Category: News and Views

Chipotle is going to make burgers now | Mashable

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Look out, Ronald. Chipotle is coming.

The leader of the “fast casual” restaurant revolution best known for its burritos and guacamole now has its eyes on the burger industry.

Chipotle Mexican Grill confirmed on Wednesday that the company has applied for the trademark for “Better Burger,” a move that signals what could be a new chain under the Chipotle empire.

Chipotle already runs two other chains in addition to its flagship Mexican restaurants — the Southeast Asia-inspired ShopHouse and Pizzeria Locale.

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Can Kellogg Save Cereal by Selling It as a Snack Food? | Bloomberg

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Millennials are GRRREAT!

That, anyway, is what Kellogg Co. is banking on to help revive soggy cereal demand. Tony the Tiger and its other ageless characters have been losing the breakfast battle for years, so Kellogg is repositioning some of its brands as a snack for the nation’s largest demographic: people born from the early 1980s to about 2000.

While total U.S. cereal sales have fallen 8.8 percent since 2012, the share eaten in the afternoon and evening has risen steadily in recent years, hitting about 35 percent in 2015, according to the Battle Creek, Michigan-based company. That’s partly because millennials have embraced Froot Loops and Smorz as indulgent snacks, says Craig Bahner, president of Kellogg’s U.S. Morning Foods division. To ride the trend, Kellogg is repackaging products including Frosted Flakes and Special K in grab-and-go containers and emphasizing the nostalgic pull of cereal as a late-night treat.

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California’s $15 Minimum Wage Deal Will Cause Unemployment–And We Have Proof Of This | Forbes

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California has reached a deal which will raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next few years. It’s likely to be formally announced by Jerry Brown later today. Such a deal raises such hopes, doesn’t it? All those poorly paid workers in Los Angeles and San Francisco will be able to pay their way in life. And yet there’s always that nagging doubt that such price fixing might turn around and bite us. And we actually do have proof of this: a report about what a $15 minimum wage will do to employment in Los Angeles City. This is not, by the way, a report by some from market fundamentalist like myself. This is from Michael Reich et al at Berkeley, stout supporters of a rise to $15. And yet even their report states that the net effect will be fewer jobs. And that’s after they play rather fast and loose with one of the major effects they are thinking of.

There’s also the problem that not all of California is all that rich so the towns of the Central Valley are going to have a much harder time. This simply isn’t going to work out well.

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Ad of the Day: Carlsberg Created a Chocolate Bar. It’s a Bar. Made Entirely of Chocolate | Adweek

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In a departure from its usual fermented fare, Carlsberg has offered a new experience: A chocolate bar—that is, a drinking establishment made entirely out of chocolate.

The brewer built the edible edifice outside the Old Truman Brewery in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood, disguising it as a billboard in the shape of a giant chocolate bar (the confectioner’s kind), then unwrapping it to reveal the unusually sweet watering hole.

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FBI warns on risks of car hacking | BBC News

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The FBI and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have added their voices to growing concerns about the risk of cars being hacked.

In an advisory note it warns the public to be aware of “cybersecurity threats” related to connected vehicles.

Last year Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.4 million US vehicles after security researchers remotely controlled a Jeep.

People who suspect their car has been hacked were told to get in contact with the FBI.

The public service announcement laid out the issues and dangers of car hacking.

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SeaWorld to End Breeding Program for Killer Whales | NBC News

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SeaWorld announced Thursday it will end its killer whale breeding programs and take a “new direction” amid changing social attitudes.

The company said the 24 orcas it currently has in three parks would be SeaWorld’s last generation, a long awaited move following intense criticism from animal-rights campaigners over keeping the whales in captivity.

“SeaWorld has been listening and we’re changing,” the company said in a statement. “Society is changing and we’re changing with it. SeaWorld is finding new ways to continue to deliver on our purpose to inspire all our guests to take action to protect wild animals and wild places.”

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Apple looks to Google’s Cloud Platform as it diversifies its infrastructure | TechCrunch

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Rumors are flying today that Apple is moving part of its cloud business from AWS to Google’s Cloud Platform. We did some asking around and yes, it does appear that Apple has made some moves to diversify its iCloud storage, tapping Google for some of that business.

This is another huge win for Google and a — at the very least perceived — loss of ground for AWS, which has watched as Dropbox moved large parts of its US storage business in-house and Spotify moved at least part of its business to Google, too.

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