Aflac embraces its lucky duck
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, January 4, 2005
The Aflac duck, which has made the 50-year-old insurance company a household name, has been added to its logo. The Fortune 500 company added the cultural icon to its symbol in December. It now plans to produce ads that explain what Aflac actually does now that most people have heard of the company.
Molson investor condemns merger
A second major shareholder of Molson Inc. condemned on Tuesday the company’s proposed merger with Colo.-based Adolph Coors Co., while two large shareholder advisory firms supported the deal. Toronto investment firm Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. said the deal “makes no sense at all” because it doesn’t place enough value on the brewer’s highly profitable business in Canada. However, Maryland-based Institutional Shareholder Services and Fairvest, Canada’s leading independent proxy advisory firm, recommended on Tuesday that Molson and Coors shareholders approve the merger on Jan. 19.
Krispy Kreme shares tumble
Amid allegations of padded sales figures, Krispy Kreme on Tuesday restated its earnings for fiscal 2004, sending its shares tumbling more than 17 percent and threatening the once trendy doughnut maker with a cash and credit crunch. In a statement, Krispy Kreme said its revised earnings reports place it in potential default of a $150 million credit line. While the company is negotiating with lenders to avoid being forced to immediately repay almost $91 million in outstanding loans, it warned “there can be no assurance that the lenders will accede.”
Microvision wins printer contract
Bothell-based Microvision Inc. has signed its third contract with an undisclosed Asian manufacturer of printers and office equipment to further develop a new engine for high-speed laser printers. The contract, terms of which were not disclosed, builds on the design work and prototype development resulting from two earlier contracts. Microvision makes augmented vision equipment and other devices that use light-scanning technology, including laser bar code scanners.
From Herald staff
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