Visitors to the US are often mystified about the “right” amount to tip for service, and it turns out Americans don’t agree too much either.
The numbers: Impressive. Nike posted third quarter profits of $685 million, up 3% from the same period last year. Sales jumped 13%, to $6.97 billion.
Starbucks just announced that it will be shifting from selling alcohol in a few select stores to unleashing it across the US. “We’ve tested it long enough in enough markets—this is a program that works,” CFO Troy Alstead told Bloomberg. As well as beer and wine (though not hard liquor), the chain will also offer a line of fancier snacks, including bacon-wrapped dates, truffle macaroni-and-cheese, and flatbreads.
The numbers: Not great. Global cereal giant General Mills reported third-quarter profits of $410.6 million, roughly 3% more than the same period last year. But sales fell 1.2% to $4.38 billion.
America is tired of the microwave.
Italy’s financial woes come at a gastronomic cost too.
Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has a new idea for how to fight his country’s shortages of basic goods: keep electronic records of what everyone is buying.
It was fun (and affordable) while it lasted.
Anything goes when a country is running out of money.
Remarkably, though paying with your mobile phone has been possible for years at Starbucks, tipping with it hasn’t. The coffee giant is finally rectifying that, with an update to its mobile payment service that includes the ability to add a tip; it will roll out on iPhones in the US next week.
Americans have been drinking less and less beer for about two decades now—per capita consumption is down 20% since the early 1990s.
Men are spending more money on clothing than ever before.
The world’s most popular cheap cooking oil is becoming less affordable.
While protests ravage Venezuela’s streets, murders continue to climb in its back alleys.
The worse Spain’s economic situation gets, the fewer places its people have to drink away their sorrows.
Pabst Brewing Co., the 170-year-old brewery that makes Pabst Blue Ribbon—known as “PBR” to the mustachioed cognoscenti—is for sale, Reuters reported over the weekend. And the expectation is that the company will fetch as much as $1 billion.
The Czech Republic should be proud. Its customs just seized $37 million in heroin (paywall), the country’s largest drug bust ever. The shipment is mammoth by any standards, but especially Czech standards—the 182 kilograms (401 pounds) could be equivalent to an entire year’s worth of heroin use in the Czech Republic.
French snails, take cover. A team of local scientists have confirmed what could be the escargot industry’s worst fears. Platydemus manokwari, a snail-eating flatworm, has arrived in France.
There’s a huge business opportunity hiding in the fields of East Africa.
Ukraine is the world’s third largest exporter of corn and fifth largest exporter of wheat, which has caused some havoc in those markets lately.
Hanging out with Mickey Mouse is getting more expensive.
In the 1980s, Air Jordan sneakers were so sought after that there were reports of teenagers being mugged for them in cities across America.
Diet soda was supposed to save the soda industry in a world worried by sugar. Instead it’s only dragging it down.
Colombia may be known for growing high-end coffee, but the country is actually pretty fond of the crappy stuff.
