USA Today reports on another milestone for The Oracle of Omaha. For $100,000, you can buy a high-performance Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG coupe, a 74-day round-the-world cruise in a Royal Suite on the Queen Mary 2 — or one share of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) stock. The price of a share of Warren Buffett's company Monday became the first stock to ever close at the six-digit mark at $100,000, says Ned Davis Research. No …
North Korea Ain’t Trying To Hear That
This is a picture from space of a country that does not allow its citizens to go online. A glimpse into a black hole, courtesy of The New York Times: [T]he stark realities of life in North Korea were perhaps most evident in a simple satellite image over the shoulder of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during an Oct. 11 briefing. The image showed the two Koreas — North and South — photographed at night. The South …
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From A Land Down Under, Where Women Glow And Men Plunder
Aussie expats living in America are bumming. According to NEWS.com.au, the island-nation's favorite spread will no longer be available for purchase in the U.S. The US has banned Vegemite, even to the point of searching Australians for jars of the spread when they enter the country. The bizarre crackdown was prompted because Vegemite has been deemed illegal under US food laws. The great Aussie icon - faithfully …
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Wave Your New Credit Card And Wave Your Money Goodbye
Somewhere, right this minute, some ad agency people are working on a credit card or retail store account creating ads touting the benefits of new credit cards that you don't have to swipe through a machine. Here's hoping they don't sucker too many people into believing that these are secure transactions. From The New York Times: The card companies have implied through their marketing that the data is encrypted to …
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Why It’s Not Rocky VI
The new Rocky movie is called "Rocky Balboa," not Rocky VI, for a reason. Of course, the Rocky character has been resurrected so many times now that the story is absurd, but the marketing behind it is interesting, if only as another example (as if one were needed) of how everything we consume is elaborately constructed to maximize profit. The New York Times explains how best to name sequels: Movie audiences prefer …
What The World Needs Now: Greener Apples
Greenpeace wants Apple to reform its ways. We love Apple. Apple knows more about "clean" design than anybody, right? So why do Macs, iPods, iBooks and the rest of their product range contain hazardous substances that other companies have abandoned? A cutting edge company shouldn't be cutting lives short by exposing children in China and India to dangerous chemicals. That's why we Apple fans need to demand a new, cool …
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Philly Works On Its Self-Esteem
[via Philebrity] [UPDATE] According to this Fresh Inc. report, Seattle scrapped it's lovely "The Emerald City" designation for “Seattle: Metronatural.” …
Ad-Renaline
The New York Times examines what can happen when a rad shredder with a savvy business manager (his sister) connects the dots with brands hungry to appeal to Gen Y. Rolling Stone is joining forces with two of its advertisers, the video game publisher Activision and Jeep, for a promotional program centered on Mr. Hawk, the skateboarding star. He has separate endorsement deals with each brand and also works with both …