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Posted
Jun 17 2008, 10:30 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
In a surprising move, Warren Buffett told the Belgian newspaper De Standard this morning that he supports InBev's $46 billion cash offer for Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch. His Berkshire Hathaway owns some 35 million shares, or a 5% stake in the iconic beer maker.
The endorsement comes as a bit of a slap in the face for Anheuser CEO August Busch IV, who was trying to buy some time as indicated in this formal response sent to InBev yesterday. In fact, the Oracle of Omaha was going to grace Mr. Busch with his presence later this week to talk the deal through.
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Posted
May 05 2009, 04:43 PM
by
Charley Blaine
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Starbucks (SBUX) has been hurting. It built way too many stores. Costs were getting out of control. And sales couldn't keep up because, well, there were too many stores.
Then, consumers, squeezed by the recession, began to look for less-pricey alternatives.
A perfect opportunity for a competitor with financial muscle eager to build new audiences -- say, McDonald's (MCD) -- to slip in under the radar. Whoever said business was about nice people being nice?
Now what has been a relatively modest battle is turning into a real war.
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Posted
Jul 01 2008, 10:31 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Finally, some good news from Starbucks: the coffee-shop behemoth is closing 600 stores and cutting 12,000 jobs, roughly 7% of its global workforce.
This is a gutsy move for founder Howard Schultz, who just recently retook the helm with broad pronouncements of returning to roots and reigniting the "emotional attachment with customers" that has been lost over time. After all, Starbucks now has 16,226 locations, up from just 1,886 over the last 10 years. With operations in such faraway lands as Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Argentina, and Romania, Starbucks' expansionist future once seemed boundless.
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Posted
Jun 16 2008, 10:18 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
As you've no doubt heard by now, Anheuser-Busch, the business behind one of America's most iconic brands, is being pursued by foreigners. Late last week, Belgian-based brewer InBev launched an unsolicited all-cash buyout offer worth some $46 billion. Not surprisingly, given a dour U.S. populace, the deal is already generating serious backlash on rumors of job cuts and brewery closings. Jokes that the famous Clydesdales could be sent to a glue factory to help pay down post-merger debt aren't helping either.
Although the deal can't be classified as a matter of national security, as was the case with high-profile acquisition attempts by Dubai Ports World and CNOOC, I have a feeling this one will strike a chord with the average guy on the street. In the words of the Economist, "Could anything symbolize America's loss of economic supremacy more clearly than for its favorite beer to fall into foreign hands?" Politicians are drooling
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Posted
Aug 04 2009, 10:02 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 When the stock market has you flummoxed, there's always whisky. No, not to drown your sorrows. How about whisky as an investment?
The maker of Glenfiddich has unveiled a 50-year aged whisky that will sell for $16,000, Bloomberg reports. It will be the second-most expensive in the world. Who's going to be drinking Glenfiddich 50 Year Old? Not many, apparently. These offerings, in 500 hand-blown and numbered bottles, are meant to be an investment. "I'd expect interest from Asia to North America for a 50-year," said a director at a Scotch whisky trade group,
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Posted
Jan 28 2009, 07:10 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Now may be the time to quit smoking. And drinking. Gambling, too.
As a way to shore up their decimated budgets, many state governments are playing vice cop, hiking "sin taxes" on the traditional American pastimes listed above. Sin taxes are nothing new -- consider Prohibition as the ultimate example -- but there's another round of them on the way.
A unique dynamic is at play: People turn to their vices for comfort during dire economic times -- and yet, in such times, states balance their budgets on the backs of smokers and drinkers (which is a considerable portion of this country).
And states are not the only ones getting in on the act.
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Posted
Jun 23 2008, 06:59 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
InBev's $46 billion cash offer for Anheuser-Busch is turning into a global economic nightmare for those proud of their Great American Lager. It's bad enough that a Belgian brewer run by a bunch of Brazilians is trying to buyout the last of the great U.S. beer makers -- this after Miller was made South African in 2002 and Coors became part-Canadian in 2004.
But now, fate has it that the best hope for keeping Anheuser free from the clutches of foreigners rests with the Fernandez family, controllers of Grupo Modelo, the Mexican brewery famous for Corona.
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Posted
Sep 15 2008, 11:55 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Looks like Amazon is close to selling wine online. This has been in the works for a while (we wrote about the company's plans in March). Now, a wine trade group says the company could begin wine sales as early as the end of September. This won't be huge for Amazon, but the company could gain a devoted following of wine lovers.
The trade group, Napa Valley Vintners, is so excited about the possibilities that it's holding workshops to teach members how to sell wine through Amazon. Shares of the company are down less than 1% Monday to $78.02.
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Posted
Apr 02 2008, 01:07 PM
by
Aaron Whallon
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A couple weeks ago about a dozen Nestle Crunch bars were sent to one of my colleagues. The box came with a note saying there was a candy bar for each member of our team. I didn't really think much of it at first. The Crunch bar sat on my desk for most of the day. Late in the afternoon I finally opened it up and broke off a piece. It was the first time I had eaten a Crunch bar in about 10 years. And I thought it was pretty good. As I expressed my satisfaction to some of my coworkers they kindly offered me their candy. And I kindly took it.
The two bars have just been sitting on my desk the past two weeks. I had pretty much forgotten about them until I came across a headline today that read "Hershey, Mars, Nestle Accused of Fixing Candy Prices."
According to a lawsuit, Giant Eagle, a Pittsburgh grocery store, is accusing the chocolate makers of fixing candy prices in the U.S.
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Posted
Jul 14 2008, 01:28 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Soft-drink companies are bracing for a slowdown in what has been a surefire moneymaker: Selling filtered tap water, straight up or with flavor and nutrients as "enhanced water" beverages. But the companies still offer opportunity for investors.
Not only are people shying away from water costing the equivalent of $12 a gallon when gasoline is over $4 a gallon, but environmental sensitivity to those ugly, non-biodegradable plastic bottles is on the rise as well.
A recent survey by venerable Morgan Stanley beverage analyst William Pecoriello found 16% of consumers are reducing bottled water consumption due to environmental concerns. This is up from just 5% last year. Of these, 34% are reusing their plastic water bottles more often while 23% are just going with tap water instead.
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