DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Yet congenital syphilis is easily preventable if an infected person gets access to penicillin during their pregnancy. There were 2,677 cases of congenital syphilis in the U.S. in 2021 for a population of 332 million, according to preliminary CDC data. Canada had 96 cases for a population of 38 million, according to Health Canada. Health Canada told Reuters it has dispatched epidemiologists to help provinces contain the increase in congenital syphilis. The province had an incidence of 185 cases of congenital syphilis per 100,00 live births in 2021.

☆ 36 Hours in Panama City, Panama
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Freda Moon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

10:30 p.m. Love the nightlifeFuel your night out with a Coke or a cafe con leche at the Café Coca Cola on Plaza Santa Ana, which — according to its creation myth — has been serving revolutionaries, dictators, Hollywood actors and celebrated poets since the late 19th century. On the edge of Casco, this historic diner and its beautiful neighboring plaza offers a taste of what the Old Town used to be. Walk two blocks to the Selina hostel’s rooftop bar and restaurant, Tacos La Neta , which turns into a party scene at night, when D.J.s play cumbia or remixes of the Cuban-American singer Celia Cruz until 2 a.m. A glimpse of the city’s nightlife is worth the cost of admission ($5) and there are plant-filled nooks in which to drink and people watch. It’s packed after 9:30 p.m. or so on a weekend, with throngs waiting to get in.

☆ Why skinny soda cans are everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Drink manufacturers are aiming to distinguish their products on crowded shelves and save money on shipping and packaging with skinny cans, say analysts and drink makers. The can, presented at New York’s Fashion Week, had the tagline: “The New Skinny.” It was widely criticized as offensive and the National Eating Disorders Association said the company’s comments were both “thoughtless and irresponsible.”White Claw's skinny white cans have brought along copycats. Red Bull was one of the first brands to popularize slim cans, and White Claw saw success with its hard seltzer in thin white cans. skinny cans on store shelves, warehouse pallets and trucks than wider cans, said Dave Fedewa, a partner at McKinsey who consults for retail and consumer packaged goods companies. But the key, Fedewa said, is that skinny cans catch the eye: “It’s funny how much growth that can drive in retail.”

The unpaid invoices originated with dozens of little-known companies acting as middlemen for Venezuela's oil exports since U.S. sanctions in 2020 halted deals with international trading firms and customers. Venezuela's Attorney General's office in October began a probe after oil tankers absconded without full payment to PDVSA. Venezuela's oil ministry and PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment. Maroil boosted Venezuela's petcoke exports following a commercial pact with PDVSA in 2016. In Venezuela, two heavy oil upgrading facilities controlled by PDVSA, Petro San Felix and Petrocedeno, produce and store petcoke.

[1/2] Bottles of Campa Cola and Coca Cola are displayed at a Reliance Smart supermarket in Mumbai, India March 20, 2023. Other well known tycoons have tried to go toe-to-toe with the drinks giants, and failed, most notably Richard Branson with his Virgin Cola. The smallest bottles of Campa Cola and Coke both cost 10 rupees, while Pepsi starts from 12 rupees. Reliance did not respond to a request for comment, while Pepsi said it doesn't comment on competition as a policy. Another city store employee said 30 Campa bottles were being sold for every 100 of Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

☆ Beloved snacks and beverages that you can never buy again, from Tab to Purple Ketchup
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

TabRamin Talaie/Getty ImagesTab became one of the first diet sodas to hit the market in 1963. That gave it a niche audience that few other soft drinks could match until Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi came along in the early 1980s, Fast Company reported in 2020. Finally, in 2020, Coke said it would discontinue the soda at the end of that year as part of a broader culling of underperforming brands. But even until its demise, Tab had its fans. One woman Insider interviewed in 2020 even ran a website to help Tab drinkers find the soda for sale as its distribution dwindled.

☆ The most unique regional soda brands with cult followings, from Moxie to Topo Chico
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Topo ChicoBottles of Topo Chico water. Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for GBK Brand BarTopo Chico became a nationally recognized brand after Coca-Cola acquired the company for $220 million in 2017. Its sparkling water got national distribution, and Coke rolled out a Topo Chico hard seltzer through a partnership with Molson Coors. But before all that, the brand was a favorite among consumers in Northern Mexico and, in the early 2000s, with Texans. The brand got its US start in Hispanic grocery stores, according to Gerardo Galván, a Topo Chico executive who helped with the brand's expansion.

☆ Cheerwine, Vernors Ginger Ale, and 10 other regional soda brands with cult followings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Ukraine says eastern town of Avdiivka could become 'second Bakhmut'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, March 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Monday the eastern town of Avdiivka could soon become a "second Bakhmut", a small city where its forces have held out against Russian invaders for eight months but risk being fully encircled. The battle for Bakhmut in the industrial Donbas has been one of the fiercest of the nearly 13-month-old war in Ukraine, drawing comparisons with World War One trench warfare. I very much agree with my colleagues from the UK that Avdiivka may soon become the second Bakhmut," spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi said. Ukraine has said Russian forces are taking heavy losses in their offensive in eastern Ukraine. Avdiivka lies just to the north of the Russian-held city of Donetsk, of which Ukraine lost control in 2014.

☆ These elite dividend stocks have raised their payments for over 60 consecutive years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Through recessions and economic booms, over decades of market volatility, only eight companies in the S & P 500 have hiked their annual dividends year-in and year-out for at least 60 years. It pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share, and currently has a dividend yield of 3.07%, while the S & P 500's average dividend yield is 1.65%. Manufacturing company Stanley Black & Decker and food and beverage giant PepsiCo have raised their annual dividends for more than 50 years. ExxonMobil and Chevron have hiked their annual dividends for 40 and 36 years, respectively. Based on the current dividend rate, with no additional increases or decreases, Silverblatt expects cash payments for 2023 to increase 3.9% over 2022.

☆ Why American whiskey is the real winner of St. Patrick’s Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —On St. Patrick’s Day, it might seem appropriate to knock back a shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey. “Spirits consumers appreciate the rich heritage, tradition and authenticity of American whiskey,” Lisa Hawkins, senior vice president for public affairs for DISCUS, told CNN. Another factor in the growth of the American whiskey market is small distilleries that are becoming attractions themselves, where people can sample the whiskey and see how it is made. “These unique experiences have helped to introduce more consumers to American whiskey and build excitement for both legacy and newer brands in the category,” Hawkins said. American whiskey is the most popular top spirit to be exported, with the European Union being its biggest market.

☆ Food is getting cheaper. But not for you
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

When food producers started raising prices a few years ago, they blamed their own costs, including higher ingredient prices. Many food companies are forecasting that they might slow down or pause price increases — but not lower them. But ingredients typically make up a small portion of overall food costs. Companies are maintaining elevated prices, or continuing to increase them, at a time when many Americans are already struggling to pay for food, especially as pandemic-era food stamp benefits expire. So people keep buying food at the grocery store, despite higher prices — giving producers an opportunity to convince retailers that those higher prices won’t drive customers away.

☆ Pablo Escobar and the real story behind 'Cocaine Bear'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Chris Dalby | Insight Crime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Cocaine Bear" depicts an ursine rampage through Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The film is a fictionalization of a real event involving a bear finding cocaine thrown from a drug-laden airplane. Plenty has been written on the film's fictionalization of a real event involving a bear finding cocaine thrown from a drug-laden airplane. The real bear, which found packets of cocaine in the forest in 1985, never got a chance to go on a murder spree. The companyFor all its insanity, Cocaine Bear screenwriter Jimmy Warden does include elements of the real story.

☆ Key Georgia election official rips Marjorie Taylor Greene 'conspiracies' after tense meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A top election official in Georgia took aim at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for spreading "disproven conspiracies" after she falsely claimed during a House panel on election integrity that former President Donald Trump won the state in the 2020 election. Sterling, who came into the national spotlight when he denounced false claims of election fraud in Georgia after the 2020 election, was one of several elections officers who appeared Tuesday before the GOP-led House Election Integrity Caucus. Greene then made the repeatedly disproven assertion that there were "thousands" of dead voters whose ballots were counted in Georgia. "I'm going to follow up with one more thing: Trump won Georgia," Greene said, before voicing more election conspiracies, including the debunked claim that "suitcases" full of ballots were secretly scanned in Atlanta. Trump never conceded the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

☆ Monster Beverage is making booze that tastes just like its energy drinks, and you can already buy it in these 6 states
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Beast Unleashed contains 6% alcohol by volume and flavors inspired by its energy drinks. Called The Beast Unleashed, the drinks are made with malt alcohol and contain 6% alcohol by volume, though no caffeine or energy-inducing ingredients. But the Beast beverages are its latest attempt to diversify its business. Beast Unleashed, which the company announced in early 2022, is the company's first alcoholic beverage that uses the Monster brand. The launch marked the first alcoholic beverage that the cola maker sold in the US.

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Dick's, Costco, Snowflake, Meta, Dish & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Mizuho reiterates Tesla as buy Mizuho said it's standing by its buy rating heading into the company's analyst day on March 1. Barclays reiterates Apple as equal weight Barclays said low growth in the App Store is the "new norm" for Apple. Morgan Stand reiterates Dick's as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by its overweight rating heading into Dick's earnings on March 7. Bank of America downgrades Dish to underperform from buy Bank of America said it sees inflationary pressure for the satellite TV company. Deutsche Bank reiterates Salesforce as buy Deutsche Bank said it's standing by shares of Salesforce heading into earnings on Wednesday.

☆ Ukraine says it shot down a Su-25 jet and captured its pilot in revenge for a weekend of shelling: reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine says it shot down a Russian Su-25 jet in Avdiivka, Donetsk on Sunday. The brigade said that Russian forces were losing manpower and equipment in their attempts to advance near the site. After heavily shelling the plant earlier in the war, Russian forces have continually attempted to advance in its direction. Buildings in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, after Russian shelling on February 25, 2023, per the region's military administrator. Also known as a "Frogfoot," the Su-25 originated as a heavy Soviet-era jet designed to provide close air support to ground forces.

☆ Donald Trump Jr. says no one has eaten more McDonald's 'per capita' than his father
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump Jr. says no one eats more McDonald's "per capita, than Donald Trump." Trump Jr. added that it's "100% accurate" that no one knows the McDonald's menu better than his dad. On an episode of his "Triggered" podcast on Thursday, Trump Jr. talked about his father's trip to East Palestine, Ohio. "No one probably eats more of it, per capita, than Donald Trump," he added. Trump Jr., the former president's oldest son, also said it was nice seeing his father "just sitting there at McDonald's."

☆ The Legend Behind ‘Cocaine Bear’ Is Even Wackier Than the Movie
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ashley Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Coming Friday to movie theaters nationwide, “Cocaine Bear” draws inspiration from the true story of a bear that, well, ate cocaine. In the Hollywood version, the beast then goes on an R-rated, coke-fueled murder rampage. In real life, it’s harder to separate truth from fiction.

☆ Microsoft is using ChatGPT to teach robots how to get you a soda and warm up your lunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft is testing what happens when ChatGPT takes control of small robots. Researchers at Microsoft imagine a day when people can give instructions like "heat up my lunch" to at-home robots. This week, a team of researchers at Microsoft released its early findings after allowing ChatGPT to take control of robots. In this report, researchers detailed how they used certain prompts to allow ChatGPT to take control of a small drone. OpenAI has kept many industries on their toes since the company decided, as a last resort, to release its ChatGPT AI chatbot to the public in late November.

☆ Chinese-owned British Steel plans closures which may cut 260 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Chinese-owned British Steel on Wednesday said it could cut up to 260 jobs after announcing the planned closure of its coke ovens in northern England, saying steelmaking in Britain was uncompetitive despite efforts to reduce costs. British Steel boss Xifeng Han said the company, which is owned by China's Jingye Group (600768.SS), was "undergoing the biggest transformation in our 130-year history." He also said decarbonisation was a major challenge for its business as the company set out proposals to close the coke ovens at its Scunthorpe site. Jingye, which bought the company out of insolvency in 2020 with a promise of 1.2 billion pounds ($1.45 billion) in spending, has invested 330 million pounds in capital projects so far, British Steel said in the statement. "Unite will pursue every avenue, including industrial action, to defend members’ jobs at British Steel," the union said in a statement.

☆ Top brands pull out of Russia, but their goods remain easy to find
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Brands' continued availability shows the challenge companies face in controlling supply chains when exiting a market. Market leader Wildberries sells old stock from Inditex brands and has almost 17,000 goods in its Zara catalogue. Informal supply routes could lead to more poor-quality goods entering Russia, however, as regulators lose oversight, Ben Tzion said. IKEA brand owner Inter IKEA Group said it sold remaining stock for an undisclosed amount to Yandex as it down-scaled IKEA Retail Russia. IKEA said it was looking into goods being advertised as similar to IKEA online.

☆ Walmart is offloading outdoor brand Moosejaw six years after acquiring it as DTC brands prove tricky to integrate into large companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Ben Tobin | Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The sale is part of a trend of large companies struggling to integrate direct-to-consumer brands. Dick's Sporting Goods is buying outdoor retailer Moosejaw from Walmart, the company announced Wednesday. Walmart purchased Moosejaw in 2017 for about $51 million to bolster its outdoor and e-commerce offerings. That same year, the retail giant purchased another direct-to-consumer company, the apparel brand Bonobos. Integrating direct-to-consumer brands is often a challenge for big companies.

☆ British Steel proposes to close coking ovens in move that could cut 260 UK jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — Chinese-owned British Steel said it may eliminate up to 260 U.K. jobs as a result of the proposed closure of its coking ovens in Scunthorpe, as steelmaking in Britain remains "uncompetitive" despite cost cutting. British Steel employs 4,700 people, of whom 4,300 are based in the UK. The British administration has been in talks to agree a long-term solution with British Steel over recent months. The Unite union called on British Steel must provide further disclosure over Scunthorpe or face potential industrial action. "Unite will pursue every avenue, including industrial action, to defend members' jobs at British Steel."

☆ Analysis: To raise prices or not? Consumer goods makers weigh bets on buyer strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | Thomson Reuters | New York-Based Reporter Covering U.S. Consumer Products Spanning Paper Towels To Packaged Food | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But, there are small signs the pressure is easing, with U.S. consumer prices a month earlier declining for the first time in two-and-a-half years, due in part to gas prices. Price hikes - or halts - are set to take center stage at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York annual conference on Feb. 20 in Boca Raton, Florida. DIFFERENT PREDICTIONSAfter more than a year of consistent price hikes, some consumer goods makers such as Kraft Mac & Cheese manufacturer Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) are pressing pause as they weigh consumer demand for their items. Frozen pizza prices have risen about 14% in the last year, according to IRI data. "Retailers cannot truly push back on prices … if the company has an important brand," Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said.

Search resuls for: "COKE"

25 mentions found