.94, and the S&P 500 fell 19.31 to 1,401.02.
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Fast-food giant
adds baristas, fancy coffee, $1B in sales
Wall Street Journal Jan 7, 08 11:15 CST
(Newser)
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You’ll be able to get cappuccinos, lattes, and frappes from a certified barista beneath the Golden Arches this fall, reports the Wall Street Journal, as McDonald's takes on Starbucks. It’s the fast-food behemoth's biggest menu addition in 30 years, and the company expects it to bring in $1 billion annually. It’s also a huge risk, because McDonald's traditionally appeals to customers who want simple, cheap food.
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Madison Avenue product placements court cyber-audiences
New York Times Nov 16, 07 12:56 PM CST
(Newser)
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As broadband Internet access becomes all-pervasive, more Americans are turning from the tube to YouTube—and Madison Avenue is taking notice. The New York Times looks at the advertising industry's foray into online television, eager to get their products in front of the young, male, affluent audiences of Internet channels like Blip.TV or Blame Society. The technique is different, with product placement at the heart of the strategy.
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Customer traffic down at coffee-shop giant's US stores for the first time
Bloomberg Nov 15, 07 9:51 PM CST
(Newser)
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Starbucks reported its first-ever decline in US customer visits today, reports Bloomberg. The coffee juggernaut lowered its profit and sales forecast, and shares of its stock fell 8.3%. The profit revision suggests that Starbucks is losing customers to McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, where a cup of coffee may cost $1 or less.
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Burger chain, er, beverage destination adds gourmet coffee, frappes, smoothies
Associated Press Nov 14, 07 9:00 CST
(Newser)
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Vanilla lattes, cafe mochas, and caramel cappuccinos are coming to your local Golden Arches as McDonald’s Corp. positions itself to take a slice of the booming $12 billion specialty beverage market and become a “beverage destination,” reports the AP. McDonald’s will launch a sausage skillet burrito in two weeks and a Southern-style chicken biscuit next year.
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Wall Street Journal Oct 16, 07 12:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Russians can’t get enough of McDonald’s, which is a good but frustrating situation for the fast-food giant. The company could easily open 100 new restaurants, executives tell the Journal, save for two things: their new corporate philosophy, which values quality over growth, and Russia’s rampant bureaucracy.
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S&P has risen five straight weeks
CNN Oct 12, 07 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Surging tech stocks and positive economic news that eased recession fears helped fuel the first market rally in three days today, with the S&P 500 capping its fifth straight week of gains to close at 1,561.80, up 7.39. The Dow added 77.96 to close at 14,093.08, and the Nasdaq climbed a whopping 33.48, or 1.21%, to wrap up at 2,805.68.
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Jurors say franchise negligent in hoax
Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.) Oct 6, 07 10:03 CDT
(Newser)
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A Kentucky jury has ordered McDonald's to pay $6.1 million to settle the case of an employee who was strip-searched in the fast-food restaurant as part of a hoax. Jurors gave Louise Ogborn, 18 at the time, hefty punitive damages because McDonald's didn't seem all that concerned about warning employees about a roving prankster, the Courier - Journal reported.
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Food giant reacts to critics with new menus and marketing, but still loves trans fat
Baltimore Sun Sep 22, 07 5:36 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Ronald McDonald is smiling as his stock soars and critics give grudging respect to his new menus, the AP reports. McDonald’s hasn’t yielded on all fronts – its fries still simmer in trans-fatty cooking oil – but nimble reactions to critics have helped boost the stock from $12 in 2003 to $54.80 yesterday. "Consumers' attention span is pretty short," says one analyst.
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