99 Cents Only retail chain may face price hike
Ninety-nine cents just doesn’t go as far as it used to, and that’s a problem for the 99 Cents Only Stores chain.
Faced with rising inflation and soaring food prices, the retailer — known for never selling anything for more than 99 cents — is re-evaluating its pricing strategy. And that could mean breaking the $1 barrier for the first time in the company’s 26-year history.
I caught the end of Face the Nation and heard Fort Worth native Bob Schieffer boast about the Forth Worth. I thought those in the Cowtown area might appreaciate this:
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest beverage firm, is working on a proprietary fountain system that can dispense more than 100 beverages from a single unit.
First-generation prototype dispensers were tested earlier this summer, the company said Thursday. Second-generation dispensers will begin testing in the first half of 2009. A decision on whether to roll out the system in the market will be made after the second round of testing.
The new dispenser, which fits in about the same space as a current eight-valve machine, uses high-concentrate ingredients to store more beverages. Adding a new brand is “about as easy as changing a print cartridge,†the company said in a press release.
Google wants to help you put a name to that face.
With a face recognition feature set to launch at noon PDT Tuesday, Google’s Picasa Web Albums will help users label their photos with the names of subjects. That and other changes to the photo-sharing site are joined by a new beta version of the accompanying Picasa 3.0 photo-editing software.
The “name tag” feature presents users with collections of photos with what it judges to be the same person, then lets them click a button to affix a name. Once photographic subjects are named, users can browse an album of that individual on the fly.