Filed under: Newspapers, Scandals, Mattel, Inc (MAT)

Clearly the clever young men behind the social networking juggernaut Facebook didn’t know about moms. Especially lactating moms. Anger them at your peril.

According to an Australian paper, Facebook has recently removed photos of nursing mothers from members’ homepages and banned all photos of breast feeding where the breast is even slightly showing.

As any mother could have told them, that was like pouring gasoline on a fire. Now, thousands of Facebook users are on a rampage. A Facebook group called “Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is not Obscene” (a real mouthful, that) already has nearly 20,000 members, with more joining every day.

According to the article, spokeswoman Meredith Chin said Facebook, with some 31 million users worldwide, did not prevent mothers from uploading photos of themselves breastfeeding their babies, but it did remove content that was reported as violating Facebook’s terms of use.

“Photos containing an exposed breast do violate our Terms and are removed,” she said.

No word yet on how much baby there has to be covering said breast. But if the bikini-clad girls in some of the ads on the network are any guide, not very much.

As the furor grows, Facebook might want to take a page from Mattel Inc’s (NYSE: MAT) playbook: Never underestimate the wrath of moms.

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Filed under: Bad news, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) may not ever get any love in the San Francisco area. The world’s largest retailer had its hopes for more store frontage in the San Francisco Bay Area dashed this week when the retailer’s primary construction vendor pulled out from its prior application to build the big-box location. The vendor was controlled by a family that was apparently sympathetic to the plight of chasing off new Wal-Mart stores in the Bay Area, so it pulled its application for building a new Wal-Mart Supercenter as a result.

The new Wal-Mart location, which was to be built in the North Concord area, now has no firm to build it. North Concord residents and the City Council there had cited the Wal-Mart proposal as inadequate in addressing issues such as traffic, public safety, urban decay, water control, energy and parking. In other words, the usual suspects when a municipality wants to fend off a proposed Wal-Mart location.

Of course, Wal-Mart has a history of trying again and again to get locations built in areas that have significant shopper traffic and good demographics, and surely the retailer won’t put its tail between its legs and leave town like Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott indicated would happen in New York City recently. With only three Wal-Mart Supercenters approved in the Bay Area in the last four years, Wal-Mart has been beaten up pretty well in that area, although it continues the fight.

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Filed under: Newspapers, Scandals, Books

According to The New York Times, disgraced author James Frey is coming back with a new book: this one, Bright Shiny Morning, will be clearly labeled a work of fiction.

Frey’s first book, A Million Little Pieces, was a bestseller featured on Oprah that garnered further attention when it was revealed that the book, billed as a memoir, contained numerous fabrications. Our own Beth Gaston Moon called Frey the “Milli Vanilli of modern American literature.” Random House agreed to pay up to $2.35 million to readers who claimed they were defrauded.

His new book will be with Harper Collins, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to have a hit.

Did Frey make a mistake? Yes, of course. Was anyone hurt by it? I seriously doubt it. On the other hand, the advice doled out in Roberty Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad is often terrible and, according to some, completely made up. Given that Kiyosaki literally advises readers to change their lives, I would argue that this should be a much, much larger scandal than James Frey.

Frey made a mistake and he apologized. Hopefully readers will give his new work of fiction a fair chance.

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Filed under: Deals, Products and services, Competitive strategy, Marketing and advertising, Kohl’s Corp (KSS)

In an effort to appeal to a broader demographic, department-store name Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS), known for its broad selection of modestly-priced items, is focusing its efforts on unique product lines, including clothing branded by Vera Wang and fresh additions to its housewares department. Earlier this week, the retailer unveiled a new line of kitchenware, emblazoned with the Food Network brand.

The new Food-Network tools range in price from $10 to $400 and include cookware and bakeware, utensils and gadgets, pantryware, dinnerware, and textiles/linens. To coincide with the new line, Kohl’s will launch a marketing campaign to include advertisements, promotions, and direct mail.

The cable network, which can be seen in about 90 million households in the U.S., features programs hosted by celebrity chefs such as Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, and Ina Garten (aka “The Barefoot Contessa”). Kohl’s already offers a small line of Rachael Ray-sanctioned cutlery, cookware, and serving pieces, so the deal with the Food Network seems like a natural progression.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

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Filed under: Products and services, Law, Microsoft (MSFT)

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was in a whirl of issues years ago when the U.S. Department of Justice forced its oversight on the software maker for “bundling” its Internet Explorer into the Windows operating system.

Although I’ve agreed with much of the litigation against the software maker in this vein, I’ve never understood what makes it such a crime to bundle your own products together. Me? I installed Mozilla Firefox eons ago and have never looked back. Internet Explorer collects dust somewhere in my PC since it is never used.

Anyway, with that oversight set to expire later this year, seven states want the U.S. government to continue its monitoring of Microsoft for at least three more years for fear of the software company bundling something else into the brains of a certain segment of its software consumers.

The extension of the governmental monitoring most likely stems from the recent release of the Windows Vista operating system, with the states in question stating that the “principal constraint on Microsoft’s ability to abuse its market power will be gone” if the consent decree is allowed to expire this November without anything to follow it.

However, with Microsoft having satisfied the conditions of the consent decree so far, the oversight may not need a continuation after all, regardless of the states’ desires.

[Disclosure: I own MSFT shares as of 9-13-07]

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Filed under: Newspapers, Mutual funds, Personal finance

According to a piece (subscription required) in The Wall Street Journal, enhanced index funds are lagging the market.

These funds seek to combine active investing with indexing, and often attempt to enhance performance through derivatives trading, or weeding out stocks that the manager believes are particularly bad. The goal is to attempt to outperform the index by 1 or 2 percentage points with limited volatility.

This quote from The Journal pretty much sums up the problem:

“Typically, enhanced index funds have very reliable higher returns than the benchmark index they track,” said Carl Hess, practice director for the Americas at Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting.

But like the old efficient markets analogy about walking around in a parking lot looking for dollar bills, any investment that provides “very reliable higher returns” is destined to level off once its superiority becomes common knowledge. The whole basis for indexing is the acceptance that beating the market is close to impossible, and that the only things we as investors can really control are fees and diversification. The idea of enhanced index funds is a bit of a contradiction.

Investors should probably stay away from these funds, particularly those with high fees. If you want to try to achieve returns close to those of the indices, your best bet is traditional index funds.

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Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT)

Today Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced that it would be sponsoring one of the largest cash prize events yet, a $30 million purse for the Google Lunar X Prize. In order to win $20 million, a private company somewhere in the world will have to execute a successful robotic lunar mission within the next 5 years (the next government mission is planned for somewhere within the next 6-8 years), rove around a certain distance, and transmit video back to earth. The other $10 million is set aside for a second place company ($5 million) and other ‘bonus’ prizes ($5 million).

Calling this private effort to beat governments back to lunar space ‘Moon 2.0′ Google and the X Prize foundation challenge private companies to extend their footprint in space from the satellites that orbit the planet all the way to the moon.

When the Ansari X Prize for first private vehicle to make it to the edge of space debuted, many were skeptical of the ability of prizes like this to stimulate private business to challenge efforts that were typically large government efforts. A large number of contestants entered, but Burt Rutan, with the financial backing of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) billionaire Paul Allen, won the X Prize with SpaceShip One. Now Virgin Airlines is working with Rutan to commercialize trips to the edge of space, demonstrating the X Prize’s viability.

In addition to the Google Lunar Prize, there is also the Bigelow Aerospace prize of $50 million for the first private company to send five people into orbit before 2010.

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Filed under: Law, Scandals

I actually have a bottle of Brut, made by Helen of Troy Corp. (NASDAQ: HELE), in my closet, but I think I might go ahead and throw it away now.

An 81-year old Milwaukee man has sued the makers of Brut after it ignited and burned his hands, chest, and neck. He suffered burns on 30% of his body, and had to undergo three skin grafts. According to the Associated Press, “He washed and shaved in a bathhouse on the camp grounds and applied Brut lotion to his face, neck and chest with his hands. He also used the aerosol deodorant. He then went to a fire pit to cook breakfast.”

While he was starting the fire, his body ignited, allegedly because of the products’ flammable properties.

A few weeks ago on BloggingStocks, I wrote about high schools that are moving to ban students from wearing cologne because it can be irritating to other students and teachers. The piece brought out passions on both sides of the debate, generating 550 comments.

But the danger of igniting may be a more compelling reason for teens to be careful with these products than, for example, concern for the comfort of their teachers.

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Filed under: Bad news, Consumer experience, Newspapers, Interviews, Books, Housing, Federal Reserve

Alan Greenspan, the former Fed chief who some hail as the greatest central banker of all time, tells 60 Minutes that he didn’t realize the sloppy mortgage lending practices of recent years could hurt the larger economy until recently, according to the Washington Post today. The 60 Minutes interview with Greenspan is scheduled to run on Sunday evening at 7 (EDT).

Greenspan is back in the public eye as he promotes his new memoir, “Age of Turbulence,” which is being released Monday. It’s a delicious irony that the man who turned on the liquidity spigot in the first place would come out with a book so titled.

But apart from that chuckle, this revelation is unsettling. I’m not sure how arguably one of the most influential Fed
leaders in history could be so short-sighted about the long-term ramifications of his actions (specifically, lowering the interest rate to the lowest point in a generation). I’d like to think these guys are a lot smarter than the rest of us,
with access to the best financial brains available. How is it possible to not realize that unbridled lending will end in
tears?

Hasn’t he ever heard the old tropes about paying the piper or the free lunch? Stay tuned for this and other explanations, coming soon to a bookstore near you.

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Filed under: Bad news, Products and services, Consumer experience, Television, Small business

Known for some of the best soup recipes on the island of Manhattan and immortalized in a famous 1995 episode of Seinfeld, the “Original SoupMan,” may find himself in a soup kitchen of a different kind if his chain’s financial troubles persist.

Al Yeganeh was reportedly the real-life inspiration for Seinfeld’s uncharitably nicknamed “Soup Nazi” (portrayed by Larry Thomas), who refused service to George Costanza and Elaine Benes. Yeganeh was not interested in profiting off the Seinfeld name, however, discouraging employees from referencing the sitcom and frowning upon his supposed “nickname.”

While he is known for his tight-ship practices and regimented way of doing business, he is also known for his exquisite varieties of soup. But even the best crab bisque, turkey chili or even Mulligatawny may not be able to save the Original SoupMan chain from angry franchisees and frustrated customers.

Continue reading No soup for you? ‘Seinfeld’s’ soup inspiration in trouble

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