Internet Calling Pressures Bells to Lower Rates
Competition in the phone business, intensifying this year as Internet-based calling has taken root, has reached the point where many industry experts are anticipating an era of remarkably cheap and even free calls, the New York Times reports. That era would be built on a vast migration of phone service from traditional networks to the Internet, where the calls become just another way to use Internet connections that consumers are paying for anyway.
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`Superman’ Returns to Rescue the Franchise
“Superman Returns” brought a film franchise back to life for Warner Bros. with an opening weekend gross of $52.2 million in the U.S. and Canada, the Los Angeles Times reports citing studio estimates. Director Bryan Singer’s costly retelling of the comic book classic , the first big-screen version of the Man of the Steel in 19 years , generated $84.2 million in the five days starting with its Wednesday launch.
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Factory Growth Slowed in June Amid Rising Prices, Weak Hiring
Manufacturing activity growth slowed unexpectedly in June, amid a continued rise in prices and a drop in hiring, a separate report Monday said, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, U.S. construction spending fell by surprise during May, taking its largest drop in nearly two years as housing sector outlays tumbled. The Institute for Supply Management, a private research group, said its manufacturing activity index moved to 53.8 in June, from 54.4 in May and 57.3 in April. June’s reading came in below the 55.0 reading that was the consensus expectation of forecasters surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.
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Topanga Mall Tries on Splash of Beverly Hills
Once ignoring it as the land of sensible shoes and polyester pants, luxury retailers now want to bring an upscale twist to the formerly middlebrow San Fernando Valley, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Crews at the Westfield Topanga mall are laboring to add more than a half-billion dollars worth of upgrades to the 42-year-old site. There’s a Neiman Marcus on the way in two years, and Nordstrom Inc. recently showed off hints of what will make up its first new store in the area in 22 years.
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‘Sonic Brand’ Marketer Pitches Barbie’s Song
The question sat in Tena Clark’s mind as she drove through downtown Los Angeles last fall. Would Barbie be three notes, or four? Would they cascade up or down? The answers were no small matter, the Los Angeles Times reports. With Barbie’s sales sagging, toy maker Mattel Inc. had turned to Clark, a pioneer in the emerging field of “sonic branding,” to help give the icon of American beauty a marketing face-lift.
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