Posts Tagged ‘Kraft Foods Inc’

There has been a storm brewing for several weeks in the world of big business and high finance, and it appears to be coming to a head today. It was highlighted this morning on CNBC’s early broadcast. Mere rumors related to the story caused one stock to move up more than 6%, twice as much as yesterdays’ rally in the S&P 500. One morning talk show devoted three hours to discussing issues around the topic. Was it, today’s Jobless Claims report? The 10 year Treasury note trading at or below a 3% yield? The Euro bank stress test? Nope. The world is standing still waiting to find out where LeBron James will play basketball next year.

While the sports and mainstream media have covered the story to ad nauseam the business implications are pretty significant and fun to consider from a systems theory perspective. As mentioned previously, just yesterday shares of Madison Square Garden (MSG:Nasdaq), owners of the New York Knicks, rose 6.41% or $1.30. The speculation began when it was announced that James’ Thursday prime time news conference would take place in Greenwich, Connecticut, just up the road from the city.  The front-runners for his services appear to be Miami, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, and his current team and hometown, Cleveland.

Make no mistake, if he chooses to jump ship and join a new team, the wheels of commerce will turn a little quicker from Beaverton, Oregon to the Far East. Like most superstar athletes, James has a lucrative deal with Nike (NKE:NYSE), which will issue a new ‘King James’ shoe regardless of where he plays next year. Look for the ‘South Beach Slam-A-Jamma’ high top if he chooses Miami or the ‘Second Coming’ Velcro style if he ends up in Chicago. Of course the ‘There’s no place like home’ old school Chuck Taylor’s are a possibility as well. Who knows where he’ll land, but the one thing you can count on is Nike capitalizing on the opportunity.

A new team also equals millions of jerseys designed, manufactured, and sold from giant retailers to kiosks in every mall across America. Hats, bumper stickers, trading cards, license plate frames, posters, and of course those life size Fathead wall displays.

If James stays in Cleveland it will be a win for loyalty and for a town that desperately needs hero’s, sports or otherwise. If he leaves it will mean new opportunities and jobs. Make no mistake about it, this is big business.

Today’s Markets

U.S. stocks are higher in early trading for the third straight day, on jobless claims and retail news. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4 points to 1,064, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 8 points to 2,167.

The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits declined by 21,000 to 454,000 in the week ended July 3. Economists had expected claims would fall by 12,000. That last time claims dropped by so much was in mid-April. June chain-store sales were mixed but not weak enough to scare off investors, with half the stores that have reported beating Street estimates and the other half missing.

The European Central Bank announced it would hold interest rates steady. The Bank of England also left key rates unchanged at its monthly meeting. The euro, which was boosted Wednesday after the ECB released details about planned stress tests for 91 European banks, was recently trading at $1.2673, up from $1.2642 late Wednesday in New York.

Demand for Treasuries was mixed, with the two-year note flat and the 10-year note down to push yield up to 3.01%. Crude-oil futures rose to nearly $75 a barrel, while gold futures declined.

Today’s Top Performers on the OTCBB

Company	Symbol	Last		Chg	%Chg	Open	High	Low	Vol
GoldSpring Inc.	GSPG	1.20		1.1931	17,291.30%	1.25	1.25	1.20	320
Vibe Records Inc.	VBRE	0.08		0.03	60.00%	0.08	0.08	0.08	200
R.G. Global Lifest	RGBL	0.054		0.0285	111.76%	0.039	0.054	0.037	306.84 k
Brightec Inc.	BRTE	0.018		0.006	50.00%	0.0111	0.018	0.0111	20 k
Allied Security In	ADSV	0.0003		0.0001	50.00%	0.0003	0.0003	0.0003	100 k
China Forestry inc.	CHFY	0.01		0.003	42.86%	0.005	0.01	0.005	55 k
Pacific Sands Inc.	PFSD	0.09		0.025	38.46%	0.09	0.09	0.09	15 k
IA Global Inc.	IAGI	0.015		0.004	36.36%	0.015	0.015	0.015	926 k
Marine Exploration	MEXP	0.0016		0.0004	33.33%	0.0016	0.0016	0.0016	220 k
China Digital Medi	CDGT	0.20		0.05	33.33%	0.20	0.20	0.20	100

Thursday’s Newsmakers:

Tootie Pie Partners with Kraft Foods

Jul. 8, 2010 (Business Wire) — Tootie Pie Company, Inc. (OTCBB:TOOT) announced that it has entered into a partnership with Kraft Foods for the upcoming holiday season. The two companies will co-market Tootie Pie with Kraft’s Cool Whip.

“There is probably no more recognizable, high-quality food brand than Kraft Foods,” said Don Merrill, President & CEO. “We are proud and excited that Kraft recognizes the value of having its Cool Whip product featured alongside Tootie Pie.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed as of this date; however, the deal was made possible through a mutual agreement in partnership with HEB Grocery Stores, according to Tootie Pie Company.

“Experience tells us that more in-store pie tastings result in significantly more Tootie Pie sales. Once customers taste Tootie Pie, they are hooked,” explained Merrill. “HEB wants to grow Tootie Pie sales dramatically and brought Kraft to the table in a three-way partnership that will drive consumers to the frozen food section during peak times of the year!”

About Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks, confectionery, and quick meal products worldwide, is the second largest food company with annual revenues of $48 billion. Millions of times a day, in more than 160 countries, consumers reach for their favorite Kraft Foods brands. Kraft brands are present in more than 99% of households. The company sells its products to supermarket chains, wholesalers, super centers, club stores, mass merchandisers, distributors, convenience stores, gasoline stations, drug stores, value stores, and other retail food outlets.

About HEB Grocery

Based in San Antonio, Texas, HEB is one of the largest independent grocery chains in the United States. With hundreds of stores in more than 150 communities in Texas, HEB serves millions of customers in Texas and Mexico.

About Tootie Pie Co.

Tootie Pie Company bakes and sells high-quality, handmade pies through three basic sales channels: retail, corporate and wholesale. The retail segment serves individual customers through sales in its Tootie Pie Gourmet Cafés, in-store sales, orders via telephone and internet on the Company’s website. The corporate segment serves businesses that purchase pies as a way to promote their company through client and employee appreciation programs. The wholesale segment is made up of national and regional broad line grocery and foodservice distributors who purchase pies and then resell them through their respective sales distribution channels. Tootie Pie Company is a public company traded on the NASDAQ OTC market under the symbol “TOOT.” For additional information or to receive correspondence from Tootie Pie Company, please visit www.tootiepieco.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “should,” “intend,” “estimate,” and “projects,” variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company’s current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company’s filings, which are on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Source: Business Wire (July 8, 2010 – 9:30 AM EDT)
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