Starbucks Corp. said Monday it was raising prices for its coffee and other freshly made drinks in most of its U.S. stores by 9 cents this month, citing rising cost for dairy products, energy and fuel. Starbucks said the price hike will take effect July 31, bumping the cost of most drinks by about 3 percent. The increase will apply to coffees, lattes, frozen Frappuccinos and some tea-based drinks, including fruit and tea blends made behind the counters in all of its domestic company-operated stores, company spokesman Brandon Borrman said.
Netflix lowers prices to keep members
Netflix Inc. expects its profit to sag the rest of this year as the online DVD rental leader absorbs the cost of lowering its the most popular subscription plan to ward off an intensifying threat from rival Blockbuster Inc. The bleak forecast overshadowed the Los Gatos-based company’s second-quarter results, which also were released Monday after the stock market closed.
Controlling family considers Dow sale
Members of the Bancroft family, the controlling shareholders of Dow Jones &Co., gathered in Boston on Monday to consider a $5 billion bid for The Wall Street Journal publisher from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Family representatives were seen entering a Hilton hotel in downtown Boston on Monday afternoon, including Leslie Hill and Christopher Bancroft, both of whom are also board members of the New York-based company.
Satellite radio details price plans
The top executives at the nation’s two satellite radio companies detailed pricing plans Monday that they said would let customers choose which channels they want to receive if the two firms are permitted to merge. XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio announced the $4.7 billion merger last February. The pricing plans announced Monday range from $6.99 per month for 50 channels offered by one service to $16.99 per month where customers would keep their existing service, plus “chose from the best” of channels offered by the other service.
American Express sees profit boost
American Express Co., the nation’s third-largest credit card brand, said Monday that record spending had fueled a 12 percent jump in profit. The company also boosted the amount of money it has reserved for loan losses, as have many other financial services companies, to brace for an ongoing deterioration in credit quality.
Merck profits rise on new medicines
Merck &Co.’s second-quarter profit jumped 12 percent as revenues from six new medicines and strong growth of key older ones offset losses to generic competition. The drugmaker on Monday raised its profit forecast, boosting its shares, but took another charge for its massive Vioxx litigation. Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck earned $1.68 billion, or 77 cents per share, compared with net income of $1.5 billion, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.
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