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List of disappearing industries

Posted by Dale R On June - 24 - 2011

1. Video Rental 2. Local Photo processing shops 3. Home moving companies 4. Newspaper Publishing 5. Formal Wear and Costume Rental 6. Apparel Manufacturing 7. Textile Mills 8. Record Stores 9. Wired Telecommunications Carriers 10. Video Postproduction Services

See the reasons why here at Yahoo Finance.

Jack in the Box yanks toys from kids’ meals

Posted by Dale R On June - 23 - 2011

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Fast-food chain Jack in the Box has pulled toys from its kids’ meals, a spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday.

The move, which managers at Los Angeles outlets said took effect on Thursday, comes as fast-food companies are under pressure to stop using toys to market children’s meals that are high in calories, sugar, fat and salt.

Lawmakers in San Francisco and nearby Santa Clara County have passed laws that will require kids’ meals to meet certain nutritional standards before they can be sold with toys.

“While we’ve been aware of efforts to ban the inclusion of toys in kids’ meals, that did not drive our decision,” Jack in the Box spokesman Brian Luscomb said.

“Our advertising and promotions have focused exclusively on the frequent fast-food customer, not children,” added Randy Carmical, also a Jack in the Box spokesman.

Carmical said the San Diego-based company has been more focused on the food in its meals for children, such as grilled cheese sandwiches or grilled chicken strips. Read more…

Tags: Meals

Sars plugs R2-billion tax leak and alarms financiers

Posted by Tamara Littlejohn On June - 23 - 2011

At least R2-billion was being lost to the fiscus each year because of the abuse of Section 45 of the Income Tax Act, South African Revenue Service and treasury officials said this week.

The provision in the Act allows companies to make tax-neutral intra-group transfers, but Sars and the treasury believe it was being used to garner tax deductions that companies would not normally qualify for.

The concerns prompted the unexpected suspension of Section 45 — part of a suite of proposed amendments to tax laws currently before Parliament. According to the explanatory memorandum on the amendments, Section 45 has been used by companies to facilitate leveraged buy-outs involving significant debt that eliminates the profits of the target businesses for years.

A Sars official who did not want to be named said the cost to the fiscus was conservatively estimated at R2-billion. Read more…

Tags: Tax, Tax Leak

One of the most common pieces of advice to people thinking of starting a small business is to do what they love.

I’ve even given this advice myself. (Have a look at Top 10 Tips for Starting a Small Business That Will Succeed, for instance.)

But years of advising people who want to start their own businesses and watching them go through the start up process has taught me that I was wrong.

Here’s why doing what you love is a bad idea if you’re starting a small business – and what you should do instead.

Area Wawa hosts Safety Day

Posted by Tamara Littlejohn On June - 22 - 2011

New Hanover Police Chief Kevin McKeon, New Hanover Fire Rescue Chief Phil Agliano with Screwball and Wawa’s Wally Goose. Photo courtesy Paula Bickelman

Sarah and Ethan Bender of Boyertown and Kyle Furey of New Hanover Fire Rescue explore a ladder truck. Photo courtesy Paula Bickelman

GILBERTSVILLE — Kids and parents alike — as well as the Reading Phillies mascot Screwball and the Wawa mascot Wally Goose — attended Safety Day June 18 at the Wawa on the corner of Swamp Pike and Charlotte Street/Route 663.

The free event included appearances by personnel and vehicles from New Hanover Fire Rescue, New Hanover Police and Gilbertsville Ambulance. Attendees enjoyed free health screenings, car seat checks, ladder rides, games, and a child ID event offered by Liberty Mutual Group.

New cars struggle with quality

Posted by Dale R On June - 20 - 2011

DETROIT (AP) — Cars that are redesigned or completely new for the 2011 model year had more quality problems, partly because of glitches in navigation systems and other dashboard technology.

J.D. Power released its annual survey of new vehicle quality Thursday. Lexus, Honda and Acura were the top performers. Dodge was the worst-performing brand.

The survey questioned 78,000 people about the problems they had with 2011 model-year vehicles in the first three months of ownership.

Owners reported an average of 107 problems per 100 vehicles. That jumped to 122 problems for cars that were all-new or redesigned.

Ford dropped from fifth place to 23rd. The company says it has since improved its My Ford Touch voice-activated system.

The Toyota brand jumped 14 spots to seventh place, but Toyota introduced few new products in 2011.

 

Tags: Quality