Or so they’d have you think…  Read More →

Investment firm 3G Capital bought Burger King today for $3.26 billion. 3G Capital is backed by Brazilian tycoon Jorge Paulo Lemann, known in Brazil for founding the prestigious investment firm Banco Garantia and owning Brazilian brewing giant AmBev, which eventually merged with Belgium’s Interbrew to become InBev. Burger King isn’t 3G’s first US fast food investment. The firm invested in Wendy’s in the past, according... 

Finally, a recall the middle class doesn’t have to worry about. Ferrari has recalled 1,248 Ferrari 458 Italias after fires destroyed five existing models. The BBC has more : …a Ferrari spokesman said the company had investigated the five reported incidents of spontaneous fires in the 458, and traced the problem to materials in the wheel arch lining and heat shield. According to Ferrari, the glue securing the wheel arch lining and... 

Today’s Apple announcement revolved around the iPod Touch 4, a new line of redesigned iPods, iOS 4, and more (see the NYT’s complete liveblog here.) Apple, aside perhaps from its Apple TV, is once again leading the industry in product design, aesthetics, and capability. Here’s a summation of Steve Jobs’ announcements on the new iPods and Apple TV: New versions of all …  Read More →

Taking a long-delayed lead from other countries , California plans to ban single-use plastic grocery and pharmacy bags starting in 2012, followed by convenience and liquor store bags in 2013. The move will stop Californians from using roughly 19 billion bags per year. From the CS Monitor : The plastics industry is working hard to defeat the measure. “This bill is bad for the economy and bad for the environment,” says Keith Christman, managing... 

In a blow to environmentalists , California voted down a ban on single-use plastic grocery and pharmacy bags starting in 2012, followed by convenience and liquor store bags in 2013. The move would have stopped Californians from using roughly 19 billion bags per year. From the CS Monitor : The plastics industry is working hard to defeat the measure. “This bill is bad for the economy and bad for the environment,” says Keith Christman, managing... 

How are Americans so overworked, yet get so little done? That’s a question Chicago labor lawyer Thomas Geoghegan tackles in his book, Were You Born on the Wrong Continent? , which, according to the Salon interview I read , explores “America’s misguided culture of overwork.” “Germany’s workers have higher productivity, shorter hours and greater quality of life,&#…  Read More →

The overdeveloped peninsula of Cancun, dripping tourist dollars. Image: cmakin /Flickr Eight people have died after someone threw petrol bombs into a bar in Cancun , a popular US tourist destination in Mexico. From the BBC : The bar was set on fire early on Tuesday by unidentified assailants, prosecutor Francisco Alor Quesada told local media. Among the dead were several women working in the bar and two customers, he was quoted as saying in... 

Image: Fail Blog  Read More →

Sprint-owned Clearwire , a wireless ISP service that currently provides 4G services Sprint phones like the HTC EVO 4G, will offer pay-as-you-go 4G access. The service, nicknamed “Rover,” will charge by the day, week, or month for users who buy a special connection device. From CNNMoney : Customers can buy one of two devices to connect to the service: a $150 “Puck” that serves 4G mobile broadband to up to 8 devices or... 

French company Sanofi-Aventis , the world’s fourth-largest prescription drugmaker, is looking to buy US-based biotech giant and rare disease treatment specialist Genzyme. But Genzyme rejected S-A’s $18.5B offer, meaning that negotiations for the mega-merger may drag out. FiercePharma’s Tracy Staton sums up the situation: Even if Sanofi goes hostile, as CEO Christopher Viehbacher’s letter to Genzyme hinted, the deal could... 

Image: FoundSh*t.com  Read More →

Every year, today’s greatest thinkers gather at various TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) conferences around the world. Their talks, which you can find on TED’s website , are often insightful, educational, and fascinating. As a TED junkie, I decided to compile 20 of the best business talks in the conference’s history. Each talk offers insights either into a business leader’s mind, or into concepts that will change... 

This is a guest post by Shipwire’s Nate Gilmore. A common growth strategy among SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) and start-ups today is outsourcing the non-core parts of their businesses so they can focus on selling and marketing their products. Thus, it shouldn’t be a surprise that many small to medium sized e-tailers are beginning to leave the warehousing and shipping of their products …  Read More →

It happens to all of us – that logo you spent hours, days, weeks working on with a graphic designer turned out beautiful. You slapped it on all your letterhead, business cards, signage, websites and other promotional materials. And once it was out in the open, you realized, “Maybe it’s not quite right.” Now what? Redesigning anything – whether it’s a website, a logo or an entire rebranding of the company – is costly, since it involves...