Few returns for GM dealers from car buyers
Published 2:50 pm Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Just a tiny fraction of General Motors customers have returned their cars for refunds under the automaker’s heavily advertised money-back guarantee program — and most buyers aren’t even choosing to participate in the plan, opting for a rebate instead. About 400 vehicle buyers, or “less than 1 percent” of sales since the program launched, have signed up for GM’s 60-day money-back guarantee program, spokesman Tom Henderson said Tuesday. The rest took a $500 rebate, he said. Of those 400 vehicles, just 15 have been returned in the four days since customers could begin doing so, Henderson said.
Barnes &Noble offers its own e-book reader
Barnes &Noble Inc. unveiled a new electronic-book reader Tuesday that will compete with Amazon.com’s Kindle in a still-small arena where some see bookselling’s future. Closer to a printed book than its precursors in some respects, the “nook” allows users to lend their copies of electronic books to any friend who has installed Barnes &Noble’s e-reader application on a mobile device or personal computer. But the wireless nook, which runs on Google Inc.’s Android platform and comes with 2 gigabytes of memory built in, also can store and play MP3 files and photos.
Yahoo climbs out of earnings slump
Yahoo Inc. may finally be pulling out of a three-year slump that cast aside two chief executives and spurred a cost-cutting spree that led to about 2,000 layoffs. The purge helped Yahoo more than triple its third-quarter profit from last year to top analysts’ relatively low expectations for the troubled Internet company. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company also got a $98 million lift from the sale of its stake in China’s Alibaba.com. But the results released Tuesday also showed Yahoo’s revenue fell by at least 12 percent for the third consecutive quarter. The revenue rut means Yahoo still has a long way to go on its comeback trail. Analysts, though, believe Yahoo should be able to boost its advertising sales — the main source of its revenue — as long as the U.S. economy continues to heal and marketers funnel more of their budgets to the Web.
Label crackdown warned by FDA
Ever wondered how that “Smart Choices” sticker wound up on the front of Froot Loops or Cocoa Puffs? Well, federal health officials are having similar thoughts, and they’re warning food manufacturers. The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that nutritional logos from food manufacturers may be misleading consumers about the actual health benefits of cereal, crackers and other processed foods. The agency sent a letter to companies saying it will begin cracking down on inaccurate food labeling. The FDA did not name specific products or give a time line for enforcement. U.S. manufacturers rolled out their so-called Smart Choices program last year, amid growing concern about obesity rates.
From Herald news services
