DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Why Pizza Hut’s red roofs and McDonald’s play places have disappeared
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

As fast-food chains spread across the US after World War II, new roadside restaurant brands needed to stand out. So restaurant chains turned to architecture as a key tool to promote their brand and help create their corporate identity. Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesBut the fast-food architecture of today has lost its quirky charm and distinctive features. Googie style fell out of fashion in the 1970s as fast-food style favored dark colors, brick and mansard roofs. But in the effort to modernize, some say fast-food design has became homogenized and lost its creative purpose.

☆ How M&M’s ‘Trendjacked’ the Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Let’s back up: Last month, the Fox News host Tucker Carlson joined the chorus of conservative voices criticizing Mars Wrigley for giving its chocolate-y M&M mascots what they deemed a woke makeover. The green M&M “spokescandy” (you know, the full-lipped one, in go-go boots, that even other M&M’s crave) was given comfortable sneakers to soothe its arches, a fashion choice that rankled Carlson. But Mars Wrigley has parlayed the controversy into what amounts to free advertising for its new spokeswoman, Maya Rudolph.

☆ Russia's rebranded McDonald's may expand into Kazakhstan after McDonald's reportedly banned its restaurants there from selling Russian meat, forcing them to close
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fast-food chain Vkusno & Tochka replaced some of McDonald's restaurants in Russia after they all closed. Alexander Govor, a Russian businessperson, bought Russia's closed McDonald's restaurants in May and rebranded them as Vkusno & Tochka, which translates as "tasty and that's it." Pavel Mikheyev/Getty ImagesMcDonald's confirmed to Insider that its contract with Food Solutions had been terminated. Kazakh news outlet Tengrinews, however, reported that Food Solutions' director said the company didn't plan to rebrand its restaurants as Vkusno & tochka. The chain said in December, however, that it was working on a substitute for McDonald's trademark Big Mac.

☆ Davos draws record crowds, but its relevance is fading
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Data from the World Bank shows that global trade of goods and services as a percentage of total economic output peaked that year. A wooden sign on the waterfront of Lake Davos in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 8, 2023. Just look to Italy’s new prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who was installed in October. Those skipping the gathering this year include US President Joe Biden, China’s Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. That raises questions about whether Davos can hang on to its reputation an essential event for the rich and powerful.

☆ The average Chick-fil-A franchise exceeds $8 million in sales and has one of the lowest fast-food franchise startup fee — here's how to open one
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Hayley Peterson | Dominick Reuter | Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Chick-fil-A 's fee for a new restaurant is $10,000 – one of the lowest of any major fast-food brandChick-fil-A restaurants average more than $8 million in sales annually among non-mall locations. By comparison, McDonald's restaurants posted average domestic sales of $4 million in 2021, according to the chain's franchise disclosure report for 2022. McDonald's, for example, requires potential franchisees to pay from $1.4 million and $2.5 million in startup costs — including a $45,000 franchise fee. Total costs to launch a franchised Chick-fil-A restaurant ranges from $219,055 to $2,912,697, according to 2022 FDD documents. While a Chick-fil-A costs less up-front, over time franchisees end up paying a lot more to the company to operate the business.

☆ McDonald's CEO warns of possible 2023 layoffs as chain leans into fast service, innovation, and operational efficiencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Despite a strong year, McDonald's CEO said the chain may have layoffs this spring. His 2023 business plan calls for the fast-food giant to move faster and push innovation. "As part of this work, we will evaluate roles and staffing levels in parts of the organization," the CEO said. The executive said he plans to build on the company's Accelerating the Arches growth strategy, first introduced in late 2020. This will help us move faster as an organization, while reducing our global costs and freeing up resources to invest in our growth," Kempczinski said.

☆ Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Arches National Parks Plan More Reservations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Allison Pohle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Glacier National Park will begin requiring reservations for some areas May 26 and others July 1. Three of the most popular U.S. national parks said on Friday that they would maintain—and by some measures, expand—their reservation systems. Glacier National Park in Montana is making the biggest changes, increasing the types of reservations required to visit during peak visiting months. Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and Arches National Park in Utah announced expanded windows for their reservation systems.

But satellite images and photos show the Chinese-owned ship had loaded the oil four months earlier in Venezuela, an OPEC nation in South America under U.S. oil sanctions. Two of those tankers, including the Young Yong, were designated this month by U.S. authorities for violating sanctions on Iran, one of Venezuela's closest allies. The U.S. Treasury declined to comment on the involvement of the Young Yong or the other vessels identified by Reuters in shipping Venezuela crude. Indonesian authorities said in early November that the Young Yong had run aground off the Riau Islands on Oct. 26. The United States imposed oil trading sanctions on Venezuela in 2019 after calling Maduro's re-election the previous year a sham.

☆ Krispy Kreme has exited Russia over the war in Ukraine. 'Krunchy Dream' is taking its place.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A chain of new donut shops called Krunchy Dream has sprung up in Russia, where Krispy Kreme once stood. They are owned by the Novikov Group, whose owner Arkady Novikov is Krispy Kreme's only former franchisee in Russia. It then proceeded to shutter all Russian Krispy Kreme shops. Krispy Kreme said in its second-quarter earnings results release that it had closed 30 franchise shops in Russia. Krispy Kreme and the Novikov Group did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment which were sent outside regular business hours.

☆ A Mystery Hidden in a Family Photograph
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( David Botti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Now I wondered if I could use these same skills to find my great-grandfather’s house. The inscription contained a familiar name: “Henri Cartier-Bresson” — a giant of 20th century photojournalism. Henri Cartier-Bresson visited Scanno in the early 1950s, as part of a wave of journalists looking to document World War II’s effects on Europe’s impoverished regions. Henri Cartier-Bresson had taken that photograph from the very spot where Donato was born. Fernando Scianna Mario Giacomelli Henri Cartier-Bresson And it’s easy to see that the work still inspires pilgrimages to the steps.

☆ Iranian activists say fire set at ancestral home of late leader Ayatollah Khomeini
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Iranian activists say protesters set a fire at the ancestral home of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the latest in a series of taboo-breaking acts in a wave of protests rocking the country. Protests continued across the country on Friday as funerals were held for young Iranians that activists say were killed by security forces, according to human rights groups. His family says he was killed by police, but Iranian authorities denied it and say the boy was shot by terrorists. Human rights groups based abroad say more than 300 Iranians have been killed in the protests. Iranian leaders have blamed the protests, which they refer to as “riots,” on foreign enemies, citing Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

☆ ‘Matisse in the 1930s’ Review: A Dance Through a Decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Karen Wilkin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

PhiladelphiaIn the fall of 1930, Henri Matisse , age 58, visited his patron Albert Barnes ’s collection, just outside of Philadelphia, for the first time. The great mural “The Dance,” to be installed permanently in the three arches of the main gallery, was commissioned then. Now it provides the impetus for the visually lush, thought-provoking “Matisse in the 1930s,” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the first major exhibition to focus on an often overlooked decade that proved pivotal for the artist. (Born in 1869, Matisse died in 1954, a month short of his 85th birthday.) Jointly organized by the PMA’s Matthew Affron , Cécile Debray of the Musée Picasso, Paris, and Claudine Grammont of the Musée Matisse, Nice, the show assembles about 140 paintings, sculptures and a fabulous group of drawings from public and private European and American collections, plus prints, illustrated books, photographs and films.

☆ Iran protests: Social media videos show flames at home of late leader Khomeini
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters verified the location of two video clips using the distinctive arches and buildings that match file images. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, however, denied Khomeini's house was set on fire, saying a small number of people had gathered outside the house. The social media videos show dozens of people cheering as a flash of fire is sparked in a building. Two intelligence agents were killed in clashes with protesters on Thursday night, according to the Revolutionary Guards' news site. Iranian media said two Revolutionary Guards members were killed during unrest in the northwestern city of Bukan and a police colonel died in Sanandaj, capital of Kurdistan province late on Thursday.

☆ How Ukraine Blew Up a Key Russian Bridge
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Marco Hernandez | James Glanz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Last month, a truck laden with explosives drove across the Kerch bridge, a critical artery connecting Russia with its troops fighting in southern Ukraine. Structural and explosive experts who reviewed the bridge’s design and imagery of the blast offered new details on how the bridge was damaged. There are few direct parallels to such a spectacular act of sabotage on a bridge behind enemy lines in wartime. The blast ignited a train carrying large fuel tanks on an adjacent bridge, creating flames and a plume of smoke. “If it were a suicide truck bomb,” Mr. Nair said, “I would think the guy would have destroyed the main span.”But the trigger for the bomb is still unknown.

☆ Remaking the River That Remade L.A.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Michael Kimmelman | Photographs Adali Schell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +33 min

Remaking the River That Remade L.A.February 1938 was a wet month in Los Angeles. Reservoirs overflowed, dams topped out and floodwaters careered down Pacoima Wash and Tujunga Wash toward the Los Angeles River. The Los Angeles River was never a storybook river of the kind that, like the Hudson or the Seine, we associate with great cities. Among the naysayers is a venerable organization called Friends of the Los Angeles River, founded by the Texas-born poet and performance artist Lewis MacAdams. “With all the problems L.A. is facing,” he said, “even if it costs $50 billion to fix the river, we should just effing do it.”The headwaters of the Los Angeles River aren’t easy to find.

☆ Here's what the Day of the Dead means, and why it endures
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Albinson Linares | Noticias Telemundo | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

The "Day of the Dead Parade" in Mexico City on Oct. 29, 2022. Claudio Cruz / AFP - Getty Images"In Mexico, Nov. 1 and 2 are very special days because they celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, respectively," said Diana Martínez, an academic at the Institute of Anthropological Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM. By the 13th century, the Roman Catholic Church established Nov. 1 as All Saints’ Day. People take part in the "Day of the Dead Parade" in Mexico City on Oct. 29, 2022. He's worked at the cemetery from a very young age and has witnessed many Día de los Muertos celebrations.

☆ McDonald's initially hesitated about introducing Happy Meals to all its restaurants, says the man who invented them
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

McDonald's was reluctant to roll out Happy Meals to all restaurants in the 1970s, its inventor said. Bob Bernstein, an advertising exec, told CNN he got the idea when he saw his son eating cereal. Bernstein proceeded to design a box that the McDonald's golden arches as handles, as well as riddles, games, and illustrations. The Happy Meal has since become a crucial part of the McDonald's menu and has evolved over the past four decades. Data research firm Sense360 calculated in 2016 that McDonald's sells 3.2 million Happy Meals each day, generating about $10 million in revenue.

☆ The Happy Meal inventor says McDonald’s didn’t want it at first
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But four decades ago, when the first Happy Meal debuted, the company didn’t quite get it. They didn’t immediately embrace it,” Bob Bernstein, an advertising executive who created the Happy Meal in the late 1970s, said in a video interview from his Kansas City office, which is decked out with Happy Meal memorabilia and original art. The meal’s name was an offshoot of a 1960s McDonald’s jingle, in which it called itself the “happy place.” “It’s such a happy place / Hap, hap, hap, happy place,” it went. For some reason, the company’s corporate offices outside Chicago were reluctant to roll out the Happy Meal nationally. Mario Anzuoni/ReutersIn the 1990s, Beanie Babies, Transformers and Power Rangers Happy Meal toys were massive hits for McDonald’s.

☆ I'm an Amazon warehouse worker. When I'm tired and in pain from standing all day on Prime Day, I remind myself the money's good.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Taayoo Murray | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Staten Island Amazon employee shares how "stowers" prepare for Amazon Prime Day in the warehouse. Being a warehouse worker close to Prime Day is crazy. About a week before Prime Day, we make sure that we start the shift with empty pods. It's the same schedule, leading up to Prime Day, just way more work and intensity. You have more pressure because Prime Day orders are usually "reactive" — or time sensitive — orders.

☆ Georgia lawmaker comes out as nonmonogamous: 'I'm in love with two wonderful people'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Kris Brown, Liliana Bakhtiari , and Sarah Al-Khayyal cast their vote in the 2021 Atlanta elections. Kris Brown, Liliana Bakhtiari, and Sarah Al-Khayyal hike through Arches National Park in Grand County, Utah. “There are many more ways to be nonmonogamous than there are ways to be polyamorous, and we invite and enjoy the fluidity of the term nonmonogamy,” Brown said. Liliana Bakhtiari, Sarah Al-Khayyal, and Kris Brown celebrate Christmas with Brown's family. Bakhtiari and Brown had three cats and one dog, and when Al-Khayyal joined the family she brought her two cats.

☆ (video) Incendiu de proporții lângă o stație de metrou din Londra. 70 de pompieri se află la fața locului
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-28 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +1 min

(video) Incendiu de proporții lângă o stație de metrou din Londra. 70 de pompieri se află la fața loculuiPompierii din Londra sting un incendiu de proporții din fața stației de metrou Elephant & Castle, unde au luat foc clădirile comerciale, mașinile și o cabină telefonică. „Trei proprietăți comerciale de sub arcurile căii ferate sunt complet incendiate, precum și patru mașini și o cabină telefonică lângă gara de metrou Elephant and Castle. Drumurile sunt închise și oamenii sunt sfătuiți să evite vizitarea zonei și să țină ferestrele și ușile închise”, a menționat serviciul antiincendiu din Londra într-o postare pe Twitter. Three commercial units underneath the railway arches are completely alight and four cars and a telephone box are also alight near #ElephantandCastle Railway Station.

Persons: June Organizations: Railway Station, Road Locations: Londra, Castle

☆ I moved my family from California to Austin, Texas, and regretted it. Here are 10 things to consider before making an expensive mistake.
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-20 | by ( Brett Alder | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Brett Alder moved to Austin, Texas, for work and regrets the choice. A lot of people, including myself, move from California to Austin because of the hype and the perception that California and Austin are reasonably comparable in lifestyle. Water: Water is also shockingly expensive. Expensive pool maintenance, expensive landscaping services, expensive home repairs, expensive dining and movies. Expensive pool maintenance, expensive landscaping services, expensive home repairs, expensive dining and movies.

Persons: Brett Alder, Alder, Austin, Austin it's, you've, We've, I've, It's, We're, Yelp, Matthew McConaughey, Travis, There's, …, Monoculture, California we've, Uber, I'd, Austinites Organizations: Energy, Soaring Sierra, Yosemite, Texans Locations: Austin , Texas, California, Austin, Texas, San Diego, Travis County, Lake, Jose, San Jose, Portland , Oregon, Nevada, Utah, West Coast, West, Montana, Tennessee, crosswalks, Belterra, Bay, San Jose , CA

Search resuls for: "Arches"

22 mentions found