Business groups throughout the U.S. are speaking out against the Trump Administration’s plan to increase taxes on imports from China. Bloomberg reports:
Author: scott.hodges
Nestle Teams Up with Starbucks to Boost International Standing
Switzerland-based company Nestle has recently signed a treaty with one of its biggest competitors: Starbucks Corp. Nestle will be paying $7.15 billion in cash for the Starbucks business, which has annual sales of up to $2 billion, and plans to market the chain’s consumer and food-service products internationally. The arrangement does not include Ready-to-Drink drinks or the sales of products within Starbucks coffee shops.
The move comes as part of Nestle’s recent mission to attract higher-end coffee enthusiasts. Mark Schneider, Nestle CEO, said: “With Starbucks, Nescafe and Nespresso, we bring together three iconic brands in the world of coffee.”
Several hundred Starbucks employees will join the Nestle team, and will continue to operate in Seattle, Washington, once the agreement closes by the end of this year.
According to Bloomberg, “Nestle has been bolstering its presence in the U.S., and last year added niche brands Blue Bottle Coffee and Chameleon Cold-Brew to expand its portfolio. Nespresso has introduced a machine that’s more attuned to American’s preference for bigger cups of joe three years ago.”
Avengers: Infinity War Breaks Global Opening Weekend Record
The new release Avengers: Infinity Wars shot past the latest Star Wars movie, setting a new record for the highest opening weekend of all time with earnings of $250 million. It also set a new global opening record at $630 million prior to its launch in China, the second-largest movie market in the world.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned a close $248 million on opening weekend. Both films belong to Disney, which has seen massive success in recent years and currently owns nine out of the top ten opening weekends of all time, six of which were Marvel, including the ground-breaking Black Panther.
Disney’s head of distribution Dave Hollis said: “To have now the biggest movie of domestic history as one of the Marvel cinematic universe films seems like a fitting tribute to the Marvel Studios team which has had just an astounding, unmatched run in the last decade.”
Indeed, Marvel has released 18 movies in the last 10 years, making around $15 billion in the box office. Its newest Infinity War was an enormous enterprise, running 2 hours and 40 minutes long and shot over 18 months along with its sequel, which is due for release next summer. Response for the first installment has been extremely positive, earning an A CinemaScore from its audience and a 84% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Greg Fpster of IMAX Corp explained that Marvel’s success comes from its originality. “This isn’t something that their parents saw. This isn’t an old franchise that their parents saw when they were 20,” he said. “This is their. The Marvel universe is the group of characters that this generation owns.”
Hasbro Picking Up After Toys R Us Announcement
Hasbro Inc., a leading toymaker, took a hit last quarter when Toys R Us US declared bankruptcy and liquidated its operations, only to rebound when CEO Brian Goldner reassured shareholders that demand would increase elsewhere as a result. Bloomberg reports:
Think Differently Apple!
In January of 2018, JANA Partners LLC and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, which collectively own about $2 billion in value of shares of Apple Inc., wrote an open letter to the technology giant. As they wrote, “As shareholders, we recognize your unique role in the history of innovation and the fact that Apple is one of the most valuable brand names in the world.” In the letter, they urge Apple “to offer parents more choices and tools to help them ensure that young consumers are using your products in an optimal manner. “
They cited the growing body of evidence that shows the consequences of technology for children. Such research includes:
* “67% of the over 2,300 teachers surveyed observed that the number of students who are negatively distracted by digital technologies in the classroom is growing and 75% say students’ ability to focus on educational tasks has decreased.”
* “8th graders who are heavy users of social media have a 27% higher risk of depression.”
* “A study by UCLA researchers showed that after 5 days at a device-free outdoor camp, children performed far better on tests for empathy than a control group.”
JANA Partners and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, in the letter in the site called Think Differently About Kids, offered a number of suggestions for Apple. Apple issued a statement saying, “We think deeply about how our products are used and the impact they have on users and the people around them. We take this responsibility very seriously and we are committed to meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations, especially when it comes to protecting kids.”
Bitcoin Miners Turns Their Sights to Norway and Sweden
Interestingly, those looking for low commercial power prices for bitcoin and ethereum are starting to set their sights on Sweden and Norway. Their power prices are significantly lower than Iceland’s and than European prices. for Sweden’s Vattenfall and Norway’s Statkraft this is very good news.
Iceland has been Europe’s most popular location for miners of digital currencies such as bitcoin and ethereum. Bitcoin miners use approximately 130 terawatt hours of energy a year. As Olivier Roussy Newton, the director and co-founder of Canadian group HIVE Blockchain Technologies (HIVE.V), said, “We’re on a global hunt to secure as much power as we can,” and they started mining ethereum this past January in Sweden.
Read more about these fascinating developments.
A Women-Only Island: A Good Business Model?
Niche marketing has always been around but it’s interesting to see just how niche some people make it. Entrepreneur Kristina Roth has created SuperShe Island, a private retreat off of the coast of Finland. And the twist? It’s an island retreat only for women.The island sleeps 10 in four luxury cabins and offers wellness activities and times to bond with other women. Roth used to be the CEO of a consultancy business and as she explains,
“I really lived in, worked, lived, breathed in a men-dominated world. When I really started to travel more the last couple of years […] I just met a lot of amazing women around the world.”
People shouldn’t get too excited about joining, however, since it’s an invite-only type of arrangement. And this has certainly sent some people into a tizzy. As Ruth Pearson told CNN Travel, “The retreat being a female-only space doesn’t make it inherently feminist. It is a space created by a rich, white woman for other women like her.” Pearson continued, “These factors will disproportionately affect people of color, people with disabilities, trans women and those who are gender non-conforming, meaning this island is only for one very narrow type of woman.”
Starting in June, she plans to have her first test group on the island and then she hopes to open for business in July.
Fendi Announces New Chairman and Chief Executive
Fendi has just named a new chairman and chief executive, Serge Brunschwig. This is part of an internal reshuffle as he replaces Pietro Beccari, who will now be the Chairman and CEO of LVMH’s Christian Dior Couture arm.
Netflix Hits the $100 Billion Mark
Netflix has hit the $100 billion mark for the first time. Shares jumped 9% to over $248 in after-hour trading on Monday. The company now sits with their program in more than 50% of all US broadband houses and has spread out to 190 countries.They ended the year with 1.98 million additional subscribers in the US and 117.58 million streaming subscribers around the world.
They actually plan to spend as much as $8 billion this year on TV shows and movies to compete with Disney, Amazon.com, Hulu and others.
Read more about them and their steady growth.
Good News for Consumer Spending
Good news for the consumer goods industry. Mastercard Inc has reported that shoppers spent over $800 billion during the season. Their report cites sales in stores and online between November 1 and December 24 as having risen 4.9%. This is the fastest year-on-year pace of increase since 2011.
This is certainly good news since most U.S. retailers have found that their sales are tumbling due to online stores like Amazon. Read all the details to learn more.