by Thom Forbes on May 31, 7:52 AM
BlackBerry maker RIM, which reported Tuesday that it may experience an unexpected loss for the first quarter and saw its shares plunge nearly 8% yesterday, is in a "make-or-break blitz to roll out its next smartphone and operating system" analysts and industry observers tell the "Wall Street Journal"'s Will Connors. That's after influential tech columnist Shelly Palmer declared it all but embalmed in a column last Friday.
by Thom Forbes on May 30, 7:17 AM
It's not a surprise that Chrysler -- the folks who brought us the minivan and created the Soccer Mom in the first place -- is cutting production on all but one model. It is evidently a tiny bit of a surprise, however, that it will be the Dodge Caravan that survives and not the Town & Country, which is undergoing reinvention as a crossover model. The latter name may, or may not, stick around.
by Thom Forbes on May 29, 7:49 AM
$203.2 million worldwide; $70 million in the U.S. -- not a bad opening weekend for a Hollywood "sequel that nobody wanted-or asked for." The Daily Beast's weekend tout sheet continues: "'Men in Black 3' boasts some fun visual effects, Will Smith one-liners, Josh Brolin doing a spot-on Tommy Lee Jones impersonation, and Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement as the villain, Boris the Animal. But seriously...who gives a shit about 'Men in Black' anymore?"
by Thom Forbes on May 25, 7:35 AM
In his run-up to the McDonald's annual meeting, which was held in Oak Brook, Ill., yesterday, USA Today's Bruce Horovitz pointed out that there is still a big "to-do" list for incoming CEO Don Thompson, 48, who on July 1 takes over from Jim Skinner, 67, who guided McDonald's "through one of its most successful, yet change-embracing, periods."
by Thom Forbes on May 24, 7:49 AM
After having had a good look at the rambling enterprise she acquired last September -- sort of a corporate McMansion emblematic of a bygone era of build-it-big-and-gaudy -- CEO Meg Whitman is slashing the household staff and recognizing the obvious.
by Thom Forbes on May 23, 7:53 AM
The inventor of one of the most deceptively pernicious devices known to consumers -- and the advertisers who love them -- has passed away.
by Thom Forbes on May 22, 7:57 AM
It's a POM Wonderful life when you look at things though your own garnet-colored packaging.
by Thom Forbes on May 21, 7:54 AM
There's one guaranteed plus about General Motors' decision this May to forego Super Bowl advertising next February: It's going to generate lot of commentary -- probably even more over the long haul than its decision to forego advertising on Facebook, which was announced last Tuesday.
by Thom Forbes on May 18, 7:54 AM
The bribery investigations at Wal-Mart headquarters may be widening, as the "New York Times" reports, but the results at Walmarts' stores certainly cheered up executives in the C suites and boardroom yesterday. Profits rose 10.1%, beating analyst's estimates. They credited its low-price promotions with luring "thrifty shoppers back into its U.S. stores," as Shan Li puts in the "Los Angeles Times."
by Thom Forbes on May 17, 8:46 AM
A Rand Corp. study of 28,433 regular and 1,833 children's menu items in 245 national chain restaurants finds that a whopping 96% of them fail to meet recommendations for the combination of calories, sodium, fat and saturated fat set by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.