Supervalu Right to Pump up Save-A-Lot

On October 22, 2009

Supervalu Right to Pump up Save-A-Lot

Supervalu plans to double its number of discount Save-A-Lot stores to 2,400 units across the country, in a move that is likely to attract an increasingly thrifty consumer looking for good deals. The company is in a five-year plan to complete the rollout. BNET Retail colleague Mike Duff recently lauded Save-A-Lot for being the "supermarket of the future." And this future-looking move by its parent company could ensure that it holds on to this status. Part of this strategy is to place Save-A-Lot stores in regions where Supervalu operates other, more traditional chains that might own a larger market share. For example, Jewel-Osco makes up the majority of its Chicago area units. Shaw's is a strong New England chain. Albertsons...
On October 22, 2009

Memo to Ken Feinberg: Benchwarmers Don’t Swing for the Fences

Pay "czar" Ken Feinberg is sending mixed signals to the troops at American International Group. Recently he approved a pay package of about $10 million for incoming CEO Robert Benmosche. Now, after being scorched by political heat from the White House, he's cracking down on the underlings by limiting their salaries to $200,000. One can certainly survive on 200 grand, but you have to look at what you get for the money. Certainly an insurance agent would probably be happy with this salary if you promised him or her a bonus and commission. But Feinberg isn't taking aim at these people. His pistols are pointed at AIG's Financial Products unit, where the company's problems started in 2005 when the then...
On October 22, 2009

Bing and Google Fight Search Battle in Real-Time

Facebook and Twitter must have felt like the belles of the social media ball Wednesday. Both companies announced agreements with search engine suitors Google and Microsoft's Bing to integrate their status updates and tweets into search results, bringing with them the likelihood of more real-time results to search queries and conjuring up visions of next-level information gathering on the Internet.
On October 22, 2009

NAMI Board Member Was Paid Consultant on AZ’s Seroquel, Documents Say

Jim Dailey, a former National Alliance of the Mentally Ill policy director and board member, was a paid consultant for AstraZeneca's Seroquel marketing team, according to a set of documents that include a contract Dailey signed with the company. Download the NAMI/Seroquel documents here. Dailey was paid $600 to attend a Seroquel consultants meeting in December 2003 at AZ's Wilmington, Del., HQ, according to the documents. BNET received the documents in an email from a person who did not reveal their identity. Dailey, AZ and NAMI did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment on the documents. BNET will update this post if any of them respond later. NAMI's funding -- about half of which comes from drug companies --...
On October 22, 2009

Wall Street from Buttonwood to Madoff | Harvard IdeaCast

In this podcast, Nancy Koehn, editor of "The Story of American Business", delves into the history of the stock market and draws parallels between early Wall Street and modern day trading. One thing that hasn’t changed? From Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan to Warren Buffet and Bernie Madoff, "big personalities" have always played a big role in our market system. Featured Guest: Nancy Koehn, Harvard Business School historian and editor of "The Story of American Business." Copyright 2009 Harvard Business School Publishing. Click Play to hear the podcast. If you don’t see the player window, click refresh on your browser. If it still doesn’t appear, let our customer service team know. More HBR IdeaCasts. Subscribe to HBR IdeaCast now via...
On October 22, 2009

Bing Search Will Plaster Twitter Tweets All Over the Web

Warning: Your next Twitter exchange or Facebook update could instantly appear in a subject-related search on Microsoft's Bing and become a permanent part of the Web's boundless data base. While there are plenty of creative ways marketers will capitalize on widespread social networking search to sell their goods and services, this phenomenon may be more than Twitter and Facebook fans bargained for. Microsoft clearly is euphoric about beating Google to the punch with plans to integrate real-time tweets and Facebook posts into its Bing generated searches.  Google, which has more than 65 percent of the search market, will soon follow with a similar service that could provide new ways to generate social network revenue. Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook have not...
On October 22, 2009

Media’s Advertising Rebound: Real Growth or Just Climbing Out of a Hole?

Some analysts are reversing their downbeat media forecasts from earlier in the year on the likelihood that 2010 advertising revenues and earnings will surprise on the upside. But it is a little too early to break out the champagne. New ad campaigns from beleaguered auto manufacturers such as General Motors and Toyota, and optimistic comments by media companies such as CBS are among the factors that prompted Morgan Stanley this week to double its 2010 growth projection for overall U.S. media advertising to 4.2 percent -- above Wall Street consensus. Growth estimates for most media sectors have been raised an average of three to five percent, although individual company performance is expected to vary widely. A deeper look at the...
On October 22, 2009

Regulators Will Need A Solid Case To Sink Galleon’s Founder

For Galleon Group, a hedge fund firm whose lead portfolio manager has been accused of insider trading, the water just kept rising too fast around the ship's decks. But it is the regulators who are under pressure from an increasingly incensed public that ought to be careful how the game ultimately pans out. This morning, media outlets reported that Raj Rajaratnam's $3.7 billion healthcare and technology-focused hedge fund empire was pursuing "an orderly wind down" of its various funds. Rajaratnam, a fund manager who was accused last week by federal prosecutors of conspiring with five other senior executives in a Silicon Valley-linked insider trading ring, is currently out on $100 million bail. It's an odd case for regulators to bring...
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