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Hawaii announces big electric car plan
HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii aims to become the first state with electric car stations statewide.
A company called Better Place in Palo Alto, California, will build up to 100,000 charge spots in parking lots, downtown streets, and neighborhoods by early 2012. The electricity would come from renewable energy such as wind power.
Gov. Linda Lingle says the program will help Hawaii meet its goal of slashing fossil fuel use 70 percent by 2030.
The head of Better Place says the auto alliance of Nissan and Renault has agreed to make cars that would use the stations. He says they wouldn't cost any more than gasoline-powered cars, and would eventually be cheaper because they have far fewer parts.
He says he's also talking to other automakers, including the Big Three.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 8:05am EST December 3, 2008
Coming soon to Blockbuster stores: concert tickets
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hoping to stay relevant in an "on-demand" and mail-order world, Blockbuster plans to start selling concert tickets at about 500 of its video rental stores around the country.
A three-year deal with promoter Live Nation makes Blockbuster the primary brick-and-mortar sales outlet for concerts. However, since most tickets are bought online, Blockbuster's sales are expected to account for less than 10 percent of the more than 10 million tickets that Live Nation hopes to sell next year.
Blockbuster, which has been losing money, will also get a slice of the transaction fee charged on the ticket sales.
Live Nation is in the process of breaking away from Ticketmaster so it can build its own ticketing channel.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 1:45am EST December 2, 2008
FDA sets safe level for infant formula contaminant
By JOAN LOWY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal food safety regulators have set a safety level for the industrial chemical melamine in infant formula and are urging consumers to keep using U.S.-made formula.
Officials for the Food and Drug Administration said Friday that they've set a threshold of 1 part per million of melamine in formula so long as a related chemical isn't also present.
The new threshold now defines as safe the concentrations that the FDA has found in its testing so far.
The safety level is far below the amount of melamine added to infant formula in China that has been blamed for killing at least three babies and making thousands ill.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 4:46pm EST November 28, 2008
Toy makers urged to redirect toy ads
NEW YORK (AP) -- Some parents who are economically squeezed are writing toy makers asking them to quit marketing directly to their children.
One man in Indiana wrote that such ads put parents in the tough spot of having to tell their kids they can't afford the toys the kids want.
A group called the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood says some 1,400 of its members and supporters have contacted 24 leading toy companies and retailers. The group wants toy ads directed at parents, not children. The campaign says it's "not fair" to encourage kids to nag for gifts their parents can't afford.
The Toy Industry Association argues that children "are a vital part of the gift selection process."
A consultant to the industry says toy companies advertise to kids "because it works."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 2:08pm EST November 29, 2008
Holiday season off to a modest start
NEW YORK (AP) -- It wasn't a complete disaster as some feared, but Thanksgiving shopping weekend sales are looking like they only met the low end of expectations, at best.
That's thanks to tempered spending by consumers and unprecedented deep discounts.
Now, the nation's merchants are struggling to find other tricks to entice financially strapped shoppers.
Industry analyst Marshal Cohen says the message from consumers is they want even better deals and they're willing to wait for them.
Cohen says he expects retailers will be doing more two-for-one deals.
While the crowds did come out to buy, many analysts say they were thinner than last year, and according to some accounts, the pre-dawn buying binge fell off sharply during the rest of the weekend.
ShopperTrak RCT is expected to release data for the combined Friday and Saturday period today.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Posted: 5:20am EST December 1, 2008
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