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NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - Burger King is banking on its viral "Whopper Whopper" jingle to lift sales as part of the flagging fast-food chain's turnaround plan, as broader economic uncertainty pushed two big franchisees into bankruptcy. "I'm optimistic about the trajectory of sales in 2023," said U.S. and Canada Burger King president Tom Curtis in an interview, adding that the jingle's fervent success was "unanticipated." Unlike other fast-food chains like Subway that are consolidating restaurant ownership among fewer franchisees, Burger King is expanding the number of owners in its system. This year, two large U.S. Burger King franchisees that run more than 200 locations across at least 10 states have filed for bankruptcy, citing poor sales atop surging costs for labor and goods. "We don't want to diminish the importance of this crisis, but we also will leverage it to bring in new operators," Curtis said.

☆ McDonald’s is upgrading its burgers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —McDonald’s, which has been focusing on upgrading its core items to boost sales, is rolling out a series of changes designed to improve its signature burgers. The Big Mac will come with more Big Mac sauce. “In an environment where our customers are looking for the simple and familiar, our core menu items have never been more relevant,” he said. McDonald's USAFocusing on promoting its core menu items, rather than introducing new products, is a way to keep processes simpler and reduce friction in the kitchen. “Throughout 2022, some of our most successful campaign platforms brought our customers closer to the core menu items,” Kempczinski said during the January call.

☆ Burger King is selling more Whoppers than ever before in early days of its U.S. turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Seven months after Burger King unveiled a strategy to revive its U.S. business, the chain is selling more Whoppers than ever before. Burger King also held roundtables for general managers in 45 cities. Additionally, Burger King launched its "You Rule" marketing campaign in the fall. The chain's mascot, the Burger King, is nowhere to be seen in the ads. Two Burger King franchisees have filed for bankruptcy so far in 2023.

For a limited time, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is offering 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,500 in purchases within the first four months of account opening. Details Rewards Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, and on eligible American Airlines purchases. The welcome bonus of 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,500 in purchases within the first four months of account opening is worth around $1,050 in flights, based on Insider's valuation of American Airlines miles as worth 1.4 cents each, on average. That said, American Airlines miles aren't just good for flights on AA, and its partner award chart is intact for now. American is part of the Oneworld alliance and partners with other carriers, so you can redeem American Airlines miles for flights on over 20 airlines, including Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines.

Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). Chase is offering big elevated bonus offers on the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card, but they're only available until the end of the day on April 5, 2023. You can redeem IHG points at brands like Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, Hotel Indigo, and Kimpton. Insider's Featured Credit Cards for Travel Chase Sapphire Preferred® CardCapital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. You'll typically get the best return by using IHG points for stays at over 6,000 hotels across 18 brands worldwide.

☆ Restaurant Brands International posts strong fourth quarter, names new CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In this photo illustration, a Burger King Whopper hamburger is displayed on April 05, 2022 in San Anselmo, California. Restaurant Brands International on Tuesday posted a strong fourth quarter and named Chief Operating Officer Joshua Kobza as its new chief executive, effective March 1, replacing José Cil. Restaurant Brands reported overall same-store sales growth of 8% during the fourth quarter and system-wide sales growth of nearly 12%. Its flagship burger chain, Burger King, saw same-store sales growth of 8.4% during the period. At the end of the fourth quarter, the company said it had funded $30 million of that turnaround plan.

☆ The people who live inside airplanes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —After losing her house to a fire, Jo Ann Ussery had a peculiar idea: to live in an airplane. She bought an old Boeing 727 that was destined for the scrapyard, had it shipped to a plot of land she already owned, and spent six months renovating, doing most of the work by herself. By the end, she had a fully functional home, with over 1,500 square feet of living space, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and even a hot tub – where the cockpit used to be. Although she wasn’t the first person to ever live in an airplane, her flawless execution of the project had an inspirational effect. Maybe the worst choice for a home.”As a result, Campbell had to work on the plane for a couple of years before being able to live in it.

Persons: Jo Ann Ussery, Ussery, Benoit , Mississippi –, Bruce Campbell, Jo, ”, Campbell, “, Jo Ann’s, Scotty, That’s, Aristotle Onassis, he’s, Joe Axline, Axline, “ I’ve, I’ve, ” Axline, Howard Hughes, Dave Drimmer, Nashville Hall of Famer Red Lane, Lane, Jumbo, “ You’ve, there’ll, Bruce Campbell’s Organizations: CNN, Boeing, Olympic Airways, Florida Air Museum, Nashville Hall of Famer, Airport Locations: Benoit , Mississippi, Hillsboro , Oregon, Mongolia, Greece, Miyazaki, Japan, Brookshire , Texas, Stockholm's Arlanda, Florida, American, Costa Rica, Costa Verde, Sweden, Stockholm’s Arlanda, England, London

Chase has rolled out big limited-time bonus offers on the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card. You can redeem IHG points at brands like Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, Hotel Indigo, and Kimpton. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightThe IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card is the best choice for most frequent IHG guests. You'll typically get the best return by redeeming IHG points for stays at over 6,000 hotels across 18 brands worldwide. The ability to transfer to partners is why Insider values Chase Ultimate Rewards points as worth 1.8 cents apiece, on average.

☆ 73-year-old pays $370/month to live in a plane he bought for $100,000 from a salvage yard: 'I have no regrets'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Celia Fernandez Beatriz Bajuelos Castillo | Celia Fernandez | Beatriz Bajuelos Castillo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In the early '70s, Bruce Campbell paid $25,800 for 10 acres of land in Hillsboro, a suburb of Portland, Oregon. In 1999, Campbell decided he would follow through but had no idea how to go about it, so he hired a salvage company to find him a plane. Campbell paid $100,000 for it, and the plane was flown from Greece to Oregon to prepare it for him to take ownership. Next to the kitchen area, Campbell has his futon sofa, which doubles as his sleeping area, and his workbench. His monthly expenses are $370 a month, which includes $220 a month in property taxes and between $100 to $250 a month in electricity.

☆ What’s gone wrong at Beyond Meat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And fierce competition is squeezing sales, including in frozen, plant-based chicken, a category that is growing while refrigerated plant-based meat sales falter. “We believe that healthy competition within plant-based meat is a good thing as it brings investment in marketing to the category,” said Brown during the November analyst call. It’s true that the plant-based meat pie is smaller these days. Ground plant-based meat fell about 19%, and patties were down 30% in that period. It launched a retooled version, Beyond Chicken Tenders, in stores in 2021, and has built its plant-based chicken portfolio since then.

☆ The dream of plant-based meat in fast food may already be dead
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Mary Meisenzahl | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fast food chains have experimented with plant-based proteins for years with limited success. Plant-based meat is too expensive and adds too much complexity for widespread fast food adoption, an analyst said. Despite some exceptions like Burger King's Impossible Whopper, plant-based fast food menu items have largely been featured as limited-time offerings. It's "very hard" to convert meat eaters to plant-based meat, he said. Plant-based meat isn't likely to disappear from fast food menus, but it's also not going to replace beef.

☆ Morning Bid: Disinflation stations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A year ago, the prospect of a 7.7% annual inflation rate 12 months on would have been shocking. As world markets everywhere rose in sympathy, those Wall St gains appear to be holding at least on Friday. The swoon in U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar was probably even more significant, with two-year yields recording their biggest one-day drop since 2008 and the dollar its deepest fall since 2015. Although Bitcoin managed to bounce with all world markets, it's struggled to keep a foothold back above $17,000 on Friday and is still nursed losses totalling 17% this month alone. University of Michigan November sentiment and inflation expectationsUS inflation, Fed rates and marketsReuters GraphicsReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsBy Mike Dolan, editing by Angus MacSwan <a href="mailto:mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com" target="_blank">mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com</a>.

☆ LGBT Representation in Ads Has Grown, but Many Consumers Find It Inauthentic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Still, marketing to LGBT consumers can be tricky due to political tensions as well as consumer skepticism, particularly when big companies roll out Pride Month campaigns in June but are seen as not following through on standing up for LGBT rights. Many marketers still treat LGBT consumers as more of a niche group than they are, some experts said. A 2021 Nielsen survey found that, outside of Pride Month, only 1% of ads included LGBT characters or topics. Harris found that 67% of consumers think Pride Month has become too commercialized. In the Disqo survey, 46% of respondents said advertising already has enough LGBT themes and characters, and some experts think brands might mistakenly conclude that representing LGBT consumers in ads is no longer a pressing issue.

☆ Few signs that the stock market faces an imminent earnings armageddon
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Still waiting for a dramatic earnings decline, but what if it happened? Approaching 20% of the S & P 500 reporting, and so far companies are not slashing estimates. That's why the S & P 500 recovers. Declines of 20% or more in the S & P are fairly uncommon: the S & P 500 has declined 20% or more only 10 times since 1950. Bottom line: Not only is there no evidence of an imminent earnings armageddon, long-term investors shouldn't be overly concerned even if there is one.

☆ Impossible Foods' new CEO is pining for a Super Bowl ad and status as a household name. First, he'll have to win over employees.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Peter McGuinness, Impossible Foods' new CEO, has said he wants a Super Bowl ad. "He's said 'Super Bowl ad' at least a thousand times," a current marketing employee said. But Super Bowl spots cost several million dollars each, putting them out of reach for Impossible, the employee said. Insider spoke with five current and former Impossible Foods employees about McGuinness' and Brown's leadership and the future of the company. Impossible Foods meatballs Impossible FoodsFrom R&D to marketingUnder Brown, Impossible was a company focused on research and development.

☆ The Fed only cares about inflation. That's bad news
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

It seems that Powell wants to atone for his mistake of repeatedly calling inflation “transitory” for much of last year. Keep in mind that the Fed’s series of rate hikes are unprecedented in the “modern” era of central banking, i.e. after Alan Greenspan became Fed chair in 1987 and the Fed became far more transparent. Rate hikes raise the costs for companies to pay down their debt, increasing the possibility of corporate bankruptcies and defaults on commercial loans. As long as inflation remains the bigger issue for the economy, the Fed is going to focus more on getting prices under control.

☆ Burger King’s New U.S. CEO Seeks to Restore Chain’s Luster
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Heather Haddon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Burger King is gearing up to reclaim lost ground in the battle of the burger giants. For decades the No. 2 U.S. burger chain by sales behind McDonald’s Corp., Burger King in 2020 slipped to the third burger brand behind Wendy’s Co. Chicken sandwich giant Chick-fil-A Inc. has also surpassed the home of the Whopper, its restaurants averaging more than four times the annual sales of a typical Burger King location, according to market research firm Technomic Inc.

☆ Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business card review: Earn 80,000 American Airlines miles and a $95 statement credit, and get perks like an annual companion certificate and free checked bag
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Joseph Hostetler | Credit Cards Reporter | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

American Airlines benefits, including a free first checked bag and preferred boarding Check mark icon A check mark. It offers the standard American Airlines perks, such as:First checked bag free on American Airlines domestic itinerariesPreferred boarding on American Airlines flights25% discount on inflight food and beverageBut it's also got some more unique benefits, such as a 5% annual bonus on all the points you've accrued via spending and a domestic companion certificate after meeting yearly spending requirements. And remember — even if you never fly AA, American Airlines miles can be extremely useful for achieving your travel goals. American Airlines is partnered with airlines such as:Air Tahiti NuiAlaska AirlinesBritish AirwaysCathay PacificEtihadFinnairIberiaJapan AirlinesMalaysia AirlinesQantasQatar AirwaysRoyal Air MarocRoyal Jordanian AirlinesS7 Airlines (temporarily suspended)SriLankan AirlinesYou can use American Airlines to fly on any of these airlines. 25% savings on inflight American Airlines purchasesYou'll save 25% on American Airlines inflight food and drink when you use this card.

☆ Donald Trump will fight hard against Letitia James' lawsuit. Ex-AG insiders say these are his top 5 defenses.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Donald Trump has 5 ways to fight Letitia James' lawsuit, ex-NY AG prosecutors told Insider. James filed a 220-page lawsuit against Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization on Wednesday. Trump Defense No. Still, the judge must at least weigh any "I just signed what they gave me" defense, Morian said. "There's a yawning silence" from the banks Trump allegedly tricked into lending to him, he noted.

☆ The execs behind Super Bowl ads for brands like Mars, ViacomCBS, and Heinz share how ideas come to be — and what makes them go viral
▼ + stars: | 2022-01-27 | by ( Jenny Powers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Insider asked three ad-industry execs who've worked on Super Bowl spots what it takes to succeed. 4 in last year's top 10 Super Bowl LV commercials, according to USA Today's Ad Meter. In 2015, the web-hosting company sparked massive outrage over a spot it planned to run during the Super Bowl. "The Super Bowl is a brand's opportunity to surprise viewers and give them something they didn't see coming. Neither Newcastle campaign, If We Made It or Band of Brands, was actually aired during the Super Bowl.

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