Century-old fight for Budweiser name hits new snag

CESKE BUDEJOVICE, Czech Republic (AP) ? They've been arguing about a name for 106 years. A small brewer in the Czech Republic and the world's biggest beer maker have been suing each other over the right to put the word Budweiser on their bottles in what has become a David versus Goliath corporate saga.

A deal, it seems, will have to wait a bit longer because settlement talks between state-owned Budejovicky Budvar and Anheuser-Busch, a U.S. company now part of AB InBev, have collapsed, according to Budvar's director general, Jiri Bocek.

The dispute is over exclusive rights ? when only one of the companies is allowed to use the Budweiser name in any given country. As a larger company, AB InBev is particularly keen to expand its exports and market its beers under the Budweiser brand. But Budvar says that giving up its exclusive rights to the name would threaten to wipe out its own brand from the market.

Budvar recently rejected a proposal for a global settlement by AB InBev, which in turn refused a counteroffer. Bocek said negotiations on these proposals, details of which he could not provide, were over.

"Any new deal proposed by Anheuser-Busch wouldn't be working for us," he told The Associated Press in a rare interview with a major foreign news organization. AB InBev declined to comment on the details of the talks.

The brewers last agreed on a global settlement in 1939 in a pact that gave Anheuser-Busch sole rights to the name Budweiser in all American territories north of Panama. But the peace did not last long as the two companies expanded exports to new markets.

Though AB InBev is far larger than Budvar ? it produces 270 times more beer ? the Czech company has been punching above its weight in the legal arena. It won 88 of 124 disputes between 2000 and 2011 and holds exclusive rights in 68 countries, mostly in Europe, preventing AB Inbev from entering some key markets such as Germany with the Budweiser brand.

When the companies do not have exclusive rights to the Budweiser brand in a country, they resort to using slightly altered names. AB Inbev sells its Budweiser as Bud in many European countries. Budvar sells its lager as Czechvar in the U.S.

One of the issues, Bocek said, is that AB Inbev is not satisfied with sharing the brand name.

"Their goal is to gain exclusivity for their Budweiser all around the world," said Bocek, who as head of Budvar for the past 21 years has raised the heat on the larger rival.

Co-existence is possible, however. In fact, the two companies already share the Budweiser name in one country, Britain.

Both brewers were granted the right to use the name in 2000 after a British court ruled that drinkers were aware of the difference between the two beers. An appeals court this summer rejected AB InBev's request to have Budvar's trademark declared invalid.

AB InBev is not happy with the situation.

"Our concern is that coexistence on the U.K. market with the Budweiser brand will lead to consumer confusion," said Karen Couck, the spokeswoman for AB Inbev. "We want to make sure that when our customers order a Budweiser that they receive the clean, crisp taste of the global brand we have created."

But most beer drinkers would easily spot the difference, says Iain Loe, former research manager for Britain's Campaign for Real Ale, a consumer rights organization.

Budvar has "a full bodied taste" while "AB's Budweiser has little taste, or in the words of AB InBev, a clean taste," said Loe. "Customers know which beer is which."

The companies' claims to the Budweiser name are built on two main arguments ? geography and history.

Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in the southern city of Ceske Budejovice ? called Budweis at the time by the German-speaking people who formed about 40 percent of the area's population. Beer has been brewed here since 1265 and has been known for centuries as Budweiser.

Budvar argues that only beer that is brewed in this corner of the Czech Republic can be called Budweiser.

The founders of Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis used the name for their product because it was so well-known. The brewer, founded in 1852, began producing Budweiser, America's first national beer brand, in 1876 ? 19 years before Budvar was founded.

The two companies have been in a legal battle since 1906. Today, the dispute is being waged through 61 suits in 11 countries.

Budvar has some leverage in the dispute in that AB InBev may be missing out on a larger bulk of sales until a settlement is found, since its operations are so much bigger. It brewed 349.8 million hectoliters last year compared with Budvar's 1.32 million hectoliters. That's the equivalent of 73.9 billion pints against 279 million pints.

"Budvar blocks the markets where AB InBev, due to its trading power, marketing and distribution potential, would likely gain significantly more," said Karel Potmesil an analyst at stock brokerage Cyrrus AS. "The dispute limits the development of the brands that the company considers the most valuable in the industry."

If the issue is frustrating AB InBev, the company is not showing it.

"The dispute has not hindered our global expansion," said Couck, the spokeswoman.

She cited figures showing AB InBev's global sales were up 3.1 percent in 2011 and 6.2 percent in the first nine months of 2012. The U.S. Budweiser is brewed in more than 15 countries and sold in more than 80 others. Its key markets are the United States, China, Canada and Britain.

Budvar holds rights for Germany and other European markets as well as 11 Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, China and Vietnam.

"It's certainly quite unpleasant for AB InBev that it cannot sell the well-known brand it has developed on some key markets, especially in Germany, which is the most important market for Budvar," said Potmesil.

Budvar is also being hurt by the legal standoff: because of the legal issues, it takes seven to 10 years for the company to enter a new market.

But Potmesil noted Budvar does not gain much by entering new markets. It has a smaller marketing budget and its beer typically costs more, which hurts sales in lower-income countries like China.

In the end, the dispute mainly provides Budvar with protection against competition from AB InBev. Against such a large rival, Bocek said, it is essential that Budvar use all the legal leverage it can. "We have a right to exist," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/century-old-fight-budweiser-name-hits-snag-114537360--finance.html

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Iraqi President Talabani suffers a stroke

FILE - In this Aug 17, 2007 file photo, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani talks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq. The office of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Tuesday he has been admitted to the hospital for treatment of an unspecified health problem.. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - In this Aug 17, 2007 file photo, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani talks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq. The office of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Tuesday he has been admitted to the hospital for treatment of an unspecified health problem.. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - In this Aug 2, 2006 file photo, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani pauses after announcing new security plans in Baghdad, Iraq. The office of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Tuesday he has been admitted to the hospital for treatment of an unspecified health problem. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

Iraqi Presidential guards walk outside the hospital where Iraqi president Jalal Talabani is receiving treatment at the Medical City in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has been hospitalized in Baghdad after suffering a stroke and is in stable condition, a spokesman for the prime minister said Tuesday. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has suffered a stroke and was in intensive care at a Baghdad hospital Tuesday, injecting new uncertainty into the country's political future a year after the U.S. military left.

Although his official powers are limited, Talabani, 79, is respected by many Iraqis as a rare unifying figure seen as able to rise above the ethnic and sectarian rifts that still divide the country. Known for his joking manner and walrus-like moustache, Talabani has been actively involved in trying to mediate an ongoing crisis between Iraq's central government and the country's ethnic Kurdish minority, from which he hails.

Iraqi state TV and several officials, including the prime minister's spokesman and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, confirmed to The Associated Press that Talabani had a stroke. The severity remains unclear.

Talabani's spokesman, Nasser al-Ani, told reporters that the president is in stable condition, though he did not say what he was suffering from. Medical officials who appeared with him were just as circumspect. They did not take questions.

"The president's health is being closely followed up by our medical team. The vital organs are working and we hope that there will be no deterioration," said Dr. Ayad Abbas from the intensive care unit where Talabani is being treated. "We hope that we will see improvement in the coming hours."

The presidential office initially said Tuesday that Talabani was hospitalized the previous evening after showing signs of fatigue. A later statement cited tests showing he is suffering from a condition caused by a hardening of his arteries. It did not identify the condition.

Some local media reports suggested that Talabani had died, but Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that was not the case.

Rifle-toting soldiers assigned to the presidential guard were deployed around Medical City, Baghdad's largest medical complex, where Talabani is being treated. A number of senior government officials and lawmakers were seen rushing to the hospital to check on his condition, though their bodyguards were mostly not being allowed inside.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was among those who stopped by to check on the president, according to his spokesman, Ali al-Moussawi.

Medical teams from Germany and Britain are expected to arrive and will decide whether the president's condition is serious enough for him to be sent abroad for treatment, al-Mutlaq said.

Neighboring Turkey offered to send an ambulance jet to Baghdad that could transport Talabani for treatment in Turkey or another country, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters.

He suggested that the Iraqis had not yet responded to the offer. "It is up to them to decide," he said, adding that the information he had received was that Talabani was "seriously indisposed."

Word of Talabani's illness trickled out exactly a year after the last U.S. troops rolled out of Iraq. Their departure on Dec. 18, 2011 ended a nearly nine-year war that left more than 100,000 Iraqis and nearly 4,500 Americans dead.

Talabani is overweight and has undergone a number of medical procedures in recent years.

He had heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in 2008 and has returned to the Minnesota institution for treatment since, including this past March. Over the summer, he underwent knee-replacement surgery in Germany.

The Iraqi presidency is a largely ceremonial post, though it does retain some powers under Iraq's constitution, such as the ability to block executions.

Talabani has frequently used his position to mediate disputes within the government and among Iraq's sects and ethnic groups. He has recently been working to resolve a standoff between the central government and the Kurds, who have their own fighting force.

The two sides last month moved additional troops into disputed areas along the Kurds' self-rule northern region, prompting fears that fighting could break out.

Talabani last week brokered a deal that calls on both sides to eventually withdraw troops from the contested areas, though there is no timetable for how soon the drawdown might take place.

Talabani met with al-Maliki before falling ill Monday. They agreed that al-Maliki would invite a delegation from the Kurdish regional government to Baghdad to continue the talks, according to the prime minister's office.

Iraq at one point had three vice presidents at a time, though one resigned last year and the other, Sunni politician Tariq al-Hashemi, has fled the country after arrest warrants were issued against him.

In the event of the president's death, Shiite Vice President Khudier al-Khuzaie would be expected to assume the president's duties temporarily because he is the only vice president remaining in Iraq, said legal expert Tariq Harb.

Lawmakers would have up to one month to choose a permanent replacement. Iraq's Kurds would likely insist that the presidency remain in their hands, though there is no guarantee of that outcome.

Also on Tuesday, a car bomb exploded in the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, killing four pilgrims from the Muslim sect and wounding 14 others, according to police and hospital officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information.

___

Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed reporting.

___

Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-18-Iraq/id-fc9f4ac90c5f4987a99d36bb94906d1c

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Bobby Kotick Does Play Video Games - Game Informer

The New York Times recently published a large article about Activision CEO Bobby Kotick where he defends his appreciation for video games, and politely requests that people stop posting unflattering Photoshops of him online.

In the interview, Kotick says he has never been able to live down an article he did with Forbes in 2009 where he said he didn't play the video games he sold. He told the New York Times that he has blisters on his fingers from playing Defender back in the day, and these days he plays Skylanders with his daughter.

He also addresses the video game antagonist reputation he has won on the Internet. Kotick said, ?Think about what it?s like for my dating life when the first picture that comes up is me as the Devil.?

Regardless of your feelings about Kotick, you can't deny that the man seems to know what he is doing. His company has surpassed Electronic Arts as the world's largest and most profitable video game publisher.

Source: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/12/16/bobby-kotick-does-play-video-games.aspx

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How To Reduce 401K Fees Through Portfolio Analysis | Financial ...

Do you know how much in mutual fund fees you are paying a year? I didn?t, so I ran my 401K portfolio through Personal Capital?s 401k fee analyzer and I?m absolutely shocked by the results! I always figured that from a percentage point of view, my mutual fund fees were small. But, when you take a small percentage multiplied by a big enough number, the absolute dollar amount startsadding up!

As you can see in the picture above, I?ve got four main mutual funds in my 401K account after jumping back into the market post election. I?ve got another fund worth about $22,000 as part of my 401K which does not show a fee, probably because it is a hedge fund whose fees are baked into the performance. Typical hedge fund fees are 2% of assets under management and 20% of upside. This is called 2 and 20, which is egregiously high, but it?s the only way I can get short exposure to hedge my bets.

I?ve been wanting to do a 401K/mutual fund fee analysis for the longest time, but was too lazy to do the analysis until I realized I didn?t have to do the calculations myself. As the new year arrives, I want my portfolio to be as optimized as possible.

ANALYZING YOUR 401K FOR EXCESSIVE FEES

* Huge spread in expense ratios. The cheapest expense ratio is 0.19% for the Vanguard IT Index Fund and a whopping 0.74% for the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund. 0.74% is almost 4X greater than 0.19%, supposedly because they?ve got to pay the fund manager and analysts for providing alpha and outperforming the S&P 500 index. If the fund manager(s) can indeed outperform the S&P 500 index by more than 0.5% a year, then their fee is on par with my cheapest Vanguard Index Fund. If not, I?m wasting my money.

* Fees add up over time. In 20 years, I will have paid ~$87,000 in mutual fund fees if I keep my existing portfolio. I don?t know about you, but that seems a lot, even if my 401k does grow to $1,500,000 as my 401K savings guide estimates. Just doing the math here, 67% or $58,290 of the $87,000 in fees will come from my Fidelity Growth Fund alone. Meanwhile, the Fidelity growth fund only accounts for 39.5% of total assets. Long term growth has a way of compounding into great returns for consistent investors and savers, however it sure does a number on the total amount of fees as well.

* Understanding tax cost ratio.?The Tax Cost Ratio measures how much a fund?s annualized return is reduced by the taxes investors pay on distributions. The range is usually between 0%-5%, the lower the better.?For example, if a fund had a 1.5% tax cost ratio for the three-year time period, it means that on average each year, investors in that fund lost 1.5% of their assets to taxes e.g. a 10% return is really only a 8.5% return. It?s good to see my highest fund with a 0.74% expense ratio have only a 0.11% tax cost ratio! One can simply combine the two to figure out their total expenses. The Fidelity Growth Fund is therefore 0.85% vs. 1.94% for the Vanguard Precious Metals fund! The Vanguard IT Fund is the lowest 0.31%.

* Big fan of index funds. The Vanguard family of funds have some of the lowest, if not the lowest fees in the mutual fund industry. The reason is because of their scale and also because they run passive index funds. There?s no team of analysts to pay. There are no business trips to expense to go kick the tires of the company?s they hold. The index is rebalanced usually once a quarter, or whenever there is a big index addition or subtraction to reduce variance risk. Three out of four of my funds are by Vanguard. After I finish typing this post, all of my funds will be by Vanguard!

* You can create a portfolio of index speciality funds. About 60% of my entire 401K allocation is invested in three speciality index funds: Energy, Metals & Mining, and Technology. If I wanted, I could create a portfolio of 20 speciality index funds if I wanted to. In other words, you don?t have to buy one fund that asset allocates across the industrial board. If you have conviction in particular industries which you think will outperform, there is an index fund for you.

CONCLUSION

It?s important to not only look at the expense ratio, but also the tax cost ratio to see how much your performance is getting reduced by each year. Look to invest in lower cost index funds instead of actively managed funds who have shown a poor track record of performance. There are plenty of studies showing that the large majority of actively managed funds underperform their benchmarks.

Personal Capital helped me realize that I am paying at least $1,000 more a year in mutual fund fees than I should by investing in the Fidelity growth fund. I wouldn?t have been able to see what an outlier the fee is without the 401K fee analyzer that aggregates all the data and provides a side by side comparison. Not bad for a free online financial management huh??I suggest everybody take a hard look at their finances to see where they are paying unnecessary fees.

Readers, when was the last time you checked your 401K fees? How have you found Personal Capital?s tools so far?

Step by step: If you want to figure out how much in fees you are paying in your 401K for free, sign up with Personal Capital, click the ?+? button on the top left to add/link an account. For my Fidelity hosted 401K, I typed in the search box ?401k.com? since the Fidelity pre-populated button just linked to my Fidelity rollover IRA. After your 401K account is linked, click the ?Investing? tab on the top right, then choose ?Investment Checkup? and then select the ?Cost? link. You can also click the ?401K Fee Analyzer? link under the Investment tab to give you a different look. I have a feeling you are going to be as surprised as I was about how much you are paying in fees. I?m exchanging my Fidelity Fund into a Vanguard Large Cap fund.

Regards,

Sam

Source: http://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/12/16/how-to-reduc-401k-fees-through-portfolio-analysis/

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Keys To Successful Website Marketing - Maynas Eric

Online marketing is most likely the best method to reach a lot of people. The Internet is so prevalent that people use it every day. Most companies need a website and online visibility to be successful. Well-crafted Website marketing is evolving to meet the needs of this new medium as effectively as possible.

You will be able to draw a greater volume of visitors if you take advantage of blogging. Regularly posting fresh content is a great thing for attracting viewers. People are more likely to go to a site where they know there?s always new content.

Assess the overall effectiveness of your online marketing efforts by using tech tools to measure the conversion of site visitors to paying customers. There are a variety of companies that offer website evaluations and reporting. This can help you keep track of how many visitors you have had to your site and compare that with how many actually made a purchase.

TIP! A comprehensive online marketing strategy should make use of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others. You can easily maintain a daily presence in the minds of your customers by using social networking websites.

Do not market your online business only on the internet. Hosting a conference with other Internet business owners can be helpful. This adds to a community aspect, and it gets the bloggers more interested in what you are selling and what your brand is all about.

Give evidence to support any claims that you are making about the products you offer on your site. For example, if you?re selling a Spanish course, show a video of yourself speaking Spanish to prove how well it worked for you. This is a good example of why it?s a good idea to only sell products you use yourself.

To help you stay informed on user opinions, it is a good idea to have user polls along your site?s content. This will help you to keep your site full of content that will appeal to users, and make them feel as if they are being included in your business decisions.

TIP! Make sure that your website is both current and intriguing. The site you build is the center of all of the Internet marketing you do.

Be realistic about how special your wares or services really are. An sub-par product will not succeed no matter how much marketing and advertising is behind it. Providing a superior product at a competitive price helps ensure increased sales.

Display a banner with your slogan, mission statement or a catchphrase on your website. This helps to make the web site more professional and communicate your intentions to your visitors. It can be an easy way for them to learn what services you provide.

Reduce the amount of Flash that is used on your site. Even though it looks nice, it does not increase your search engine rankings. Use it sparingly and include keywords and relevant links on the same page.

TIP! Everyone on your mailing list should receive personal correspondence from you. Your visitors and customers are fed up with bulk emails that are impersonal and fake.

For writers, the Internet offers a myriad of ways to publish your work online and for profit. The most important thing here is that you remember to include all the necessary information about your particular site and business. Ask the editors if they would accept some free products or commission on affiliate work if they will put your articles on their site.

Building trust with your clients and keeping that going is one of the most important things that you can do. Be sure to back up all claims with clear facts. Only use statistics and endorsements that you can prove are valid.

Internet promotion allows companies to grow by using unique content. This enables companies to get more bang out of every advertizing buck. The fact that advertisement effectiveness can be easily and accurately measured is a great bonus, as well. You will get the most out of your investments by spending your money on web marketing methods.

TIP! Ensure that your pages are informative and contain the details that your customers are going to need and want. Just providing a one page website that gives your hours and address is not going to attract customers.

Join me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/maynaseric

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/keys-to-successful-website-marketing

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Dr Oz Green Coffee Bean Diet Miracle? - Rocofit Health & Fitness

Dr Oz?s Green Coffee Bean Diet Miracle? Miracle or another quick fix?

Dr. Oz is a famous doctor in North America, hosting his own show on day time TV.? Dr. Oz does an incredible job of teaching people how to live healthier lives. His ability to teach complex issues with incredible visuals and simplicity is priceless. His teachings are life saving in terms of teaching people about prevention and identifying symptoms of disease.

Unfortunately in my strong opinion Dr. Oz has failed with his endorsement of the Green Coffee Bean diet. He says the diet is completely safe and is a weightloss miracle. What he fails to focus on is the fact that the majority of people today are already suffering from adrenal fatigue from being overstressed, over worked and dependent on caffeinated beverages.? He also fails to point out that too much caffeine can deplete your system from key minerals. Most people in the western world are already nutrient deficient, simply from not having enough time to eat properly, lack of supplementing their diet with essential nutrients, over cooking food, relying on processed foods, the list goes on.http://www.rocofit.com/dr-oz-green-coffee-bean-diet-miracle/

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