LyrArc Article Gist
Bargain prices in retail stores and grocery stores are amplifying the threat of deflation. So is the negligible growth in wage and incomes. The consumer price index, excluding gasoline and energy items, went up by 0.9% in 2009, the smallest increase since 1962. Annual growth for average hourly earnings went down from 3.5% in April 2007 to 1.6% in April 2010.

LyrArc Article Gist
The May 6 episode of the stock market plunge of 900 points in the U.S. and then recovering had the effect of rattling investors nerves especially retirees. The impact of this episode is recorded in the experience of one Charles Schwab broker office in Englewood, Colorado. By the end of that day this broker had 50 calls on his answering machine from a fifth of his clients, all seeking to know what happened. Charles Schwab, who helped launch a period of individual investing in the U.S. after 1982 by cutting fees and going after the average investor, (along with others like Jack Bogle of Vanguard Funds), is also on edge. He says he has not seen anything like this since his early days. Schwab confirms Yale Prof. Shiller who says (see link) that his index for markets shows a lot of nervousness. Saying that 98% of people are still very concerned, coming after the May 6 incident, and the Greece and eurozone crisis that impacted US stock markets. One other factor he points out is the constant flow of headlines that suggest certain business people engaged in fradulent practices, something that fuels a lack of trust. Charles Schwab ponders from his office across the San Francisco Bay Bridge, whether words like safety and soundness mean anything anymore. Another factor of concern, Bogle points out, is that institutional investors now own 70% of American corporations, up from 35% in 1975. And the advantage has veered sharply in their direction as institutions, hedge funds, and investment banks trade on their own account, with wealth moving in that direction. This leaves the individual investor and especially the retiree or those about to retire in a severe predicament....

LyrArc Article Gist
Controversy about whether bringing back a revamped Ford Explorer is a good idea. Ford's Farley thinks Americans might still consider an Explorer with high fuel economy, getting it up to 28 mpg from 15 mpg. But the evidence is that Americans have soured on SUV's. Consider that during the cash-for-clunkers program more Explorers were scrapped, and by a large margin, than any other model. Sales are down from 450,000 at one time to 52,000 today. To get buyers to look at the Explorer Ford is trying to change the looks from boxy to sleeker car-based crossover , and add high tech features. In fact it is going to be built not as an SUV, but on the same architectural base as the Taurus.

LyrArc Article Gist
Internet content and communications provider Yahoo, is losing ground. Compared to a 4% growth for the Internet overall, Yahoo's increase in unique vistors was 4%, according to comScore in the 4 months of 2010 to April. Total minutes dropped 11%, and page views dropped 13% in same period, compared to double digit increases for the Web. Yahoo CEO, Bartz, lacks a background in journalism and content development. And AOL is pursuing a similiar strategy. Yahoo agreed to acquire Associated Content which aggregates content from bloggers, and it is making trials with local content in Detroit and Cleveland for user engagement. Bartz plans to revamp the email interface. Analysts sense that the repair job will be tough for Bartz as Yahoo's image has suffered.

LyrArc Article Gist
Kraft is looking at its staple pantry products in a different light to give them new life. Kraft products like Bull's Eye barbecue sauce, Chips Ahoy, Oscar Mayer, Miracle Whip and Philadelphia Cream Cheese are all getting new marketing campaigns. This is similiar to what is happening across the food industry, as companies like Campbell, ConAgra, General Mills, Heinz, Hershey, Hormel, Kellogg and Smucker, all of which have staple pantry products, are trying to give new life to old staples. Kraft marketing executives say the idea is to work not just on the rational side as they have done in the past by emphasizing price. For Macaroni and Cheese, Kraft would say to cost conscious consumers in this recession, it costs about 1 dollar a box. One headline even described this as a small price for a big cheese eating grin. Now the advertsing budget has been increased by 30% to $50 million, and the focus has shifted to bringing out the emotional attachment to this product of young and old alike. Now the thing is to add fun aspects to the lives of parents and children who have used it in the past. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Criticism of the FDA's inability to exert pre-market quality control. Questions raised by a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, about the FDA's inability to detect quality issues in manufacturing. After the J&J recalls for childrens Tylenol and other medicines, the FDA sent a warning letter to Perrigo, a company based in Michigan, that ships these children's medicines, about manufacturing violations. This includes ibuprofen tablets with metal shavings.