Wal-Mart goes all, like, 'granola' on us

"The world's largest retailer and No. 1 purveyor of groceries in the U.S. is making a huge push into Whole Foods' territory of organic food." Walmart already sells 1,600 organic products, but Walmart is offering a new line of products under the Wild Oats brand. The difference is that they'll be offered at the same price as non-organic national brands and 25% cheaper than the organic national brands in its stores. The move reflects a bigger shift in the national consciousness around food. As we detail in the cover story, healthy, natural, and organic products make up a $150 billion segment that's set to grow 50% by 2018, according to one of Walmart's sales divisions. Shoppers in general aren't as brand conscious when it comes to organics because it's a new niche, says Phil Howard, a professor at Michigan State University, who teaches community, food, and agriculture. That's helped the ascent of the 365 brand and will likely also help       Wal-Mart get customers to try Wild Oats products. These new organic products will help customers to shop healthier for a cheaper price.

Falling soda sales: Not a trend, but a fundamental shift

"Coca-Cola and Pepsico must be judged not on whether they can resurrect their flagship brands, but on how well they can manage those brands' decline." Over the past nine years, soft drink sales have been declining. But this is much more than a trend. It is a fundamental shift in consumer taste and is a growing problem for soda makers. By the end of 2013, soda sales fell by 3%. This is the lowest it has been since 1995. Because of this, many companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsico have begun to invest in alternatives like new kinds energy drinks, sports drinks, and flavored water.

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2014/04/01/soda-sales-coke-pepsi/

Candy Crush company founder left $1 billion on the table

          The game, candy crush, has become very popular in the past few years. In 2003 co-founder of the game, Toby Rowland, did not believe the game would be a success. In 2011 he then cashed out his stake in the company for just under $3.1 million dollars. Since that time the game has rapidly increased in value. It is among the most well know games world-wide. Today, the game is worth $7.6 billion, which would've made his share in the company worth over $966 million. The game averages 93 million players a day. It is very popular among social media sites such as Facebook. When Rowland was questioned about why he did not think the game would succeed, he did not reply.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/17/technology/social/candy-crush-ipo/index.html?iid=SF_T_Lead

The Hidden Costs of a Minimum Wage Hike

In the future as states, cities, and the government raise their minimum wage, workers taxes increase. "The minimum wage increase is not just the dollar an hour, but it's also a raise in our taxes," said Jason Lerner of Little Learner Academy. In New Jersey the minimum wage rose from $7.25 to $8.25 on Jan. 1. This adds an extra 10.5% of taxes from the pay of workers and local businesses. Although this will affect workers and their pay, businesses say that it will not have a large affect on them.


http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/22/smallbusiness/minimum-wage-taxes/index.html?iid=SF_E_River

Apple's CarPlay draws safety criticism

"Apple is making it easier than ever to use your iPhone in the car. Some auto safety experts think that's not such a good idea." The new CarPlay system from Apple allows drivers to make hands-free calls, dictate text messages and many other iPhone functions. This can very useful, but it also serves as a large distraction to drivers. David Teater, senior director at the nonprofit National Safety Council, says they are very concerned about the auto industry and the consumer electronics industry overlapping and allowing drivers to do many things other then driving. Although it is a hands free operating system, research has shown that it can be just as dangerous as holding a phone while driving. "The idea that people want to be on their phones, and therefore let's give them a way to do that -- that's not putting safety first, that's putting convenience and the desire to be in touch first," says Bruce Hamilton, manager of research and communications at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. I agree that both can be dangerous but I also think it can benefit many people if you are responsible and use it for the right reasons.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/05/technology/mobile/apple-carplay/index.html?iid=H_T_News

Sony moves to sell cable tv via the internet

This past Tuesday Sony stated that it would start testing a "cloud-based TV service" later this year. The service would include a package of live television channels, on-demand TV episodes and a digital video recorder. This kind of bundle is similar in idea and price to the subscriptions sold by Comcast, DirecTV and Verizon FiOs, but is delivered through an existing Internet connection. This would give a larger variety of options customers. A consumer could buy broadband from an existing provider like Comcast or Verizon then choose from any virtual cable providers including Sony. This would allow live streaming on many mobile devices as well as television screens.


http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/07/technology/enterprise/sony-tv/index.html?iid=SF_T_River

022114 EconBlogPost- Facebook/ Whatsapp

       Over the past few days Facebook has continued to expand in communication and messaging. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg purchased Whatsapp for $19 billion. According to OnDevice Research, Whatsapp is the most popular messaging app for smartphones. Facebook's messageing app is the second most popular with Whatsapp being number one that list. This purchase will only strengthen Facebook's position in the world of instant messaging. Whatsapp is similar to traditional text messaging, it allows people to connect by using their cellphone numbers. But instead of paying for messages, WhatsApp sends the messages over mobile broadband. This kind of messgaing has become very popular, but they are not interested in driving revenue away from Whatsapp. Mark Zuckerburg said, "We are not looking to drive revenue from WhatsApp in the near term, instead focusing on growth." He also said he doesn't anticipate trying to aggressively grow WhatsApp's revenue until the service reaches "billions" of users. As Facebook continues to grow and dominate in the market for communication and messaging, we can wonder what others changes will come in the near future that will benefit our need for easy communication.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/19/technology/social/facebook-whatsapp/index.html?iid=s_mpm