Starbucks is experimenting with selling an eight-ounce short size cup of coffee for $1 in the Seattle market. It's also testing free refills for traditional-brewed coffee in the area. The "short" isn't on Starbucks's menu, but has long been ordered by in-the-know patrons. Typically, a short would sell for around $1.50, although that can vary by several cents depending on the store. The $1 test undercuts even low-cost coffee purveyors, including McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, whose coffees generally start in the low $1-plus range. Although most sit-down restaurants top off customers' coffee free of charge, specialty cafes have …

Akron native and Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James will show his devotion to the New York Yankees with special shoes that pay tribute to the team that lost to the Cleveland Indians in the 2007 American League playoff series. Dominated by the team's traditional blue-and-white color scheme, the Air Zoom LeBron V shoe features New York's famed pinstripes, as well as James' No. 23--the number worn by popular Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly. Under the tongue are the words: "Le-Bron Ja-Mes. Clap. Clap. Clap Clap Clap," a nod to the cheer New York fans reserve for their beloved …

RC2--the maker of Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys--has agreed to what's expected to be a wave of settlements related to millions of toys recalled because of lead paint contamination. The $30 million class-action settlement received preliminary approval in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill., Tuesday. The Thomas recall--covering 1.5 million toys in June followed by 200,000 in September--was the first to raise global concerns about excessive levels of lead paint in toys made in China. The agreement calls for reimbursements for hundreds of thousands of consumers and improved product safety, which RC2 says it has implemented. …

Top-performing banks around the world are tailoring their services across all channels to adapt to the preferences of mass affluent customers--a small but increasingly influential segment. Although mass affluent customers are 30% more likely to prefer the online channel, banks can still target them by enhancing their experience in the branch and on the phone. In the branch, the mass affluent should be offered a differentiated service that evokes a sense of exclusivity. The best retail bank branches provide a hotel lobby-style appearance, concierge, and interactive information. Customers have immediate access to staff, and can call ahead for …

The Sammie is a key ingredient in Greg Brenneman's recipe to reshape the 5,200-restaurant Quiznos sandwich chain, along with delivery, online ordering, new venues like airport kiosks, colleges and probably a big-box retailer. The 200- to 300-calorie concoction of meats and greens folded into flatbread sells for $2. The Denver-based, privately held chain is the latest turnaround project for Brenneman, a hard-driving executive with a "get-it-done" mantra. Brenneman has borrowed from two previous turnaround projects--Continental Airlines and Burger King--for his revitalization. He joined Quiznos last January as CEO. This month, Quiznos is unveiling a new ad …

Pushed by consumer groups, the U.S. Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is proposing that alcoholic-beverage marketers be required to to put nutrition and alcohol-content labels on their containers. Consumers currently have almost no standardized information on calories, ingredients, or alcohol in a serving of beer, wine or liquor. Some producers, including brewers of light beer, list some of the information to help capture sales. The Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the agency for ingredient labels in 1972. It filed another one in 2003 that asked for a list of ingredients, the …

In its talks with United Airlines and Northwest Airlines about a possible combination, Delta executives have spoken in near absolute terms about their desire and intention of keeping the Delta name and the headquarters in Atlanta. But aviation experts say such certainties are hard to achieve in complex negotiations that often involve competing interests. Northwest officials are likely just as eager to see any combination they are involved in keep the Northwest name and the company based in Eagan, Minn., as United officials would likely want to keep the United name and base in Chicago. "This is …

Despite predictions of huge growth in the use of advertising in videogames, in-game ad usage has stayed fairly flat year-over-year, according to Forrester Research. One observation is that marketers haven't yet found a good use of the medium. "The marketer hasn't felt like there was a clear value to the advertising that they were doing," says Shar VanBoskirk, principal analyst at Forrester Research. But for marketers looking to reach a younger, male audience, video games are quite viable. Massive--an in-game advertising network that was recently purchased by Microsoft--saw a 250% lift in revenue in the second half …