GLG News in Consumer Goods & Services

The saying that, "as GM goes, so goes the nation," may not carry the same weight as it once did as our economic base has transitioned to services derived from proprietary and intellectual property, but it still counts for something.

As DeBeers grows weaker, producing countries are demanding a bigger piece of the profits from rough diamond sales.  South Africa's recent demands may drive diamond price up sharply this fall and limit the supply of certain key sizes and qualities. This means jewelers may not get some product in time for the Christmas or pay higher prices in the 4th quarter for the replenishment...

Can California Indian gaming have the last word when dealing with government and it's representatives. Why such a big deal over charity gaming? It seems as though the Tribes already have a pretty solid monopoly.

As a result of soft sales, and soft volume projections, Renault must reach lower labor numbers through voluntary reductions. The pressures at Renault have been more intense than at other European OEM's as Carlos Ghosn applies pressure on vehicle development and launch timelines. The pressures, along with the labor reduction news, have reached a boiling point for the Renault employe...

There is clarity in this analysis! Honda is good at designing and building excellent fuel efficient cars.Regretably,their after sales service provided by the company itself does not match up.

Subvented financing, subsidized residual values and factory-to-dealer money is nothing new in the Import Highline Group Market.  These factors coupled with an overall slowing of the economy is one reason why the captive lease portfolios of BMW, Acura, Mercedes, Audi, Infinity, Volvo, Saab and Jaguar should be examined very carefully with respect to actual cash value versus balance sheet value. ...

1.  DineEquity, now one of the largest casual/family dining chains is a bellweather for the segment.2. All the equity has been squeezed out of the balance sheet:     *Divested the real estate and corp. investment underlying franchise                units a couple of years ago.     *Sale-leaseback on many Applebee's locations...

We are not over the inflationary spiral on Food costs yet, not only Food Margins but with Iron Ore price up so will Restaurant Equipment have to rise- an obvious trend. Many Suppliers in Europe have only passed on a third of their cost increases in the hope things would stablelise. The Chinese and Indian market is not the only region effecting supply - European consumers are dramically changing their...

I agree with the points the author stressed in this aricle. I believe there is another serious problem that is inherent to each of these retailers. They are still living in the 1990's. Their IMU's (Initial Mark-Ups) are ridiculously high for today's market. The customer is much too savvy to purchase their merchandise at full price. They wait until it is marked down by 40%. Even at that reduction,...

Commodity inflation appears to have peaked for the short term but long term commodities will continue to rise creating above average food inflation.How food and restaurant companies react will be the key to future price increases.