Imagine you're selling something for $85 and Walmart comes along and says it's going to offer an identical service for under $10. That's an extreme example of what happened yesterday when the retailer announced plans to get into the money transfer business, undercutting the fees charged by the two big players in the game, Western Union and MoneyGram.» 6 Comments
Ford stood far above the crowd at the press preview for the New York Auto Show yesterday by parking a sparkling, canary yellow 2015 Mustang on the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building. It was exactly 50 years ago this week that the automaker unveiled the first Mustang at the New York World's Fair in "Ford's first International Press Introduction of an automobile," as Lee Iacocca put it.» 0 Comments
As sales of its fizzy sodas dropped globally in the first quarter for the first time since 1999, Coca-Cola is betting heavily on its Freestyle dispenser that allows consumers to mix up their own concoctions - Sprite Zero with Raspberry, anybody? - to woo back younger consumers who want to be in control of their gustatory experiences.» 0 Comments
The social media skies have been anything but friendly for American Airlines Group and its recent merger partner, US Airways. On Sunday, a tweet from "Sarah @QueenDemetriax" said: "@americanAir hello my name's Ibrahim and I'm from Afghanistan. I'm part of Al Qaida and on June 1st I'm gonna do something really big bye."» 1 Comments
Consumers who are consciously coupled to a competing product - be it an Apple iPhone 5s or an rival Android - might be excused if they think about drawing up uncoupling papers upon reading Samsung's newspaper ad for the new Galaxy S5 this morning on the back page of the New York Times' "Business Day" section.» 0 Comments
Any adult in the U.S. with a spare $1,500 plus tax - and no fear of looking like a dork, being called out (or worse) as a digital Peeping Tom or fearful of being hacked themselves - will have a limited opportunity to buy the Explorer version of Google Glass on Tuesday starting at 9 a.m. EDT.» 1 Comments
Saying it was "trying to disrupt the market," Walmart yesterday announced a deal to revive the Wild Oats organic brand that "may potentially have big implications for the organic-food industry," as Andrea Cheng puts it in MarketWatch.» 3 Comments
Retired soccer star David Beckham and the never-idle entrepreneur Simon Fuller are partnering with Diageo to develop and market a premium, single-grain Scotch called Haig Club that "showcases butterscotch and toffee" and is targeted not only to current users but also "those who have always wanted to try whisky." And have a spare 65 bucks or so to spend on the experience.» 0 Comments
Marvel characters continue to create awe and wonder at the box office with Captain America's second offering, "The Winter Soldier," setting an April box office record over the weekend by grossing an estimated $96.2 million domestically. It pulled in $110 million more overseas. The combined total is worthy of a classic "Boffo" in the "Variety" headline, with a story that points out that the sequel to the 2011 debut has already crossed the $300-million mark thanks to overseas openings the week before.» 0 Comments
Samsung may be learning a lesson this week that most of us observed by watching Mr. Smith a long time ago: What flies in Hollywood doesn't having any relation to the real politick of Washington, D.C. And so it is that headlines are calling out both Samsung and Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz for "punking" the President with a moment reminiscent of Ellen DeGeneres' selfie-fulfilling prophecy at the Oscars that did, indeed, set a record for the most retweets.» 2 Comments
