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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: consumer

consumer stories: 49 news summaries

21 - 40 of 49 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>

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America,
as Defined
by Wal-Mart

With firm grasp on US consumers, snapshot of giant's sales is a self-portrait

Sep 13, 07 4:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Wal-Mart knows a lot about Americans, courtesy of the 208 million US consumers who shop there every year. ABC News takes a look at the superstore's sales figures and finds a portrait of the nation's changing face and taste. Some highlights: Boxers are tied with briefs; Ohio buys the most... More »

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retail • shopping • consumer • America • Americans • Wal-Mart

Italy Says Ciao to Pasta for a Day

Consumers angry about rising prices call for boycott

Sep 13, 07 2:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mama mia! Italians fed up with rising pasta prices will do the unthinkable today—ditch their beloved starches for a day. Consumers are being urged to boycott the nation's signature dish for a day because prices have risen 20 percent in recent months. Pasta makers say they're at the mercy... More »

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food • consumer • Italy • strike • pasta • boycott

Contrite Jobs Offers $100 iPhone Credit

So sorry he dismissed price-cut complaints from first buyers

Sep 7, 07 6:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - It didn’t take Apple CEO Steve Jobs long to reverse his dismissal of complaints about the new iPhone discount from the first consumers to buy the gadget. He apologized and  instituted a $100 credit for those who don't fall under the 14-day refund period. Jobs had told early buyers... More »

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Steve Jobs • iPhone • consumer • Apple • credit

Early Adopters Yowl as iPhone Price Drops

Apple's $200 cut riles consumers, keeps rumor mill working overtime

Sep 6, 07 9:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Folks who ponied up for the first iPhones are angry that Apple has slashed prices by one-third only 2 months after unveiling them. Fuming over the $200 cut threatens to eclipse yesterday's iPod news, the Times of London reports. “Steve Jobs owes an apology to the million or so... More »

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Steve Jobs • iPhone • consumer • Apple • price cut

AT&T Slims Down Mammoth iPhone Bills

Online summaries will replace hefty paper records

Aug 23, 07 6:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - AT&T will no longer mail out meticulously itemized iPhone bills after receiving a wave of complaints from consumers, some of whom had received bills tens—or even hundreds—of pages long. The bills listed each and every data transfer charge, the Times reports, even though iPhones come with an... More »

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iPhone • consumer • AT and T • bills

Weak Wal-Mart Profits Turn Smiles Upside-Down

Stock dips in early trading on anemic report

Aug 14, 07 10:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Wal-Mart stock saw its biggest dip in five years in early trading this morning, after Q2 profits rose less than analysts had expected. The Arkansas-based behemoth says full-year profit will total $3.13 a share, 3 cents lighter than its projections: Bloomberg reports that surging gas prices, faltering home sales... More »

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stock market • retail • consumer • stocks • shares • H. Lee Scott • spending • gas prices • mortgage rates • Wal-Mart

Product Design Gets Wilder, Faster

Today it's round Kleenex boxes; tomorrow, talking ones

Aug 10, 07 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Commercial product design is being overhauled faster and faster as brands compete in a fragmented market. The Internet and cable TV have diluted the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and companies are spending more money on engaging design to win customers: Pepsi, for one, is rolling out a new can every... More »

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media • advertising • shopping • consumer • design • product design • Internet advertising

States Accuse IPhone of Battery Gouging

NY says Apple can't charge $79 to replace device sealed in cell

Aug 2, 07 7:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - New York state officials are demanding that Apple stop forcing consumers to pay a premium to exchange batteries on their new iPhones, days after an Illinois class-action lawsuit over the charge for a new charge. Apple asks $79 to replace the batteries, which are sealed inside the phone, making them... More »

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iPhone • consumer • Apple • battery • lawsuit

Mattel Recalls
1.5M Toys
Made in China

Lead-tainted paint the culprit in Sesame Street, Nick items

Aug 2, 07 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mattel is recalling some 1.5 million Chinese-made toys found to have "excessive levels" of lead in their paint. The Elmo's Guitar, Ernie Splashin' Fun Trike and 81 other  types of toys, mostly Nickelodean and Sesame Street products, were marketed under Mattel's Fisher-Price brand and cost between $5 and... More »

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China • consumer • toys • recall • product safety • Mattel • Fisher-Price

Consumer Confidence Rises

Shoppers buying again after June slump

Jul 31, 07 4:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Consumer spending rose more than expected this month, to its highest level in 6 years, after shoppers tightened their belts in June, Bloomberg reports. Consumer confidence jumped 7.3 points according to a Conference Board index, suggesting the slump was temporary. Economists chalk up the spending jump to low unemployment... More »

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inflation • real estate • consumer • housing market • income • unemployment • consumer confidence index

Chinese Goods Flunk Gov't Safety Tests

Nearly 20% of domestic consumer products can't meet quality standards

Jul 4, 07 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Chinese government acknowledged today what people around the world suspected—many products manufactured by the world's largest exporter of consumer goods are unsafe. One-fifth of its manufactured wares fail to meet government safety standards, a regulatory agency said in a posting on its website. Despite the findings, which did... More »

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China • food • consumer • pet food recall • imports • exports • safety • contamination • recall

Chill Spreads to Durable Goods

Orders for big-ticket items plunge more than predicted, clouding recovery forecasts

Jun 27, 07 10:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Orders for durable goods nosedived in May, suggesting that sunny forecasts for business spending may be overly optimistic. The 2.8% drop, the first decline in 4 months, nearly tripled the predicted 1% dip, Bloomberg reports. Excluding the volatile transportation sectors, the figure was off 1%, Commerce Department stastics released... More »

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consumer • economic growth • durable goods • business • US economy

Consumer Confidence,
New Home Sales Slump

Grim economic indicators continue to stack up

Jun 26, 07 12:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Indicating that the topsy-turvy economy probably won't be righting itself anytime soon, consumer confidence dropped in May, as did new home sales, a signal that the reeling housing market has yet to hit bottom. The Fed will likely take up consumer worries at a 2-day meeting that starts tomorrow, Bloomberg... More »

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real estate • consumer • housing market • Federal Reserve • subprime mortgages • homes • mortgage • home sales • housing starts

Safety of Chinese-Made Toys Is Hardly Child's Play

Flood of recalls raises concerns

Jun 19, 07 7:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - The latest Chinese products posing safety problems for consumers are children's toys, joining toothpaste, pet food, and drugs on an increasingly worrisome list, the New York Times reports. Last week's recall of Thomas & Friends train toys brought the total number of toys recalled by the US this year to... More »

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China • consumer • pet food recall • toothpaste • children • toys • safety • Thomas and Friends

UK Moves
to Measure Products' Eco-Impact

Labels will allow consumers to compare

May 31, 07 11:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Calories, fat, sodium ... carbon footprint? The new measurement may soon appear on British product packaging. Under a plan proposed yesterday, the government will develop standards to measure a product's environmental impact from manufacture through shipment and disposal, allowing companies to list the information as they do nutrition facts. Consumers can... More »

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environment • retail • global warming • carbon footprint • United Kingdom • consumer • Britain

Gas Spikes to All-Time Record

Pump pain hits consumer spending

May 21, 07 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gas hit a record high of $3.18 yesterday, soaring past the previous all-time high, the inflation-adjusted 1981 price of $3.15 per gallon. A spate of fires and power outages have crippled the nation's refineries, sending prices soaring even as crude oil costs drop. That's turning consumers away from... More »

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oil • gas • consumer • fuel efficiency • fuel • gas prices

Small Labels
Are the New Fashion Stars

Trendy, casual designers are edging out the stalwarts

May 18, 07 1:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Women of all ages are springing for trendier clothes from newer labels, and the fashion industry is scrambling to keep up, the Wall Street Journal reports. The fastest growing segment of the industry is small risk-taking labels that have elevated casual pieces like jeans, t-shirts and  cotton dresses to edgy... More »

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retail • fashion • shopping • consumer • women • marketing • celebrity • clothes • fashion designer

Eco-Awareness Is In The (Reusable) Bag

From cheap to designer,
totes help eliminate the plastic glut

May 7, 07 10:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Whether it's a designer tote bag with a three-figure price tag or a $5 carryall from the convenience store, Americans are slowly catching on to the European trend of answering the eternal question "paper or plastic" with "neither." Tote bags eliminate environmental stress, proclaim a consumer's eco-friendliness,... More »

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environment • fashion • shopping • environmentalism • consumer • plastic • tote bag • paper bags

JCPenney Dominates Online

Apr 30, 07 12:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The identity of one of the web's largest and most successful retailers may come as a surprise. It's JCPenney, Business Week reports, and it attracted 926,000 paying customers to its website in the first quarter—a number that ranks the 105-year-old company with web giants like eBay, Amazon, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • retail • shopping • consumer • online retailers • JCPenney

Carbon Offsets Are Often Scams

Trading on eco-guilt, firms are selling worthless carbon credits

Apr 26, 07 7:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Carbon offsets—the credits gas-guzzling consumers buy to cancel out their carbon production—may do little or nothing more than assuage consciences, a Financial Times investigation concludes. Some companies sell worthless credits; others use them to finance environmental projects they had planned anyway. And consumers have no means to know... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • environment • global warming • carbon footprint • consumer • carbon offsets • carbon trading • carbon production • carbon emissions

21 - 40 of 49 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>


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