American Airlines-US Airways: What it means for you

12:30 PM AirlinesUS, Airways, American, means No Comments

A. Pawlowski , NBC News contributor – 3 days

Now that the long-rumored merger between American Airlines and US Airways is finally a reality, travelers may be nervous about what’s next -- and rightly so.

“There will be winners and losers,” said Tim Winship, editor and publisher of FrequentFlier.com.

Here are some of the consequences you can expect with the creation of the world’s newest mega-carrier.

Airfares won’t immediately shoot higher
Fliers planning a trip on either carrier don’t need to worry that tickets will suddenly become more expensive overnight. Nothing will probably change in the very near term, said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com.

“It’s going to take them quite a while before these two airlines are actually one airline,” he predicted.

But airfares will eventually increase
When the merger is finally consummated and the combined airline starts cutting or combining routes, fares will go up, especially for business travelers who do same-day round trips, don’t stay over Saturday night or don’t have an advance purchase, Hobica said.

Routes that will be most affected are those that American and US Airways both flew non-stop, such as Charlotte, N.C., to Miami; and Dallas to Philadelphia, he added.

“We’ve seen this happen time and time again in previous mergers,” Hobica said.

Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, noted that competition is the main driver of cheaper airline ticket prices, so with fewer carriers competing for your business, there’s less incentive to cut fares.

“The only good news is that if airlines get too frisky with higher prices, consumers will let them know quickly by cutting back on air travel,” Seaney said. “With so few domestic airlines ... consumers’ wallet size will be the last line of defense.”

The transition will be a pain for travelers
There’s no doubt about it: Fliers will likely have to endure some computer glitches, reservation snafus and system hiccups when the two airlines begin to integrate their operations.

Typically, there are problems during mergers, Hobica said, though he pointed out that the marriage between Delta Air Lines and Northwest went smoothly.

But just look at United Airlines, which experienced several major computer problems last year as it tried to combine systems after its merger with Continental. In some cases, passengers were stranded for hours.

“I would be very surprised if there were no glitches,” Winship said. “At the end of the day, the new company will be the world’s largest airline ... that won’t happen without a lot of pain.”

He recommended that frequent fliers check their accounts carefully just to make sure all of their miles show up correctly after the two carriers become one.

Elite-status fliers expecting an upgrade may be in for a surprise
When the two airlines’ frequent flier programs merge, there will suddenly be an overabundance of elite-status members competing for perks, particularly upgrades, Winship noted.

“There are only so many upgrades to go around,” he said. “At least in the first year, it’s going to be very difficult – especially for lower-level elites – (to get upgraded) because they have the lowest priority ... it’s going to be a serious problem for people who have made it a priority to earn elite status.”

Longer term, the sudden glut of elites may ease somewhat because fliers will have to requalify to get their status for the following year, Winship said.

Still, airlines industry-wide have been cutting back on benefits for lower-level elites so that carriers have more to offer for their most profitable customers, he added.

Hobica thinks the combined airline will follow the Delta model, which will reward passengers who spend the most money on tickets, not just fly the most miles.

The new airline will be stronger
This is the good news about the marriage of American Airlines and US Airways, experts said. The new carrier is poised to deliver a better product and become a bigger player on a global scale.

“(The merger) is likely to make the combined entities stronger in the long run – thus more profitable,” Seaney said.

“With financial stability airlines can improve their woefully neglected product. Consumers will be much more likely to board their next flight on a plane built this century and in many cases even this decade.”

Hobica noted that international carriers, such as Turkish Airlines, are starting to add routes from U.S. airports, hoping to siphon off lucrative international travelers, especially those flying in international business class. The merger will help the new airline compete with those carriers, Hobica said.

“It will definitely be stronger,” he added.

Read More

USPS urges Congress to help it avoid taxpayer bailout

1:30 PM avoid, bailout, Congress, taxpayer, urges No Comments

Reuters – 4 days

U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe pleaded with lawmakers Wednesday not to block the financially strapped Postal Service from moving ahead with plans to end Saturday first-class mail delivery.

Last week, the Postal Service rattled lawmakers and other stakeholders when it announced plans to end delivery of first-class mail, magazines and direct mail on Saturdays, starting in August. The plan, the Postal Service said, would save the agency $2 billion a year when fully implemented.

No law requires the Postal Service to deliver mail six days a week, but Congress included a provision in legislation to fund the federal government each year that has prevented the USPS from reducing delivery service.

The current funding measure expires in March, and would free the Postal Service to change its delivery schedule unless Congress prohibits it in the next spending resolution.

But some lawmakers and trade groups have argued that the savings from this plan are too small compared to the $20 billion budgetary gap the Postal Service needs to fill.

"The financial problems of the Postal Service are getting bigger every year," Donahoe said. "Congress can avoid a future scenario in which the Postal Service requires a taxpayer bailout - which could be in excess of $45 billion dollars by 2017 if we don't change our business model."

The Postal Service, which lost nearly $16 billion last year, has been grappling with tumbling mail volumes as Americans communicate more online, and has struggled under the weight of massive required payments for future retiree health benefits.

It has repeatedly urged Congress to pass legislation to restructure its operations and allow it to get on better financial footing.

Lawmakers at a Senate committee hearing agreed that urgent postal legislation was necessary, but not over how to save the Postal Service.

U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, California Republican who wants new legislation to help the Postal Service, said in testimony that other countries such as Australia, Canada, Finland and Spain have been successful in shifting to five-day delivery, and the USPS can do the same and save money.

"It's very clear that ultimately, either the rate payer or the taxpayer will have to pay the $20 billion in debt of the Postal Service," Issa said.

Current laws, Donahoe said, limit the flexibility of the struggling mail carrier to implement changes that would help it become more profitable and offer new products and services. He wants lawmakers to allow the agency to control its own employees' healthcare funding.

The Postal Service pays $13.1 billion annually in healthcare costs, including mandatory payments into its future retirees' healthcare fund. The Postal Service has blamed much of its financial troubles on this prefund mandate put in place by a 2006 law.

Over the last six year, the Postal Service has eliminated more than 190,000 jobs, Donahoe said, in attempts to cut costs. But it still needs Congress to free its hands to handle more of its affairs.

"If legislation is not enacted - and soon - to provide the necessary reforms and flexibilities to achieve savings and generate new revenues, we will all be back here again, discussing the same issues," Donahoe told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

3-D movies push up ticket prices to all-time high

7:00 AM alltime, movies, prices, ticket No Comments

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Movie theaters and studios have increasingly turned to techno wizardry innovations to lure viewers into the theater by offering them the one thing they can't recreate in their living room, even with a high-def flat-screen TV.

By Ben Popken, TODAY contributor
Blame the 3D goggles.

Average movie theater ticket prices hit an all-time not adjusted for inflation high of $7.96, reports the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO).

That number is essentially the sum of all ticket revenue divided by all tickets sold among the chains surveyed, NATO spokesperson Patrick Corcoran said. It includes lower cost admissions, like discounted tickets for matinee, children, and seniors, as well as bulk rates like the 10-packs of movie tickets for $72, or $7.20 a ticket, recently sold by Costco. At the higher end, the average also includes figures like one adult ticket to "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - An IMAX 3D Experience" at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 in Manhattan selling for $21.

Combating market intrusion by Netflix, streaming video on demand, BitTorrent, and other home-viewing options, movie theaters and studios have increasingly turned to techno-wizardry innovations to lure consumers once again into darkened cinemas by offering them the one thing they can't recreate in their living room, even with a high-def flat-screen TV.

"It's not so much a rise in prices as it reflects how people are going to see the movies," said Corcoran. "More adults are going to the movies... there's more 3D and IMAX in the marketplace and they charge more."

The release of films like "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Skyfall" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" helped pump up prices in 2012. All were available in IMAX, while Twilight and Hobbit were also available in 3D and IMAX 3D. "The Hobbit" was also shown in some theaters in a "High Frame Rate" format, shot at 48 frames per second instead of the usual 24. Tickets for these special formats usually carry an average $3 markup.

The $7.96 average ticket price is up three cents from 2011 and the .4 percent growth rate is the 18th year of annual increases. However, the ticket price only just recently edged over into "all-time high" status. The bulk of the increases came in 2008, 2009, and 2010 at 4.4 percent, 4.5 percent and 5.2 percent respectively. In those years it became more common to offer 3D and IMAX versions of films.

But the trend has jumped the 3D shark. In May 2013, moviegoers will be treated to a 3D version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary classic, "The Great Gatsby." The film will no doubt feature 3D polo balls hurtling at viewer's faces, 3D flapper kicks, and 3D green lights beckoning from beyond the edge of a 3D dock.

In Fitzgerald's novel, the green light was a symbol of the alluring and unattainable American dream. For theaters and studios, the dream of turning back the trend of home-viewing over going to the nickelodeon will remain similarly out of grasp.

Read More

T. Rowe Price opposes Dell buyout

10:00 AM buyout, opposes, Price No Comments

Aaron Pressman and Tim McLaughlin , Reuters – 5 days

Money manager T. Rowe Price Group on Tuesday became the latest major shareholder of computer maker Dell to oppose Dell's leveraged buyout offer.

"We believe the proposed buyout does not reflect the value of Dell, and we do not intend to support the offer as put forward," T. Rowe Chief Investment Officer Brian Rogers said in a statement.

T. Rowe's decision to oppose the $13.65 per share offer from Dell founder Michael Dell and private equity shop Silver Lake Partners could add significant pressure for a higher offer. T. Rowe controlled 4.4 percent of Dell shares as of Sept. 30, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Other shareholders with an estimated total stake of 14 percent are also opposing or leaning against the deal.

Shares of Dell traded above the offer price to $13.80, up 0.76 percent on the day, after the T. Rowe Price announcement.

On Friday, Southeastern Asset Management, with an 8.5 percent stake, said in a securities filing that it would vote against the deal. Three other major shareholders are also expected to oppose the offer, sources have told Reuters.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

Tiny fibers may be culprit in 787 battery failure

1:00 PM battery, culprit, failure, fibers No Comments

Reuters – 5 days

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether tiny fiber-like formations, known as dendrites, inside lithium-ion batteries could have played a role in battery failures on two Boeing Co 787 Dreamliners last month.

Dendrites - just one of several possible causes under investigation by the agency - accumulate as a battery is charged and discharged, and can cause short circuits, according to battery experts.

"As part of our continuing investigation, we are looking at whether dendrites may or may not have been a factor," Kelly Nantel, director of public affairs for the NTSB, told Reuters in an email.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the NTSB was looking into dendrites, suggesting that investigators were looking at the tiny deposits as a major element in the probe.

Nantel said the NTSB has not ruled out any potential causes and that dendrites are "one of many things we are looking at" in determining what caused a battery aboard a parked Japan Airlines 787 to catch fire in Boston on Jan. 7.

"We are still considering several potential causes for the short circuiting" in the sixth of eight cells in the battery on the JAL plane, Nantel said.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said last week that a short circuit in the lithium-ion battery had caused the fire.

The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) is investigating a second 787 battery incident that prompted an All Nippon Airways plane to make an emergency landing in western Japan on Jan. 16. That battery showed signs of overheating.

Air safety regulators worldwide later grounded all 787s until the cause and a solution are found.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The planemaker completed what it called an uneventful test flight of a 787 on Saturday, its first since the lightweight, carbon-composite aircraft was grounded.

Nantel said other factors under investigation include the state of charge of each cell and the method and delivery of that charge, contamination, electrode folds, wrinkles and pinches, "and the assembly of the cells and battery."

The NTSB is also looking at "the total design of the battery, including the physical separation of the cells, their electrical interconnections, and their thermal isolation from each other," she added.

Shares in GS Yuasa Corp, a Japanese firm that makes batteries for the 787, slipped 0.3 percent to 329 yen in Tokyo on Tuesday, underperforming a 2.4 percent gain on the benchmark Nikkei.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters

Read More

Sandy officially U.S.'s second-costliest hurricane

1:30 PM hurricane, officially, Sandy, secondcostliest No Comments

DAVID PORTER Associated Press – 5 days

Superstorm Sandy was the deadliest hurricane to hit the northeastern U.S. in 40 years and the second-costliest in the nation's history, according to a report released Tuesday.

The storm's effects reached far and wide, according to the National Hurricane Center report. While Sandy visited devastation on the East Coast, principally New Jersey and New York, it created wind gusts as far west as Wisconsin and as far north as Canada and caused water levels to rise from Florida to Maine, the center found.

The hurricane center attributed 72 U.S. deaths directly to Sandy, from Maryland to New Hampshire. That is more than any hurricane to hit the northeastern U.S. since Hurricane Agnes killed 122 people in 1972, according to the center's records covering 1851 to 2010. The report counted at least 87 other deaths that were indirectly tied to Sandy, from causes such as hypothermia due to power outages, carbon monoxide poisoning and accidents during cleanup efforts.

The deadliest hurricane in U.S. history hit Galveston, Texas, in 1900 and killed 8,000 to 12,000 people.

The report estimated damage caused by Sandy at $50 billion, greater than any U.S. hurricane except Katrina, which in 2005 caused $108 billion in damage, or $128 billion adjusted to 2012 dollars. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused $26.5 billion in damage in Florida, or the equivalent of $44 billion today.

Tuesday's report describes Sandy's beginnings as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa on Oct. 11 that initially produced a wide area of showers and thunderstorms in the eastern Atlantic. It reached the Caribbean on Oct. 18 and gradually strengthened into a hurricane by Oct. 24. It temporarily weakened below hurricane strength while passing Cuba, then regained hurricane strength as it approached the U.S. on October 27.

The storm grew significantly as it passed through the Bahamas on Oct. 25 and 26, so that by the time it reached landfall in southern New Jersey its gale-force winds covered a diameter of 870 nautical miles, or about 1,000 miles.

While passing over Jamaica, it dumped up to 28 inches of rain in some spots. In the U.S., southern New Jersey, Delaware and eastern Maryland were hit the hardest, with the peak amount of rain measured at just under 13 inches in Bellevue on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

More than 650,000 U.S. homes were damaged or destroyed by the storm, and more than 8 million customers lost power, according to the report.

The highest storm surge measured by tide gauges in New Jersey was 8? feet over normal levels at Sandy Hook, though it likely was higher because the storm knocked out the gauges, according to the report. The highest surge in New York was more than 12? feet at Kings Point on the western edge of Long Island Sound.

Read More

Apple CEO calls Einhorn lawsuit 'a silly sideshow'

6:00 PM Apple, calls, Einhorn, lawsuit, sideshow, silly No Comments

Javier E. David, CNBC contributor , CNBC – 5 days

Apple's CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday rebutted criticism that his company was too tight-fisted with the $137 billion in cash it has amassed over the years, saying the tech giant "does not have a Depression-era mentality" preventing it from returning money to shareholders.

Wading into a controversy that was bought to a head last week by fund manager David Einhorn, Cook touted his company's investment in product development and research. The CEO rejected the basis of a lawsuit filed by Einhorn that the fund manager asserts will restrict Apple's ability to distribute its excess cash to its investors.

"Frankly I find it bizarre that we would find ourselves being sued for doing something that's good for shareholders," Cook told the Goldman Sachs' Technology and Internet Conference. He branded Einhorn's lawsuit as a "a silly sideshow."

Countering Einhorn's pointed criticism that the company was behaving like his cash-hoarding grandmother who lived through the Depression, Cook said his company invested $10 billion in capital expenditures last year, and would do the same this year.

"We do have some cash, but it's a privilege to be in this position ...where we can seriously consider returning additional cash to our shareholders."

He nevertheless said that Apple would "thoroughly consider" Einhorn's proposal to return cash to shareholders.

For his part, Einhorn managed to use his lawsuit to advance an issue that has dogged Apple for years. Analysts say the tech giant is notoriously parsimonious with paying dividends to its shareholders, magnified by the fact that the company's stock rose more than 31 percent in 2012.

Tim Lesko, an Apple investor at Granite Investment Advisors, told CNBC that he would prefer to see the company channel "the lion's share" of its cash to research and development. He remains "very constructive" on the stock, adding that he doesn't see "a real reason to make a change in our holdings."

In spite of sitting on a record cash haul, Apple's shares have swooned from a record high above $700 to new 52-week lows, as investors doubt the company's ability to keep pace with its competition. This week, speculation mounted that Apple would release a new watch.

Apple's culture of innovation "has never been stronger," Cook said on Tuesday, adding that it was "deeply embedded" in the value and DNA of the company. He insisted that the smartphone market would continue to be integral to the company's fortunes, based on growth trends in the all-important segment.

The company's dominance in the tablet space represents a big opportunity for Apple, Cook stated, even as challengers line up to erode the yawning market share of its iPad and iPad Mini. Tablets are growing in popularity, as consumers flock to the devices as an alternative to the traditional personal computer.

"We're in the early innings of this game," Cook said, touting projections that the 120 million units sold last year will triple over the next four years.

Cook points out that Black Friday numbers showed customers used iPads and iPhones to shop far more than their Android counterparts ... "I'm not sure what people are doing with these other tablets."

Some Apple watchers have worried that iPad Mini sales will eat into demand for its larger, more expensive iPad — a process analysts refer to as cannibalization. Cook, however, dismissed those concerns, saying that such talk often accompanied the introduction of newer Apple products.

"The first time I got asked about cannibalization was when Apple came out with the iBook, and people were worried that it would cannibalize the PowerBook," the CEO said. "When we came out with the iPad, people worried it would cannibalize the Mac." Both the PowerBook and Mac rank among Apple's most popular products.

Jon Fortt contributed to reporting for this article from San Francisco.

© 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

Read More

Boeing completes 'uneventful' 787 test flight

10:30 AM Boeing, completes, flight, uneventful No Comments

Reuters – 7 days

CHICAGO - Boeing Co. completed what it called an uneventful flight on Saturday of a test 787 Dreamliner, its first since the airplanes were grounded more than three weeks ago after a series of battery-related problems.

The test flight to gather detailed information on the airplane's lithium-ion batteries lasted two hours and 19 minutes, taking off from and returning to Boeing Field in Seattle, Boeing said.

"The crew reports that the flight was uneventful," Boeing said in a statement.

The 50 Dreamliners in commercial service were grounded worldwide on Jan. 16 after a series of battery-related incidents including a fire on board a parked 787 at Boston's Logan International Airport and an in-flight problem on another airplane in Japan.

The groundings have cost airlines tens of millions of dollars, with no solution yet in sight.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it would allow 787 test flights, under more stringent rules, to monitor the batteries in flight.

Boeing said the information gathered during the flight was part of the investigations into the battery events that occurred in January and that additional details could not be shared.

The airplane is Boeing's fifth 787 flight test airplane, marked as ZA005, and the only member of the test fleet in service. The flight had a crew of 13, including pilots and testing personnel, Boeing said.

Boeing said no flights of the airplane were planned on Sunday, but it planned to resume flights early in the coming week. Boeing does not provide advance flight schedules.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

Small businesses, which are still the feeling of 'fiscal Cliff' pinch

11:00 AM businesses, cliff, feeling, fiscal, pinch, Small, still, which No Comments

SIA wee, CNBC.com - 5 days

Small business confidence was virtually flat in January as the contractor failed to recoup losses from the in the December hysteria over the so-called "fiscal cliff."

This is the finding of a monthly survey by the National Federation of independent business. The group said on Tuesday that its small business optimism index only 0.9 points to 88.9 last month from 88 points in December 2012 lined.

Although a tax deal was reached in January of tax increases and spending cuts, the benefits are hard for a large part of the main road remained - a traditional driver of new jobs in the last economic downturn. (Read more: in the middle of 'Fiscal Cliff' deteriorating stalemate, main street)


"The only good news is that it ', moves not down'." If small businesses publicly traded companies, the stock market in a shambles,"said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Darling. "While the corporate profits as share of GDP at record levels, small businesses fight make still make a profit" he sadly prepared statement in one.

The current monthly reading among small business owners showed kick-off also low expectations for future growth - clearly no good way, 2013.

Expectations for improved terms and conditions remained generally low. Create actual creation of jobs and job wasn't enough to keep pace with population growth improved nominally, but plans yet.

The NFIB also noted that sales trends, reporting declining sales mostly remain negative for small employers with more owners.

Read More

Hostess is "wild and woolly" Twinkies auction

9:00 AM auction, Hostess, Twinkies, woolly No Comments

Matthew j. Belvedere, CNBC - 5 pm.

The bids for Twinkies and other snack cakes by bankrupt hostess brands competitive his, predicts company CEO Greg Rayburn in an interview of the "first on CNBC" on Thursday.

Hostess chose a planned range of $410 million from private equity firm Apollo global to buy management and Metropoulos & co., marks, five bakeries and certain equipment.

More from CNBC: private-equity firms puts hostess rescue plan

"The auction on the cake side of-the Twinkie page - be wild and wooly," Rayburn told "Squawk Box."

The so-called "stalking horse" offer by the private-equity firms, to buy 82-year-old Baker would serve as the minimum offer. Leon Black's Apollo works with Connecticut billionaire C. Dean Metropoulos, owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Metropoulos is a former food-industry-Manager, a failed bid for Sara Lee in 2011.

Other bidders could still offer more at an auction that hostess next month wants to be pending approval by the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York.

The agreement requires no Apollo and Metropoulos to hostess snacks liabilities or other obligations.

In November, hostess said it went out of business, which led to the loss of about 18,000 jobs.

"I would like to see more people have busy - announcement - less," Rayburn said Thursday on CNBC. [But] the standard in bankruptcy court is the highest value.

Run listings for some of the other hostess brands, including an offer of $390 million flowers food for Wonder Bread, they all value the assets of the company at about 850 million $.

The case is in re: hostess Brands Inc et al, U.S. bankruptcy court, Southern District of New York, no. 12 22052.

2013 CNBC © LLC. All rights reserved

Read More

FBI agents to sue Anheusers takeover of Modelo

9:30 AM agents, Anheusers, Modelo, takeover No Comments

Pete Williams NBC News and NBC News staff - 4 pm.

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block Anheuser-Busch InBev proposed buying of the rest of the Mexican Brewer Grupo Modelo it not already in a movement have, which threatens to acquire Constellation Brands plans complete Crown imports.

Such a merger, the Government contends that would, through higher prices and fewer choices significantly reduce competition in the U.S. beer market.

The Anheuser bud light is the top-selling choice in $80 billion a year beer market. "Even a small increase in the prices of beer could result in billions of dollars in damage to American consumers," said the Ministry of justice.

With no obvious intention, a play on words, the Government declared that it is trying "to prevent the companies to merge and to preserve the existing head-to-head competition between the companies, which would eliminate the transaction."

Constellation shares fell about 20 percent Thursday, triggering stops several trade after broke news of the development. Crown imports brings brands owned by Grupo Modelo in the United States.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, said it would deny that the action, add in a statement that it "with the law, the facts and the reality of the market."

"We remain confident of our position and we want to we vigorously dispute the DOJ action in Federal Court," the company said.

Grupo Modelo said that it expected to go the business, now in the first quarter by not.

In a statement, Constellation Brands disappointment at the Ministry of Justice expressed decision.

"The planned transaction would further Crown imports as an independent and competitive unit to establish and consolidate position as a key player in the U.S. beer industry is," said constellation in a press release.

CNBC and Reuters contributed to this report.

Read More

Arab-American groups say that Coke Super Bowl ad is racist

12:30 PM ArabAmerican, groups, racist, super No Comments

Reuters-19 clock.

Arab-American groups have representation sharply criticized an Arab on foot through the desert with a camel and a group said that a Coca-Cola Super Bowl indicator, that the drinks giant to change before CBS game questions would airs on Sunday before an expected audience of more than 100 million U.S. viewers.

"Why, the Arabs is always as oil-rich sheiks, terrorists or belly dancers appear?" said David Warren, President of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee or ADC.

Coca-Cola released an online teaser of the commercial last week shows the Arab walking through a desert. He sees Cowboys soon, Las Vegas the apocalyptic "Mad Max" designed after the Marauders Showgirls and a rag-tag crew-film race by him a huge bottle of Coke to reach.

In its display calls Coke viewers vote that should win the race online on which characters. The online website does not allow a vote on the Arab characters.

"The Cola advertisement for the Super Bowl racist, representation of Arabs as backward and stupid camel have no chance, jockeys, and they the world to win", said Imam Ali Siddiqui, President of the Institute for Interfaith Studies, Muslim in an e-Mail.

On Thursday, Coca-Cola said, it held what it described Committee, as a "productive conversation" with the American-Arab anti-discrimination in which she apologized and stated that it does not be derogatory mean. He also said that it does not plan to change the advertising.

"We regret that the display was misunderstood to express install," said Coca-Cola spokeswoman Lauren Thompson Reuters in an e-Mail. "We are very concerned by these allegations and our advertising to be derogatory of any group in any way."

The Committee has welcomed the apology and explanation of the company.

Ronald Goodstein, Professor at the McDonough School of business at Georgetown University, said that through the screen was also surprised. "If Coke's vision is there, one arm removed from each customer to be, why they would far, to offend the Arab world?," said Goodstein.

Abed Ayoub, Director of political and Legal Affairs of the American-Arab anti-discrimination said that business could harm the commercial cokes with the Arab community.

"Coke should understand and respect their customers and have a better understanding of the market that Exchange," he said.

The company has a large market share in the Middle East and North Africa, he noted, and many shops and other outlets in the United States, offer the coke are owned by Arab-Americans.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

Buffett's firm buys Greensboro, NC, newspaper

3:00 PM Buffetts, Greensboro, newspaper No Comments

OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is adding the Greensboro, N.C., News & Record to its growing newspaper division.

Berkshire Hathaway said Thursday it had acquired the 122-year-old daily newspaper from Landmark Media Enterprises, which is based in Norfolk, Va.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The Omaha World-Herald, which oversees Berkshire's newspaper division, reported that the News & Record has daily circulation of 58,000 and Sunday circulation of 86,000.

Terry Kroeger, who leads the newspaper unit, says the Greensboro newspaper will be a great fit with the other small and medium-sized community newspapers Berkshire has purchased.

Newspapers remain a relatively small part of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns an assortment of more than 80 subsidiaries and holds major investments in companies such as Coca-Cola Co., Wells Fargo and IBM.

Read More

Time Inc. begins reducing its staff by about 6%

7:00 AM about, begins, reducing, staff No Comments

Patrick Rizzo , NBC News – 1 day

Time Inc. is reducing its work force by six percent -- about 500 jobs, an internal memo to the publishing company's staff said on Wednesday.

"Today we are beginning the painful process of reducing our global staff of 8,000 by approximately six percent," began the memo, from CEO Laura Lang, a copy of which was emailed to NBC News. Earlier Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal's "All Things D" blog published a copy of the memo.

The number of layoffs was not as much as had been rumored in press reports recently, which were predicting as many as 700 workers would be let go from the company that publishes the venerable news weekly Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated and People magazine.

The cuts come as the industry struggles to find a business model that will stop the loss of revenues through declining subscriptions and advertising.

Time Inc. is a divison of Time Warner Inc.

Read More

Struggling RIM renames itself BlackBerry

11:30 AM BlackBerry, itself, renames, struggling No Comments

Euan Rocha , Reuters – 1 day

Research In Motion Ltd is changing its name to BlackBerry, the company announced on Wednesday, in move to refresh its tarnished image as it begins marketing a re-engineered line of BlackBerry 10 smartphones.

The announcement, made by Chief Executive Thorsten Heins as the company formally launched the BlackBerry 10, signals the company's hopes for a streamlined identity as it embarks on a make-or-break drive to regain lost ground in the smartphone market it once dominated.

"BlackBerry is how we're known pretty much everywhere across the world other than North America, so we have an iconic global brand and when you have such a powerful brand, you want to make it central," said Frank Boulben, BlackBerry's chief marketing officer, in an interview.

The switch underscores the close attention the company is paying to marketing as it launches a product considered crucial to its survival. In the past, it was roundly criticized for botching the launch of the PlayBook tablet and other devices.

RIM's aging line-up of devices has competed poorly in recent years against the likes of Apple Inc's iPhone and Samsung's wide array of Galaxy devices.

As the company counters with its new line, the name change will allow it to leverage the value of the BlackBerry brand - still a powerful asset in spite of RIM's fall from grace.

"Previously we had Research In Motion, BlackBerry, Bold, Curve, Torch, PlayBook - and that dilutes the BlackBerry brand, which is a fantastic asset," Boulben said. "Moving to a branded house model allows us to focus our marketing on one name only."

That could be crucial for the company, which has undergone a management overhaul changes and a major restructuring, leading up to the launch of its re-engineered line of devices on Wednesday.

"We thought now was the perfect time to accompany that real change with symbolic change," said Boulben, adding that RIM will change its Nasdaq ticker to "BBRY" and its Toronto Stock Exchange ticker symbol to "BB" in a matter of days.

The company will undergo a legal name change after its shareholders pass a resolution to that effect later this year, said a spokeswoman. Until then the company will do business as BlackBerry.

Boulben said the company would have a focused marketing push behind the revamped smartphones - a stylish touch-screen device and a more traditional physical keyboard device that many of its die-hard fans adore.

In keeping with its branding strategy, the new devices will also follow a simple naming structure, said Boulben.

"We want our employees to say, 'I work for BlackBerry.' Our customers to say, 'I own a BlackBerry.' Our shareholders to say, 'I own BlackBerry stock,'" said Boulben. "We want to become what I'd call a branded house versus a house of brands."

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

Airlines previously replaced batteries on 787s

4:00 PM Airlines, batteries, previously, replaced No Comments

Reuters – 1 day

Japan's two biggest airlines replaced below-par lithium-ion batteries on their Boeing Co 787 Dreamliners in the months before separate incidents led to the technologically advanced aircraft being grounded worldwide due to battery problems.

Comments from both All Nippon Airways, the new Boeing jetliner's biggest customer to date, and Japan Airlines Co Ltd point to reliability issues with the batteries long before a battery caught fire on a JAL 787 at Boston's airport and a second battery was badly charred and melted on an ANA domestic flight that was forced into an emergency landing.

ANA said it changed 10 batteries on its 787s last year, but did not inform accident investigators in the United States because the incidents, including five batteries that had unusually low charges, did not compromise the plane's safety, spokesman Ryosei Nomura said on Wednesday.

JAL also replaced batteries on the 787 "on a few occasions", said spokeswoman Sze Hunn Yap, declining to be more specific on when units were replaced or whether these were reported to authorities.

The Federal Aviation Administration tells NBC News that neither ANA nor Boeing ever notified the agency of that batteries were replaced on 787s prior to the emergency landing in Japan.

However, ANA did inform Boeing of the faults that began in May, and returned the batteries to their manufacturer, GS Yuasa Corp. A spokesman for the battery maker declined to comment on Wednesday. Shares of the company fell 1.2 percent.

Boeing CEO Jim McNerney, speaking on a conference call, said that the company is making progress toward narrowing down the potential cause of the battery incidents. In a separate statement, Boeing said the numerous replacements were not made because of safety concerns. "Batteries are a replaceable unit on airplanes, regardless of the technology used."

Little headway

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have asked Boeing Co. to provide a full operating history of lithium-ion batteries used in its grounded 787 Dreamliners.

Under aviation inspection rules, airlines are required to perform detailed battery inspections once every two years.

Officials are carrying out detailed tests on the batteries, chargers and monitoring units in Japan and the United States, but have so far made little headway in finding out what caused the battery failures.

Japan's transport ministry said the manufacturing process at the company which makes the 787 battery's monitoring unit did not appear to be linked to the problem on the ANA Dreamliner that made the emergency landing.

The NTSB said on Tuesday it was carrying out a microscopic investigation of the JAL 787 battery. Neither it nor the Japan Transport Safety Board has been able to say when they are likely to complete their work.

The global fleet of 50 Dreamliners - 17 of which are operated by ANA - remain grounded, increasing the likely financial impact to Boeing, which is still producing the aircraft but has stopped delivering them, and the airlines that fly the Dreamliner.

Boeing said Wednesday that it expected no significant impact to its earnings from the grounding of the 787s. The airplane maker posted a stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter profit with net income of $978 million, down from $1.39 billion in the same period a year ago, when it had a special gain from taxes.

NBC News' Tom Costello contributed to this report.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

The Super Bowl trophy: where Tiffany meets the NFL

9:30 AM meets, super, Tiffany, trophy, where No Comments

Brian A. Shactman , CNBC – 2 days

Outside of the NHL's Stanley Cup, the Vince Lombardi Trophy might be the most recognized trophy in all of sports.

That much you probably already knew. What you probably didn't know: The prize for winning the Super Bowl is seven pounds of sterling silver, handcrafted by jewelry icon Tiffany.

Tiffany, a $4 billion company, has made every Lombardi Trophy dating back to 1967. As the story goes, the original design was sketched on a cocktail napkin in front of then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle.

Tiffany and the NFL might seem like an odd match, but it's not.

"The core mission of the company is to celebrate important moments in people's lives," said Tiffany executive Tom O'Rourke, who has overseen the company's trophy business for almost eight years. "I can't imagine a more important moment for an athlete than receiving the championship trophy on the field after a victory."

The silver itself has a street value of about $3,500. But, if you add in the high-end labor to make it (there is no glue! and its symbolism, the value is a little more difficult to assess.

"I would tell you that the trophy itself is priceless," O'Rourke said. "Whatever monetary value is assigned to the trophy doesn't accurately present the work the athletes have put into it."

The NFL is a customer and does pay for the trophy.

Sources tell CNBC that the Tiffany trophy business, which includes everything from Major League Baseball to PGA golf, is modestly profitable but probably with smaller margins that the rest of its jewelry business.

The NFL trophy is made in a workshop nestled into a distribution center in Parsippany, New Jersey.

"It's like the turn of the century with some of the machines and equipment used," O'Rourke noted.

As you might imagine, the size of the silver sheets is much larger than the average piece used for Tiffany jewelry. Actually, the only place the company has been able to procure sheets of high-grade silver big enough for the Vince Lombardi Trophy is in Italy.

After the silver arrives in New Jersey, the four-month process begins. Old-world terms like blacksmithing, spinning and chasing are following by the final polishes and engravings.

"It's made by local craftspeople that are employing crafts and skills from the 1800s," O'Rourke explained.

Then, the trophy goes to the Hall of Fame for display and returns for a touchup before journeying to the big game itself.

"It does come in a blue box," O'Rourke joked. "Actually, the reality is that the trophy will be in blue felt in a secure box — not a traditional Tiffany box."

After the game, the winning team enjoys the trophy for a while before returning it to Tiffany for a cleaning and a final engraving.

Sometimes, it's a little worse for wear.

"The biggest issue is always the champagne," O'Rourke said.

The biggest party offender? Reportedly, the New Orleans Saints after winning in 2010.

© 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

Read More

Twinkie lovers can relax: Hostess sale is imminent

11:00 AM Hostess, imminent, lovers, relax, Twinkie No Comments

From wire services , NBC News – 2 days

The indestructible Twinkie appears to be one step closer to a comeback.

Hostess Brands is close to announcing that it has picked two investment firms — C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management — as the lead bidders for its Twinkies and other snack cakes, according to a source close to the situation.

The so-called stalking horse bid would be for more than $400 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. It would serve as the baseline offer for the business and could be topped by others at an auction. A judge would have to approve any final sale.

A deal, part of Hostess's bankruptcy reorganization, is not yet final, said the source, who declined to be identified as the discussions are not public.

Spokesmen for Metropoulos and Apollo were not immediately available to comment. Hostess declined to comment.

After years of management turmoil and turnover, Hostess declared it was going out of business and selling its brands in November.

Earlier this month, Hostess chose a $390 million offer by Flowers Foods , maker of Tastykake products, as the stalking horse bid for several brands including Wonder bread and Drake's.

On Monday, Hostess said it chose McKee Foods Corp, maker of Little Debbie snack cakes, as the initial bidder for its Drake's cakes, which include Ring Dings, Yodels and Devil Dogs. It also chose United States Bakery as the lead bidder for four of its smaller bread brands plus bakeries, equipment and depots.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Read More

Sometimes a nickel is worth millions

2:00 PM Millions, nickel, Sometimes, worth No Comments

Steve Szkotak , The Associated Press – 2 days

A humble 5-cent coin with a storied past is headed to auction and bidding is expected to top $2 million a century after it was mysteriously minted.

The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of only five known to exist, but it's the coin's back story that adds to its cachet: It was surreptitiously and illegally cast, discovered in a car wreck that killed its owner, declared a fake, forgotten in a closet for decades and then found to be the real deal. It all adds up to an expected sale of $2.5 million or more when it goes on the auction block April 25 in suburban Chicago.

"Basically a coin with a story and a rarity will trump everything else," said Douglas Mudd, curator of the American Numismatic Association Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo., which has held the coin for most of the past 10 years. He expects it could fetch more than Heritage Auction's estimate, perhaps $4 million and even up to $5 million.

"A lot of this is ego," he said of collectors who could bid for it. "I have one of these and nobody else does."

The sellers who will split the money equally are four Virginia siblings who never let the coin slip from their hands, even when it was deemed a fake.

The nickel made its debut in a most unusual way. It was struck at the Philadelphia mint in late 1912, the final year of its issue, but with the year 1913 cast on its face — the same year the beloved Buffalo Head nickel was introduced.

Mudd said a mint worker named Samuel W. Brown is suspected of producing the coin and altering the die to add the bogus date.

The coins' existence weren't known until Brown offered them for sale at the American Numismatic Association Convention in Chicago in 1920, beyond the statute of limitations. The five remained together under various owners until the set was broken up in 1942.

A North Carolina collector, George O. Walton, purchased one of the coins in the mid-1940s for a reported $3,750. The coin was with him when he was killed in a car crash on March 9, 1962, and it was found among hundreds of coins scattered at the crash site.

One of Walton's heirs, his sister Melva Givens of Salem, Va., was given the 1913 Liberty nickel after experts declared the coin a fake because of suspicions the date had been altered. The flaw probably happened because of Brown's imprecise work casting the planchet — the copper and nickel blank disc used to create the coin.

"For whatever reason, she ended up with the coin," her daughter, Cheryl Myers, said.

Melva Givens put the coin in an envelope and stuck it in a closet, where it stayed for the next 30 years until her death in 1992.

The coin caught the curiosity of Cheryl Myers' brother, Ryan, the executor of his mother's estate. "He'd take it out and look at it for long periods of time," she said.

Ryan Myers said a family attorney had heard of the famous 1913 Liberty nickels and asked if he could see the Walton. "He looked at it and he told me he'd give me $5,000 for it right there," he said, declining an offer he could not accept without his siblings' approval.

Finally, they brought the coin to the 2003 American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money in Baltimore, where the four surviving 1913 Liberty nickels were being exhibited. A team of rare coin experts concluded it was the long-missing fifth coin. Each shared a small imperfection under the date.

"The sad part is my mother had it for 30 years and she didn't know it," Cheryl Myers said. "Knowing our mother, she probably would have invested it for us. She always put her children first."

Since its authentication, the Walton nickel has been on loan to the Colorado Springs museum and has been publicly exhibited nationwide.

The coin will be up for grabs at a rare coin and currency auction.

Todd Imhof, executive vice president of Heritage, said the nickel is likely to attract lofty bids that only a handful of coins have achieved at auction. A 1933 double eagle, a $20 gold coin, holds the U.S. record: $8 million.

Imhof expects the Walton nickel to generate some buzz.

"This is a trophy item that sort of transcends the hobby," he said. "It's an interesting part of American history and there are collectors who look for something like this."

Ryan Myers said he's not keen on selling the nickel.

"First of all, it had been in the family for so long," he said. "It's not like something you found in a flea market or something you just found."

Cheryl Myers said they're often asked why they held on to the coin for a decade after they learned it was authentic instead of immediately cashing it in.

"It was righting a 40-year-old wrong," she wrote in an email. By allowing the American Numismatic Museum to display it for the past decade, it was honoring Walton's wishes.

"It has been quite a ride," she said.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

US Postal Service teeters at the edge of ruin

5:30 AM Postal, service, teeters No Comments

Martha C. White , NBC News contributor – 3 days

Even as the price of a first-class stamp rose a penny Sunday to 46 cents, the U.S. Postal Service is operating on borrowed time. “We are currently losing $25 million per day,” Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned earlier this month. The agency lost nearly $16 billion in its last fiscal year, and its line of credit with the U.S. Treasury is tapped out.

If lawmakers don’t act, it could run out of money “between six months and a year at most,” said Richard Geddes, associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University.

“There could be a period when mail is not being delivered,” said Michael Crew, director of the Center for Research in Regulated Industries, and professor of regulatory economics at Rutgers University.

The Postal Service said keeping letters moving is its top priority, even if it means defaulting on its retirement benefit funding again. “Although our liquidity situation remains a serious concern, the Postal Service is continuing to prioritize payments to ensure employees and suppliers are paid on time, preventing any interruption in our operations,” spokesman David Partenheimer said via email.

How did the Post Office get into these dire straits when the price of stamps keeps going up?

As it turns out, 46 cents is a really good deal. In the United Kingdom, for example, a first class stamp costs 60 pence, or roughly 94 cents. In Canada, it’s 63 cents (which is about the same in U.S. currency). Geddes said if our postal service was refashioned to be more of a delivery system for still-plentiful but lower-margin commercial mail — ads, catalogs and the like — Americans could pay 30 percent to 40 percent more to send that birthday card — which would bring the price of a stamp to about 64 cents.

The Postal Service is limited in how much it can raise the price of postage, but that’s only one of the factors keeping it from financial solvency.

“The other thing that’s hurt the postal service is it’s an industry where we have scale economies,” Crew said. The post office’s fixed costs — keeping the lights on at its huge network of facilities, maintaining its fleet and paying its employees — are amortized across the amount of mail it processes. “As you increase volume, unit costs decline.”

But volume isn’t increasing; it’s plummeting. First-class mail volume — which earns around three times the profit of bulk mail — has dropped by about a third in a little more than a decade, Geddes said. “That decline is just enormous in a historical context,” he said.

The decline was sparked by the rise of the Internet and exacerbated by the recent recession, when companies cut their budgets for mailings. “About a quarter of their traffic has been lost in the period since 2007-2008,” Crew said. The agency has shed thousands of workers, but it’s losing business faster than it can save money by shrinking its work force.

Crew also blamed “a flawed governance structure and flawed business model” for the agency’s woes. “Any significant changes that have to take place have to be approved by Congress. This is not a way to run a business if you’re in a fast-moving environment,” he said. The Postal Service has expensive benefit obligations for retirees, a bill the agency is currently putting off and on which it owes $11.1 billion.

“The main problem here is Congress had introduced too many conflicting and inconsistent demands,” said James I. Campbell, an attorney and consultant on postal policy.

The USPS has to deliver mail six days a week to everybody in the country who has been sent mail, and it has to maintain a network of around 32,000 post offices — a much bigger footprint than other industrialized nations have. The post office wants to eliminate Saturday delivery, which Partenheimer said would save $2.7 billion a year. But to do this, it needs Congressional approval, which — so far, at least — it hasn’t received.

“Essentially, Congress has got to rethink the legislation that establishes the post office,” Campbell said.

That is easier said than done, even with dire consequences looming. “The information I’ve gotten is not looking good,” Geddes said. “The reason they’ve been able to last this long is because they have gotten the low-hanging fruit … but they’re at they’re bare bones now.”

Read More

Jet delivered just 3 weeks before battery fire

9:00 AM battery, before, delivered, weeks No Comments

Joan Lowy , The Associated Press – 4 days

WASHINGTON -- Federal investigators say the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that experienced a battery fire earlier this month was delivered to Japan Airlines less than three weeks before the fire.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday in an update of its investigation of the incident that the airliner was delivered on Dec. 20. It had only recorded 169 flight hours and 22 flights when the fire erupted in one of the airliner's two lithium ion batteries on Jan. 7.

The fire occurred at Logan International Airport shortly after the plane landed. NTSB said the battery was manufactured by GS Yuasa of Japan in September 2012.

A second battery incident led to an emergency landing by another 787 in Japan on Jan. 16. The 787 fleet worldwide has since been grounded.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

Toyota back on top as global auto sales champ

2:00 PM champ, Global, sales, Toyota No Comments

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau – 3 days

Toyota has officially reclaimed its global sales crown, the maker confirming it produced 9.75 million vehicles in 2012.

That was slightly ahead of a preliminary tally Toyota forecast as the year came to a close and locks it in first place ahead of General Motors, which sold 9.29 million vehicles. Volkswagen, at 9.1 million, came in third for 2012.

Toyota’s sales were slightly lower than the company had projected earlier in the year, the shortfall reflecting the ongoing dispute between Japan and China over a chain of small, uninhabited islands both nations claim.

In customary fashion, Toyota officials downplayed the sales results. “Rather than going after numbers, we hope to make fine products, one by one, to keep out customers satisfied. The numbers are just a result of our policy. And our policy will continue unchanged,” Toyota spokeswoman Shino Yamada told the Associated Press.

Nonetheless, it marked a significant comeback for the Japanese giant which first captured the global sales crown in 2008, displacing GM after seven decades as the sales leader. The U.S. maker plunged into bankruptcy the following year, recovering only with the assistance of a massive government loan.

With production back to normal, Toyota saw its sales in the home Japanese market surge 35% in 2012 while overseas sales jumped 23%. Adding additional models to the “family,” the Prius line firmed up its position as the world’s best-selling hybrid nameplate.Toyota briefly fell to third in the global chase in 2011, the maker suffering significant production cuts in the wake of Japan’s March earthquake and tsunami. It didn’t fully restore its worldwide production network to normal operations until the end of the year.

But not everything went as well as expected – notably in China where Toyota was just one of many Japanese businesses to suffer as the dispute over the Senkuko Islands – which the Chinese call the Daioyu – flared up. A Toyota dealership was torched and mobs destroyed many of the maker’s products. Sales fell by roughly half in the early weeks of the dispute though they have begun to recover more recently.

Toyota did have some other issues, notably a surge of safety-related problems including additional recalls related to the maker’s unintended acceleration issue. In all, Toyota recalled more vehicles than any other maker in the American market in 2012, and it ended the year by agreeing to an estimated $1.2 billion settlement related to the unintended acceleration issue. Even so, most analysts say the maker’s reputation escaped with relatively little damage.

Toyota is forecasting another increase in sales for 2013, hoping to reach a record 9.91 million. That is still short of an earlier projection of at least 10 million, however.

General Motors officials have not yet set out their own forecast and that could depend on the strength of the ongoing U.S. recovery. Earlier this month, Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said the maker expected sales in the States to reach somewhere between 15.0 million and 15.5 million for 2013.

The wild card is Volkswagen, the aggressive German maker laying out plans to snatch the sales ground by the time it wraps up its current, 10-year growth plan in 2016. The weakness of the home European market could delay that strategy, though VW hopes to offset that by stressing China, Latin America and the recovering U.S. market where it was one of the fastest-growing brands in 2012.

Copyright 2013 The Detroit Bureau

Read More

Taco Bell pulls commercial that mocked veggies

5:30 PM commercial, mocked, pulls, veggies No Comments

The Associated Press – 3 days

Taco Bell is pulling a TV ad after receiving complaints that it discouraged people from eating vegetables.

The ad by the fast-food chain was touting its variety 12-pack of tacos, with a voiceover saying that bringing a vegetable tray to a party is "like punting on fourth and one." It said that people secretly hate guests who bring vegetables to parties.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group, this weekend urged people to tweet their complaints about the ad and the chain quickly made the decision to pull it.

"We didn't want anyone to misinterpret the intent of the ad," says Rob Poetsch, a Taco Bell spokesman.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest thanked Taco Bell for its speedy response.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

Now you can get your 'Downton Abbey' on

9:30 AM Abbey, Downton No Comments

Joss Barratt / Carnival Films

Michelle Dockery is Lady Mary and Laura Carmichael is Lady Edith on "Downton Abbey." The drama has spurred interest in Edwardian fashion, home furnishings and books about the era.

By Tanya Mohn, TODAY contributor
“Downton Abbey” fans may be effortlessly transported back to another time and place, but the impact of the television series is also firmly rooted in the real world. The popular costume drama has reportedly spurred sales in everything from wedding dresses, lingerie and other Edwardian fashions to home furnishings and even what people are reading.

“Etiquette books are selling through the roof right now” said Scott F. Stoddart, dean of the School of Liberal Arts at the Fashion Institute of Technology. So are history books about World War I and recently reprinted titles like “To Marry an English Lord.” “People are drawn to a bygone era, a more romantic time of gracious living,” he said.

The influence of popular culture on style and taste goes back to the early days of Hollywood, when film stars like Joan Crawford, dressed as a flapper in the 1920s and 1930s, inspired shorter hemlines. After Elizabeth Taylor appeared in “A Place in the Sun” in the early 1950s wearing a distinctive dress, “every girl wanted to wear it to the prom that year,” said Stoddart, author of “Analyzing Mad Men” and of the forthcoming “Exploring Downton Abbey” to be released during the summer of 2013.

The trend for a television series to impact the marketplace is more recent, as the medium typically influenced viewers through advertising. “To my mind, ‘Mad Men’ is one of the first,” inspiring companies like Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic and Crate & Barrel to create everything from 60s-era men’s suits to living rooms sets, said Stoddart. “It really takes about two to three seasons before retailers really get on the band wagon. It’s happening now with ‘Downton Abbey.’”

Ralph Lauren has a new collection, modeled by actress Jessica Chastain, that features Lady Mary-type turn-of-the-century hunting garb, and other "Downton"-inspired products include 1920s-era jewelry collections and T-shirts based on characters in the series.

Skinny ties made a comeback after “Mad Men,” said Stoddart, and soon “we will give gloves a nod because of 'Downton Abbey.' ”

Leonard Lee, an associate professor at the Columbia Business School, said the financial impact of popular shows is difficult to measure. But while he is not aware of any academic research or tracking of the phenomenon, the underlying psychological process is consistent with what is known about consumer behavior. Repeated exposure, positive feelings, imitating behavior, and the desire to be a part of the larger experience and enjoy it in a more proactive way, he said, are factors that typically influence spending choices.

Emotional resonance, not logic, is often key, said Lee, referring to a well-known study that analyzed how decorative posters were chosen and found that participants who deliberated more about which one to buy were less likely to hang them up. “Sometimes when you think too much about options, you tend to be more dissatisfied than when you rely more on feelings and evaluate holistically.”

The influence of popular culture on spending is growing, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst of The NPD Group, a market research company, who has followed consumer behavior and retail trends for more than 30 years. “It used to be that fashion led the way for what’s in, what’s out,” he said, but today, entertainment and popular culture have taken on a larger role, though the public typically downplays it.

The NPD Group conducts a survey each year in which respondents are asked if they made purchases influenced by celebrities. “Every year consumers deny it, yet the numbers show they do it more and more,” Cohen said. A decade ago, for example, 8 percent of survey respondents said they made purchases as a direct result of celebrity influence. But in the most recent survey, conducted in March 2012, 18 percent admitted they did so. “They don’t like to admit they are easily influenced and swayed,” said Cohen, who is the author of “Why Customers Do What They Do”and “Buy Me! How to Get Customers to Choose Your Products and Ignore the Rest.”

“Fashion is easiest industry to see the cause and effect,” of popular culture, but interior design, home furnishings and other lifestyle areas are also impacted. During the recession, the fashion industry “was scared. It didn’t take chances on color and design,” resulting in safe products that lacked inspiration and bored consumers.

But the "Downton Abbey" influence is positive, for the public and the retail industry, experts say.

“It’s so different; it’s new and fresh,” said Cohen.

“Anything that expands your mind is always a good thing,” said Stoddart, whether it’s fashion or reading history. “It adds to a strong conversation between people.”

Read More

For Super Bowl ads, it's go viral or go home

12:30 PM super, viral No Comments

Ben Popken, NBC News contributor – 5 days

Call them super leaks, super teasers or super previews. But for a growing number of Super Bowl advertisers, they are super smart business.

For years, Super Bowl commercials were closely guarded secrets until they aired on the biggest ratings day of the year. These days, companies have discovered that teasing them online in advance of the big day is a more efficient way of getting their brand message in front of the masses.

CBS, which will broadcast Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, sold 30-second ad slots for up to $4 million, so it’s no wonder advertisers try to squeeze every drop of value out of their investment.

"We are seeing more teasers because they have been effective," said Steve Posavac, professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University. "This year, many advertisers feel that if they don’t release a teaser, they will fail to gain consumers’ mindshare, and that their ads will be lost in the clutter."

Mercedes-Benz roared out of the starting line first last week, with its spot featuring Kate Upton. Strutting in daisy dukes and a low cut tank top, the striking supermodel blows suds in slow motion at a group of guys as they wash her Benz and ogle her frame, mouths agape.

Though it shows less skin than a standard shampoo commercial -- and seems demure in comparison to Upton's past backseat turn for Carl's Jr. last year – it has already drummed up plenty of buzz. As of Friday night, the teaser racked has up more than 4.6 million YouTube views.

That’s right, more than a week before the San Francisco 49ers face the Baltimore Ravens, Mercedes-Benz’s ad is already a success. And, thanks to the Parents’ Television Council, we have the first Super Bowl controversy.

"This ad [reinforces] for millions of wives, daughters and sisters across the country that you use your sex appeal to get what you want," a Parents' Television Council spokesperson told the Daily Mail, complaining that the ad "isn't selling cars, it’s selling sexual objectification."

The sound bite provided global media outlets (ours included) the perfect news hook. In the following days, the ad has been discussed, analyzed, and played over and over again, at no cost to the Mercedes. Talk about return on investment!

The luxury German automaker isn’t the only player in this game. Coca-Cola, Skechers, Wonderful Pistachios (with 'Gagngam Style' superstar Psy) and MiO (with Tracy Morgan) have released previews.

Coke is also making a huge social media play with its "Mirage" campaign. In it, three quirky character-driven groups -- show girls, badlanders, and cowboys -- race across an African desert to be the first to reach the thirst-quenching Coca-Cola oasis. A preview spot is circulating online encouraging viewers to vote online to determine which group ends up winning in the final spot. Online surfers can either vote by "old-fashioned" online button clicking, or vote-casting with the Twitter hashtags #CokeCowboys, #CokeShowgirls and #CokeBadlanders.

The beverage giant’s advertising company has also cooked up animated gifs, "sabotage videos" and other content ready-made for Tweeting, Tumbling, Instagramming, and Facebooking.

Indeed, Coke has come a long way from Mean Joe Greene’s jersey toss in Coke’s legendary commercial 34 years ago.

The reason for the big social push is simple: More shares equal more views, which equals more brand exposure.

"Without a social media component, a Super Bowl ad is worthless," said David Johnson, CEO of public relations agency Strategic Vision.

Social has risen and advertisers are rising to meet it.

"Three quarters of the audience will be on a 'second screen' during the Super Bowl,” said Ankarino Lara, chief product officer for Thismoment, which builds branded online content distribution software. "The biggest brands recognize the audience shift and plan mobile and on live elements in their campaigns."

According to data by the Unruly Viral Video Chart, the "Billboard 100 of viral videos," 75 percent of the top 20 most-shared ads from Super Bowl 2012 went up online before game day; 55 percent of sharing happened after March 1, 2012; and total Super Bowl ads shares increased by 129 percent from 2011 to 2012.

Audi is taking a similar "choose your own adventure" approach as Coke's. On Thursday night, it posted the beginning of its ad, showing a kid driving to his high school prom dateless but in his dad's new 2013 Audi S6 high-performance sports sedan. The German automaker also uploaded three versions of the ending, giving viewers 24 hours to vote on which one will make the final cut.

Other companies are also hopping on the social bandwagon:

Doritos has reprised its annual "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, allowing a fan-made commercial to air during the game.
Lincoln has teamed up with Jimmy Fallon to let fans write the script for its commercial on Twitter with the hashtag #Steerthescript.
Pepsi, Pizza Hut and Toyota will include fan-submitted photos in a commercial.
VW is promoting the #GetHappy hashtag.

Advertisers still have plenty of tricks up their sleeves, though, and some are deliberately taking an "anti-leak" strategy that still has an eye on Twitter impact.

"Some advertisers are holding back ads for a 'surprise' factor and for the instant chatter that will take place on social media during the game," said Katherine Wintsch, founder of The Mom Complex, an Interpublic Group of Companies unit focused on marketing to mothers.

Brands still place a premium on using the Super Bowl as the ultimate stage for product debuts; Anheuser-Busch is going to debut two new drinks at the game: Budweiser Black Crown and Beck's Sapphire.

"I don’t know what it is, but everyone finds humor in dog ads or baby ads," John Yorke, President of creative firm Rain 43, said. "Last year, we saw lots of both – and the highest rated ads came from these categories – so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – expect to see more of this trend."

Read More

Rare 1794 silver dollar auctioned for record $10M

6:30 PM auctioned, dollar, record, silver No Comments

Reuters – 6 days

A 1794 silver dollar, which many experts believe was the first such coin struck by the U.S. Mint, sold for a record $10 million at auction on Thursday.
The Flowing Hair Silver Dollar more than doubled the previous $4.1 million auction record for a coin set in 1999, auction house Stack's Bowers Galleries said.

Legend Numismatics, a rare-coin firm based in New Jersey, bought the coin, which was the highlight of the evening sale in New York that fetched a total of $17.2 million.

"We felt in our heart that this would be the very first coin to exceed the $10 million barrier in auction and were in fact prepared to bid much high in order to acquire this unique piece of history," the company said in a statement, adding it had no plans to sell the coin in the near future.

David Bowers, chairman emeritus of Stack's Bowers Galleries, said the coin has unique features that make it particularly valuable.

"It is the first American metal dollar struck and the finest known. You have these combinations coming together. No museum has an equal piece," he told Reuters.

The coin was part of the Cardinal Collection, amassed by the collector Martin Logies. Bowers described the collection as the "Old Masters" of coins struck during the earliest years of the U.S. Mint.

"I think it is extraordinary and I am very pleased that the first silver dollar is the first to top the $10 million threshold," said Logies, who purchased the coin three years ago.

The $10 million price includes the buyer's commission.

Like the buoyant art market, which is expecting another good year in 2013, Bowers said coins are a good investment, have a worldwide market and have risen steadily in value.

"We're continually surprised by surprises," he said, adding there are several million coin collectors around the globe. "They want to collect coins for appreciation, art, rarity and beauty."

The record-setting coin shows a profile of Miss Liberty facing right surrounded by stars representing each state in the union. The design was only used in 1794 and briefly the following year.

Another top seller in the sale of 94 lots was the 1792 Half Disme, which dates back to David Rittenhouse, the first director of the U.S. Mint. It fetched $975,000, excluding the 17.5 percent buyer's commission.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

Obama names ex-federal prosecutor to head SEC

11:30 AM exfederal, names, Obama, prosecutor No Comments

NBC News staff and wire reports – 7 days

Saying that more needs to be done to reform Wall Street, President Barack Obama named tough former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, bringing a proven white-collar crime watchdog into an agency that has been criticized for being soft on the financial industry.

"We need to keep going after irresponsible behavior in the financial industry so that taxpayers don't pay the price. I am absolutely confident that Mary Jo has the experience and the resolve to tackle these complex issues and to protect the American people in a way that is smart and in a way that is fair," Obama said at a White House event to announce Whites' nomination.

At the same event, the president rounded out his watchdog arsenal by renominating Richard Cordray to remain as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created in the wake of the financial crisis as part of the Dodd-Frank act to reform Wall Street.

Obama urged Congress to swiftly confirm both nominees, adding that there was "no excuse for the Senate to wait any longer."

Cordray was never confirmed when Obama appointed him to the position in 2012. The appointment set up a contentious debate with Senate Republicans, who objected to the entire concept of the CFPB. The renomination could reignite that clash.

The choice of White drew praise from both Wall Street and reform advocates who say White would ably steer the powerful agency that plays a key role in overseeing U.S. financial markets.

New York's Charles Schumer, a Democrat who is part of the Senate leadership and sits on the powerful Senate Banking Committee, praised White's reputation as a tough-as-nails prosecutor and predicted she will "easily be confirmed."

A swift confirmation for White could help the SEC speed up its implementation of the dozens of unfinished rules required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.

White would succeed current SEC Chairman Elisse Walter, a Democratic commissioner who took over in December after predecessor Mary Schapiro stepped down.

Schapiro's departure left the commission divided between two Democrats and two Republicans, and observers said the split could make it nearly impossible to complete controversial rules, such as the Volcker Rule, which bans banks from proprietary trading.

High-profile cases
White, now a respected white-collar defense attorney with the law firm Debevoise and Plimpton, was the only woman in the 200-year history of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York to serve in the top spot there.

She was in office from 1993 through to 2002, during a tumultuous time starting with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and then later, the infamous Sept. 11 attacks of 2001.

Under her watch, the U.S. Attorney's office won about 35 convictions of militant Muslims charged with plotting against Americans.

"I view her as an incredibly well-regarded lawyer who has spent a significant amount of time as a partner at Debevoise representing companies and individuals in high-profile securities related matters," said Cheryl Scarboro, the former head of the SEC's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit and now a partner with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

As a defense attorney, White has been involved in high-profile SEC and Justice Department cases.

She conducted an internal investigation into corruption at Siemens AG that resulted in a record settlement for the German engineering conglomerate. She also represented healthcare provider HCA Holdings Inc in an insider-trading investigation, according to her online biography.

She has also represented JPMorgan Chase & Co in major matters related to the financial crisis, as well as former Bank of America CEO Lewis over a civil lawsuit in connection with Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

It is unclear whether her defense of Wall Street clients could prove troublesome for her during the U.S. Senate confirmation process. But Wall Street champions and critics both had positive takes on White.

"I have met Mary Jo White, and anyone who knows her at all - extremely capable, competent, bright, tough, and a perfect choice," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview on Thursday with Fox Business News from Davos.

Neil Barofsky, who was hired as an assistant U.S. attorney by White in 2000 and went on to become the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, called Obama's pick an "inspired choice."

"I expect that she will be unfazed by the intimidation tactics of the usual suspects in Washington - be they antagonistic members of Congress, captured officials from other parts of government or those who so relentlessly push the agendas of the largest banks," Barofsky said.

Like Schapiro, White has previously been identified as a political independent. Unlike Schapiro, White has not worked as a Wall Street regulator.

However, White's husband, John White, served as the director of the SEC's Corporation Finance division, which oversees public company disclosures, from 2006 to 2008.

Known for a legendary work ethic and a fondness for beer and baseball, White also developed a reputation as a ferocious basketball player when in the U.S. Attorney's office, even though she stands around 5 feet tall.

Former SEC enforcement director William McLucas said it was an "excellent sign" that the White House could get someone of her caliber to take the position. "There is no one I know that works harder," McLucas said.

James Cox, a professor of law at Duke University who has served with White on various panels, said White will be a very different SEC chairman than Schapiro.

"Mary Schapiro was a politician," Cox said. Mary Jo White, by contrast, he said, will be more blunt and direct. "She can unpack somebody's argument really quickly."

Cordray controversy
Cordray has already faced some uphill battles with Republicans in Congress.

Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, was appointed in January 2012 while Congress was in recess after Republicans who were wary of the CFPB's independence blocked his nomination.

The controversial appointment limited the amount of time Cordray could serve without going through a full confirmation process.

The CFPB has drawn criticism from Republicans and business groups, who say it is virtually unchecked and will hurt lending and put small banks out of business.

Asked whether the administration foresees any problems getting Cordray confirmed, White House spokesman Jay Carney said he did not expect any objections to him "on substance."

"He is absolutely the right person for the job," Carney said. He said earlier obstacles to Cordray's nomination had been based on "political considerations" from lawmakers who had opposed the creation of the financial protection board.

Some political observers, however, said Thursday that any fights to come will not be about Cordray personally, but about the overall structure of the CFPB itself.

"Issues larger than his handling of the bureau will probably dictate that," said Jason Rosenstock, the director of government relations at ML Strategies.

Reuters and CNBC contributed to this report.

Read More

S & P 500 closes for the first time in five years over 1,500

2:00 PM closes, first, years No Comments

From news agencies, NBC News

The S & P 500 index on Friday the 1,500 above sea level for the first time closed in more than five years as the strong U.S. earnings reports by & gamble Procter and others helped the benchmark to extend their rally in eight days.

The Dow Jones industrial average was 70.50 points or 0.51 percent to 13,895.83. The standard & poor's 500 index was 8.11 points, or 0.54 percent, to 1,502.93. The Nasdaq composite index was 19.33 points or 0.62 percent to 3,149.71.

For the week, the Dow Jones rose 1.8 percent, the S & P rose 1.1 percent and the NASDAQ rose by 0.5 percent. Profits for all three indexes, it was the fourth straight week.

Data showed sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell in December but rose in the year 2012 to its highest level since 2009, has turned a corner a shield the troubled US housing market.

"Economic data in the United States is higher, albeit modest been running." Things are incrementally better, "said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.

"The market was despite deterioration in the Apple move forward and this is also a positive."

Apple's shares fell 1.2 percent to $444.99 and was the iPhone manufacturer swap places as the most valuable U.S. company with ExxonMobil Corp by the afternoon.

In addition to the optimistic tone, improved morale of the German economy for a third month in a row in January to the highest in more than six months. In addition, said European banks, that they pay back more than the loans, which gave the Bank during the crisis the European Central Bank are expected much.

"Good news in the credit markets will help the stage for (further investments in) put risky assets," Krosby said.

Procter & gamble shares rose 3.6 percent to $72.99 after the world's best products for domestic manufacturers quarterly profit expectations rose. The company said sales and earnings Outlook for the fiscal year.

The benchmark S & P 500 index is more than 5 percent so far in January. Strong start this year, the equity market has solid balance sheet presentation, an agreement in Washington attributed to the expansion of the powers of the Government borrowing, encouraging signs of the global economy and seasonal inflows in equities.

Helping to lift the NASDAQ Composite rose Starbucks, 4.5 per cent to $57.01 after the coffee retailers stronger than expected sales in the United States and Asia.

Thomson Reuters data until Friday showed that 68 percent of the 147 S & P 500 companies that have reported the result exceeded expectations. Since 1994 62 percent of companies exceeded, while the average for the past four quarters is 65 percent expectations.

Halliburton co shares jumped 5 percent to $39.69 after the world's second largest oilfield service companies higher than expected profits and sales in the fourth quarter reported.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Read More