Today's cheddlines you Need2Know are a mixture of lowbrow and highbrow news, delicately locked together in a dance so heady it's as if there were a rose between their collective teeth. Meanwhile Tango, as we all know, is a washed rind cheese made from a mixture of sheep's and goat's raw milk, produced by Tieton Farm & Creamery in Yakima Valley, Eastern Washington. During maturation, the cheese is washed and soaked in Yakima Valley wine, giving its rind a purple color. Speaking of purple… Olé! —Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor |
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"You've got to make sure that you're working the system and that you have a plan, whether that's a budget, a spreadsheet, a dedicated closet where you put things when you get them." — Joanie Demer |
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1. Watch Out Grimace: Burger King Launches Purple Whopper for Halloween |
Yesterday I was happier than the meal they're included with to bring you news of McDonald's Boo Buckets, which are back in time for Halloween. Today, I'm even more delighted, frankly, to tell you about Burger King's launch of a new Addams Family-themed meal promotion. It includes:
—Wednesday's Whopper: A purple-colored bun Whopper, available for a BOGO deal for Royal Perks (that's Burger King's loyalty program) members.
—Thing's Rings: Onion rings served in Addams Family-themed packaging.
—Gomez's Churro Fries: Cinnamon sugar-coated churros served with a chocolate dipping sauce.
—Morticia's Kooky Chocolate Shake: A blend of soft serve with chocolate cake batter, fudge, and topped with black and purple cookie pieces.
They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're all together ooky, the Burger King Addams Family meal deals. Before you call this letter lowbrow, check out the next item… Read More |
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2. Economic Growth is Hindered by Poor Institutions and Weak Rule of Law, Says Economics Nobel Prize Winner |
Professor Simon Johnson of the MIT Sloan School of Management talked to us about economics. He gets a third of the million-dollar Nobel prize, which we were pleased to tell him, is $333,333.33 because we can do math, too. What's this prize for? Well, his work highlights how poor institutions and the weak rule of law hinder economic growth. Admit it: You preferred to hear all about the purple Addams Family Whopper at Burger King. I know.
"The most important finding is that while there's sort of an unnecessary layer of property rights and equal protection before the law and political rights that you need for shared prosperity, it's also really important to have a responsible degree of regulation, including self-regulation, like through the stock exchange, including financial regulation of financial regulators, where appropriate," he said. "Overall, the outstanding success of the U.S. as an innovative place and a place for capital to be built and a place where workers get paid decent money is largely due to the fact that more often than not, we get the balance right and we really have the right kind of regulation on top of our property rights institutions."
He was chief economist at the International Monetary Fund from 2007-2008, when he was trying to make financial systems more robust. The IMF, of course, failed to head off the global financial crisis in (checks notes) 2007-2008. Oops.
"I'm not saying we were particularly successful in that, but from that work came a lot of ideas about financial reform in the U.S., in Europe," he said. "And I've had the great pleasure of working with Sheila Bair, and other distinguished individuals in the Systemic Risk Council, subsequently, that is supported by the CFA Institute. And we try on a weekly basis to bring best practice ideas to many parts of the world in terms of making all our financial systems, banking, non-banking, capital markets, make them more resilient in terms of exactly that institutional structure that market participants need for everything to function properly."
Fascinating stuff, Simon! Make sure you spend at least five dollars on some fast food to celebrate, yeah? Read More |
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| Spot on the scene at @ausaorg 🦾
We checked out Boston Dynamics' incredible Spot robot in action at the 2024 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C.
Stay tuned for our exclusive interview, where we'll explore how Spot is enhancing operations in the army. Plus, get ready for more tech updates from the event. |
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3. Kamala Harris Goes On Fox News Because Donald Trump Is Too Chicken to Debate Her Again |
The VP sat down with Fox's Brett Baier for a hostile interview this week to win over undecided voters, and the race is neck-and-neck.
In an intense and often contentious interview the discussion, which frequently aligned (from Fox's point of view) with former President Donald Trump's critiques, delved into topics such as illegal immigration, taxpayer funding for gender-transition surgeries, and more.
Baier's aggressive approach mirrored Fox News's usual treatment of Harris when she's not in the studio, except he interrupted her a lot because, you know, he's "fair and balanced." Despite the adversarial climate, Harris maintained her composure, refusing to criticize Trump's supporters and asserting her independence from President Joe Biden's policies.
The encounter was Harris's first with Fox News, aiming to broaden her reach and demonstrate strength against challenging media questioning, something both she and her campaign felt was achieved. I did, too, for what it's worth.
Meanwhile the New York Times' print edition yesterday morning carried a full-page ad for the next issue of Cigar Afficionado in which Baier is himself interviewed. He looked just like an undecided voter, albeit one who's already made up his mind to vote Republican in every election until he's dead and possibly even beyond that. I'm also curious why Cigar Afficionado is a publication for "gentlemen." Like, can't ladies also smoke cigars? Sorta like they can, you know, run for president? More to the point, can't trans women also smoke cigars in prison, following their taxpayer-funded surgeries? God bless America! Read More |
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4. Krazy Coupon Lady: Here's How To Snag A Shopping Season Bargain! |
We spoke with Joanie Demer, co-founder at the Krazy Coupon Lady about why retailers seem to be offering Black Friday deals in October. Amazingly, it's to get you to spend money.
"Retailers have data that show them shoppers who begin shopping earlier, and they're very likely to spend more before the holidays arrive," she said. "So that's the motivation behind this behavior, to get you shopping earlier and more often. But the thing that they're using to lure you into that early shopping are truly, legitimately great deals."
As a smart shopper, then, you can begin shopping early for the holidays. "But you've got to make sure that you're working the system and that you have a plan, whether that's a budget, a spreadsheet, a dedicated closet where you put things when you get them," Joanie said, sounding very much like somebody who is zero fun to shop with.
Amazon launched their second Prime Day last week. Costco and Walmart already have their Christmas decorations up. J.C. Penny is giving out gift cards when you walk into its stores to compete with online outlets. If you really want to get "strategic" about all this, of course, you could download an app like the Krazy Coupon Lady's. "There are hundreds of dollars to be saved. That's the difference between people that really plan ahead and those that don't," Joanie said.
Krazy Coupon Lady's journey has taken the company from two dedicated moms blogging from their home computers in Boise, Idaho, to a formidable team of nearly 130. I'll stick with impulse-buying $100 candles at Diptyque and forego a spreadsheet or "dedicated closet," thanks; however, I do think it's Kool that they've managed to build a business out of all this. Read More |
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5. It's About to be Easier to 'Click To Cancel,' But This Is Not A Subtle Hint |
Hardly anybody ever cancels their subscription to this newsletter, HONEST, but if they do want to, it's very easy, because here at Cheddar we want your love. We're not playing games. We're just prepared to work for it, you know?
Meanwhile the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a new rule, dubbed the "Click to Cancel" rule, which mandates that companies make canceling a subscription or service as straightforward as signing up for it. The FTC gets 70 daily complaints about subscriptions that are difficult to cancel or were signed up for unknowingly. FTC Commission Chair Lina Khan emphasized that the rule aims to eliminate the hurdles businesses put up to prevent easy subscription cancellations, thus saving Americans both time and money.
The rule passed with a 3-2 vote among FTC commissioners and is set to take effect 180 days after its publication in the Federal Register. It faced opposition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which criticized the initiative as an attempt to "micromanage business decisions."
If Donald Trump wins the election there'll be a new FTC chair before you can say "is it January, yet?" of course, and the commission will be able to overturn such a rule. Still, it was a nice idea while it lasted and was completely toothless in the abstract. Don't you think? Read More |
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