Archive for September, 2012

Atlanta.

A good place to come to.

A good place to leave, too.

In a study done for United Van Lines of moving trends this summer, Atlanta ranked third in the  nation in the number of inbound moves.

Atlanta also came in No. 4 among cities in outbound moves.

United analyzed city-to-city migrations patterns between May 1 and Aug. 31. More than 30 percent of all domestic household goods moves take place in that time, said United, which itself managed nearly 45,000 interstate household moves.

The company said that the cities experiencing the most growth _ more people moving in than out _ were San Jose, Houston, Seattle, Dallas and Phoenix.

The cities with the most people moving out versus moving in were St. Louis, Chicago, New York and Boston.

“Big cities always have more people moving in and out because of their sheer size,” said Michael Stoll, an economist at UCLA, “but the recent moving trends indicate people and jobs are moving from frost belt to sun belt …

Continue reading Atlanta 3rd most popular moving destination »

(Associated Press)

You won’t find Ben & Jerry’s  “Boston Cream Thigh” or “Peanut Butter D-Cup,”  and if the ice cream maker has anything to do with it you won’t find the titles from Ben & Cherry’s.

Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., the maker of “Boston Cream Pie” and “Peanut Butter Cup” ice cream varieties, is suing the maker of Ben & Cherry’s  X-rated DVDs, claiming Rodax Distributors and Caballero Video of California is tarnishing Ben & Jerry’s reputation. According to media reports, the suit targets “exploitative, hardcore pornographic” products that resemble Ben & Jerry’s marketing.

The trademark lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, seeks unspecified damages. Rodax Distributors has not commented.

The suit targets the distribution and sale of DVDs that are packaged to resemble Ben & Jerry’s packaging, including grazing cows, large white puffy clouds and green grass.

Ben & Jerry’s sells its ice cream, frozen confections, frozen yogurt and sorbet in a variety of …

Continue reading Ben & Jerry’s sues over Ben & Cherry’s »

Step aside, Jay-Z.

There’s a new king of cash in the hip-hop world.

Dr. Dre, with pretax earnings of $110 million, is now No. 1, with Diddy  No. 2 at $45 million, followed by Jay-Z at $38 million, Forbes reports.

Native Atlantan Kanye West ranks No. 4 with $35 million pre-tax.

While their fame came from their music, their revenue stream flows heavily from the business world beyond.

Rapper-producer Dr. Dre made much of his by selling a stake in a headphone company last year.

Jay-Z’s far-flung outside business interests include cosmetics, basketball and batteries.

Diddy has a big vodka deal.

Others on the list: Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Eminem and Ludacris.

Continue reading Dr. Dre ousts Jay-Z as top hip-hop earner »

(Associated Press)

Maybe the new jingle will be “Two all-tofu patties, special sauce, lettuce , cheese, pickles, onions on an all-grain bun?”

McDonald’s is opening all-vegetarian restaurants in the land where the cow is sacred, India.

“It will be the first time we have opened a vegetarian restaurant,” Rajesh Kumar Maini, a McDonald’s spokesman in northern India, told media. “There is a big opportunity for vegetarian restaurants [in India] as many Indians are vegetarian.”

McDonald’s already serves a potato-based burger and chicken sandwich to reach Indian consumers who don’t eat beef or pork for religions reasons. Kitchens are divided into separate sections for cooking vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, but the new restaurants will be totally non-meat.

A spokesman wouldn’t speculate on whether vegetarian McDonald’s are destined for the U.S.

“McDonald’s listens to what our customers ask for and we certainly will continue to cater to local tastes and preferences,”

Continue reading Vegetarian McDonald’s on the way »

According to a new survey by an online lender, one in four Americans considers himself or herself poor, while one in three individuals under the age of 30 feels that way.

The online poll done for CashNetUSA.com also found that people age 50-59 were less likely to regard themselves as poor, with only 14 percent of individuals in that category describing themselves that way.

Americans could stand to pay better attention to their funds, too, the poll seems to suggest.

Only 25 percent of those responding said they strictly follow a budget. Another 48 percent said they loosely follow one. And 27 percent said they have no budget at all.

People with incomes below $30,000 were more likely to follow a budget (36 percent did), versus those with incomes above $75,000. Just 18 percent of people in that group budgeted.

Continue reading One in four Americans considers self poor »

(Johnny Crawford, jcrawford@ajc.com)

Looks like the new iPhone will make its debut next week.

Apple has invited the media to a Sept. 12 event with the notice “It’s almost here” and the big number 12, various media are reporting, including The Associated Press.

The event, which will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern time, will be held in San Francisco.

The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday that one of the new features will be a slimmer screen that integrates the touch screen with the LCD, thus eliminating the need for a separate touch screen layer.

According to CNET.com, the announcement about next week’s likely iPhone unveiling may confirm another recent rumor, which is that Apple will hold a separate event next month to debut a smaller version of the iPad.

Apple has been busy. While it preps for the new iPhone unveiling, it’s trying to cripple its biggest competitor, Samsung, by demanding that a federal court ban a ton of its phones and tablets from the U.S. market after …

Continue reading New Apple iPhone expected next week »

Is eating organic food safer and more nutritious? I’ve asked myself this question often as I fork over the extra cash for organic fruits, vegetables, grains and meat every week.

The answer is no, according to Stanford University doctors who studied the issue.

They’ve concluded that there is little evidence to back up assertions that eating organic is healthier than eating conventional produce. That, despite the fact that demand for organic food is rising. Last year, we spent $31.4 billion on organic food — up from 3.6 billion in 1997, according to a government report.

The Stanford researchers primarily looked at two issues: the impact of pesticides and food’s nutritional value. They found that the amount of pesticides found in conventionally grown produce was within safety limits set by the federal government. They also concluded that the organic foods weren’t any more nutritious than conventional foods.

“There are many reasons why someone might choose organic foods over …

Continue reading Is organic food better for you? »

Small businesses in metro Atlanta increased their hiring in August, continuing what’s become a long-term positive trend in a stagnant economy.

According to the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, hiring in the Atlanta area among companies surveyed was up 0.8 percent for the month. Atlanta small businesses have now increased hiring every month since SurePayroll began publishing its monthly report for each of the 35 biggest metro areas last summer.

The good news in Atlanta ran counter to the scene nationwide. Hiring by small businesses across the U.S. declined 0.1 percent last month.

Metro Atlanta small business payrolls, which grew 0.6 percent in July, are up 5.3 percent, year over year. Nationwide, hiring for the period is down 1.5 percent.

The SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard reflects hiring and pay data from 35,000 small businesses across the country that use SurePayroll’s services. The average size of the businesses in the survey is eight employees.

The report, …

Continue reading Small business hiring up in Atlanta »

As global competition intensifies, logistics – getting the right product to the right place at the right time – has become even more critical for companies these days. Atlanta is home to many well-known logistics players (UPS, Home Depot and Delta, to name a few) and at least one lesser known firm, Manhattan Associates.

Pete Sinisgalli

After eight years as CEO of Manhattan Associates (founded in Manhattan Beach, Calif., where the name comes from), Pete Sinisgalli will be stepping down at the end of the year to await the next, unknown chapter of his life.

Despite the recession, Sinisgalli, 56, has presided over considerable growth at the company, which sells supply-chain software to retailers, manufacturers and distributors around the world. Since he took over in 2004, revenue has nearly doubled to an estimated $370 million this year, while employment has more than doubled to 2,270. Sinisgalli talks about how he managed through the financial crisis and how listening helped him …

Continue reading Manhattan Associates CEO: ‘Take the hardest assignments’ »

Apple's iPhone on the left and Samsung's Galaxy S III on the right (Associated Press)

Apple Computer wants more of Samsung’s phones and tablets banned from the U.S. market days after winning a major patent infringement lawsuit against the device maker.

The company behind the iPhone and iPad now wants to add Samsung’s top-of-the-line Galaxy S III and its special Verizon edition, the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and the Galaxy S II in both its basic and carrier-independent forms to the list of devices it wants federal court in California to ban.

Those Android-based phones and tablets would join other Samsung devices Apple wants removed: the Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail.

In the April 2011 case that led to the recent $1 billion patent infringement award, a San Jose jury ruled Samsung copied Apple’s software and hardware designs for its iPhone and iPad. The …

Continue reading Apple wants more Samsung devices banned »