BC-US--Business Features Digest, US
The business news enterprise package planned through Sept. 8. For comments or questions, call 212-621-1680. For questions about photos, call ext. 1900. For questions about graphics, call ext. 7636. Repeats of stories are available from http://apexchange.com or the Service Desk, 1-800-838-4616.
Eds: Adds MUSIC-LIVING SOCIAL-GROUPON sent Friday, adds JEANS NO MORE, sent Friday, OF MUTUAL INTEREST-SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BONDS upcoming Friday.
TECHNOLOGY:
MUSIC-LIVING SOCIAL-GROUPON
NEW YORK — Websites like Groupon have become the go-to place for folks looking for that half-off deal on a manicure, a two-for-one offer for a fancy dinner or that all-inclusive trip that won't break the bank. But increasingly, it's also becoming the place for music fans to scoop up deep discounts on concert tickets, CDs and more for top-name acts. By Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu. SENT: Friday, 830 words, photos.
SELFIE PHONES
BERLIN — Visit any tourist destination, and you're bound to see individuals and groups taking photos of themselves for sharing on social media. It's a declaration to the world that they were there. So it was a matter of time before tech companies started designing phones and apps to help people take more and better selfies. By Frank Jordans. SENT: Thursday, 800 words.
CELEB HACKING-POLICING THE INTERNET
Nude photos of several female celebrities circulated online soon after hackers stole them. Websites responded by doing what they could to block or remove the images, apparently on grounds the images were protected by copyright. Shouldn't there be a better way to police images and other content on these sites? Here's a look at the laws surrounding copyright online and the challenges websites face. By Michael Liedtke. SENT: Thursday, 1,000 words, photo.
CELEB HACKING-CLOUD SECURITY
NEW YORK — When hundreds of photos of nude celebrities began making the rounds online, many security experts started pointing fingers at Internet storage services such as Apple's iCloud. What are these services, what do they do for you, and how can you stay safer using them? By Mae Anderson. SENT: Tuesday, 900 words, photos.
ECONOMY:
EUROPE-US-WHO WORKS MORE?
WASHINGTON — Compare unemployment rates, and America's job market looks much stronger than Europe's. The U.S. rate for August, being released Friday, is expected to be a near-normal 6.1 percent. In the 18 countries that use the euro currency, by contrast, it's a collective 11.5 percent. Yet by some measures, Europe is doing better. It's been more successful in keeping people working, letting the disabled stay on the job and boosting the proportion of women in the workforce. By Paul Wiseman and Christopher S. Rugaber. SENT: Wednesday, 950 words, photo.
EUROPE-ENDANGERED RECOVERY
FRANKFURT, Germany — Europe's recovery is in danger. Governments are under pressure to save it, but struggling with political obstacles and disagreement among themselves over what to do. So the region is pinning its hopes — once again — on the European Central Bank, which is expected to launch new stimulus measures if the economy gets any worse. Europe's lack of growth is looming larger and larger, however, and the ECB says it can't save the economy alone. By David McHugh and Lori Hinnant, AP photos. SENT: Monday, 1,450 words, photos.
WEALTH GAP-DIET
CHICAGO — Americans' eating habits have improved — except among the poor, evidence of a widening wealth gap when it comes to diet. Yet even among wealthier adults, food choices remain far from ideal, a 12-year study found. By Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner. SENT: Monday, 620 words, photo.
PERSONAL FINANCE:
OF MUTUAL INTEREST-SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BONDS
Instead of lending to just the government or some faceless corporation, what if your bond mutual fund also helped to vaccinate kids around the world? Managers at a growing number of mutual funds are seeking bonds that not only perform well but also come from issuers that do good things for the environment, society and corporate governance. It's a concept called socially responsible investing, and it used to be mainly the province of stock mutual funds. But a proliferation of "green bonds," whose proceeds are used to finance projects with environmental benefits, and similar investments mean more bond funds are using a socially responsible lens. UPCOMING: Friday 800 words.
INDUSTRY:
JEANS NO MORE
NEW YORK — Americans' obsession with jeans is beginning to wear thin. Jeans long have been a staple in U.S. closets. But sales of the iconic blues fell 6 percent this past year after decades of almost steady growth. Why? People more often are sporting yoga pants, leggings and other athletic bottoms around town instead of traditional denim. The shift is partly due to a lack of new jean designs since brightly colored skinny ones were all the rage a couple years ago. It's also a reflection of changing views about what's appropriate attire for work, school and other places that used to call for more formalwear. By Anne D'Innocenzio. SENT: Friday, 940 words, photos.
MAINE WITHOUT LOBSTER
FRIENDSHIP, Maine — Imagine Cape Cod without cod. Maine without lobster. The region's famous rocky beaches invisible, obscured by constant high waters. That's not science fiction. It's already starting to happen. The culprit is the warming seas — and in particular the Gulf of Maine, whose waters are heating up faster than 99 percent of the world's oceans, scientists say. The statistic underscores particular fears about the Gulf's unique ecosystem and the lucrative fishing industries it supports for three U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The warming is serving as a rallying point for environmental activists, who see the response to the temperature rise and its impact on fisheries as a touchstone for the global debate about climate change. By Patrick Whittle. SENT: Wednesday, 950 words, photos, video.
FAST-FOOD-FRANCHISE FIGHT
NEW YORK — Behind those Big Macs and Whoppers is a hidden drama over corporate control. The fast-food industry is underpinned by an often tense relationship between companies like McDonald's and Burger King and the franchisees who run their restaurants. Few customers think about it when scarfing down burgers, but the power dynamic has been bubbling to the surface. Around the country, union organizers are pushing to make McDonald's take responsibility for how workers are treated at its franchised restaurants. And in California, a bill could soon give franchisees at all fast food restaurants greater protections in their dealings with their corporate parents. By Candice Choi. SENT: Wednesday, 1,200 words, photos.
RETHINKING POT-THE BUSINESS PLAN
Legal or not, the business of selling weed in the U.S. is as wacky as ever. The tangle of sometimes conflicting rules and regulations that govern whether and how it can be grown, bought and sold create complexity and ambiguity that cause major headaches for marijuana businesses — and enticing opportunities for those who want to exploit it. Shady public companies, consultants with little experience and wild health claims are proliferating along with legitimate new businesses. By Jonathan Fahey. SENT: Thursday, 2,000 words, photos. With 990-word abridged version.
AUTO SALES-RISKY HABITS
DETROIT — Big discounts. Six- or seven-year loans, in some cases to buyers who would have been turned down in the past. As the auto industry strives to sustain its post-recession comeback, car companies are resorting to tactics that some experts warn will lead to trouble down the road. By Tom Krisher. SENT: Tuesday, 900 words, photo.
AIRLINES:
UNRULY PASSENGERS-INTERVIEW
NEW YORK — The man whose dispute with a fellow airline passenger over a reclined seat sparked a national debate about air-travel etiquette says he's embarrassed by the way the confrontation unfolded and that he regrets his behavior that day. But don't expect him to stop using the Knee Defender, a $22 gadget that attaches to a passenger's tray table and prevents the person in front from reclining. He just plans to be nicer about it. Exclusive AP interview. By Scott Mayerowitz. SENT: Wednesday, 900 words.
AIRLINES-UNRULY PASSENGERS
NEW YORK — Squeezed into tighter and tighter spaces by the airlines, passengers are taking their frustrations out on each other. Three U.S. flights made unscheduled landings in the past eight days after passengers got into fights over the ability to recline their seats. Passengers are losing leg and elbow room as airlines try to maximize profits by adding more seats. By Scott Mayerowitz. SENT: Tuesday, 930 words, photo.