ADRs in Focus: European airlines
Boston Globe - NEW YORK— Shares of Europe-based airlines trading on U.S. exchanges rose Thursday, with Ryanair Holdings PLC climbing after a Citi Investment Research analyst said the company is poised to beat out its competitors in a recession. Andrew Light said

Countrywide and BofA Could Team-Up
Forbes - of Countrywide by Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ) would solve the company’s funding and liquidity problems with a stroke of a pen, and make the bankruptcy concerns…moot,” stated Kathleen Shanley, senior investment

American Lung Association: Florida good on curbing tobacco use
Miami Herald - it’s likely that Florida this year is “going to have the worst budget in modern times,” but that Democratic leadership is looking to recommend plugging holes with increased gambling taxes, closing tax loopholes, and possibly a tax on large investment

WallSt.net Updates Investment Community Through All-New Interview With
MSN MoneyCentral - On January 10, Paul Burgess, Chief Executive Officer of Lattice Incorporated (OTC Bulletin Board: LTTC) will update the investment community in an all-new interview with www.wallst.net. Topics to be covered in the interview include an overview of the

Stocks rise on Countrywide
CNN Money - The blended reaction may have reflected the fact that although Bernanke’s words were reassuring, they weren’t that specific in terms of what the central bank will do at the late January policy meeting, stated Douglas Roberts, chief investment strategist

European stocks flat ahead of BoE, ECB decisions
Reuters - The persistently weak U.S. economic numbers recently confirm our picture of a strong growth slowdown, which should continue in the next 2 quarters,” Gerhard Schwarz, head of global equity strategy at UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking, wrote

TPG eyes Morgan Stanley CICC holding
MSN MoneyCentral - TPG and a vehicle controlled by Hank Greenberg, former chairman of AIG, are among the celebrations expressing interest in acquiring Morgan Stanley’s passive 34 per cent stake in China International Capital Corporation, one of China’s leading investment

GATX Corporation Announces New Rail Investment
Forbes - GATX Corporation (NYSE:GMT) this day announced that it has entered into a series of agreements with the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company (”P&W”)(AMEX:PWX), through which it has become the exclusive supplier of substantially all of P&W’s railcar

UPDATE 4-Bank of America in speaks to purchase Countrywide-sources
Forbes - Analysts have said that investment made the bank — whose own profitability is suffering from rising credit losses — an obvious candidate to buy Countrywide, eventually. LEWIS STRIKES AGAIN A buy would constitute another major acquisition for

Nicaragua buys Esso Standard oil tanks
CNBC - Since his return to office last year, he has promised to protect private property and foreign investment, even while cozying up to the socialist Chavez. He last month hinted he was considering nationalizing the country’s oil industry. Copyright 2007

Microsoft: Technology’s Warren Buffett (at least when it comes to
ZDNet Blogs - Microsoft Corp. , Warren Buffett , Mergers & Acquisitions , Corporate Law , Investment , Finance , Business Operations , Larry Dignan Take an industry that’s worried about future demand (technology). Add in a bunch of geeks drunk in Las Vegas (CES

H&R Block kicks off tax season
Boston Globe - Breeden, who replaced Ernst as chairman, had criticized the company’s strategy of branching out into mortgage lending, investment advice and banking, saying it took away from the core tax business. Bennett, who is serving until the company finds a

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Japan’s economy slowing on drop in housing investment, central bank
Minneapolis Star Tribune - The pace of Japan’s economic growth is slowing due to a big drop in housing investment and the slowdown is apt to persist for some time, a senior central bank official said in a speech Thursday. “The nation’s economic cycle is weakening now but

Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Expands a Second Week (Update1)
Bloomberg - Growth in asset-backed paper corresponds to the lowest borrowing costs in two years, indicating troubled issuers such as structured investment cars have been mostly pushed out of the market. Yields on 30-day commercial paper yesterday were at 4.5

Research and Markets: New Report Enables Intelligent WiMAX Investment
Forbes - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c79128) has announced the addition of “WiMAX Business Plan (without Planning Tool)” to their offering. The WiMAX Business Plan contains over seventy pages of high value content that’ll

U.S. gold futures retrace early losses; eyes $900
Reuters - Gary Dugan, chief investment officer for Merrill’s wealth management arm in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said that the current gold run, which has seen prices hit a record high near $900 per ounce already this month, is apt to end as the

2008 Hotel Investment Conference Sets Event Theme of ‘The Money & The
Forbes - ATLANTA, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ — The Hotel Investment Conference this day unveiled a timely theme for its upcoming meeting, one that acknowledges the complexities of the current economic environment: “The Money & The Marketplace: Hotel Investing in

UBS launches global warming investment tool
Reuters - More Company News LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote , Profile , Research ) has launched an index to give investors exposure to the impact of carbon emissions on global temperatures, the Swiss investment bank stated on Thursday. The UBS

Prodi Mimics Berlusconi, Turning to Income Tax Cuts (Update1)
Bloomberg - Currently some capital gains tax is as low as 12.5 percent and other levies on investment profit exceed that 20 percent rate. “We won’t have to ever ask our workers for a single euro toward fixing our public accounts,” Prodi said in a

G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. Announces Upcoming Investment Conference
Forbes - G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIII) announced today that it will present at two major investment conferences next week. Management will deliver a presentation on behalf of the company at the Cowen & Company 6th Annual Consumer Conference held at

Credit Suisse announces China venture following end of ban on new
CNBC - BEIJING - Credit Suisse Group said Thursday it will launch a venture with a Chinese partner to underwrite stock and bond deals as foreign firms rush to expand in China’s securities industry following the end of a ban on new investment. Credit Suisse

Brazil’s Oi telcom in talks to acquire Brasil Telecom
CNBC - Oi is controlled by a group of Brazilian investment funds, and Brasil Telecom is controlled by Brazilian investment funds and Citigroup Inc. Brazilian shares of the two companies have been up in recent weeks following numerous media reports raising

Giuliani Ad Seeks Attention of FL Voters
FOX News - This ad is a big investment by Giuliani, both financially and politically. The ad is booked to run in Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm television stations through Jan. 15 at a cost of more than $600,00, according to data

Trichet Says ECB Ready to Act `Preemptively’ on Rates (Update2)
Bloomberg - The U.S. housing slump made banks reluctant to lend, pushing up credit costs and threatening to curb company investment, a plank of European economic expansion last year. U.S. subprime- mortgage defaults have already forced financial institutions to

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(FranchisePick.com) [Note to Pure Weight Loss customers and FranchisePick.com readers: DietPower has given FranchisePick.com a $10 off discount code to extend to our readers through Feb. 2nd. You can try the Diet Power software for free. If you purchase it, enter code PURE2008 for $10 off the already discounted price. Let us know what you think. Click: DietPower ]

A good story by Newsday writer Richard J. Dalton provides an all-too-familiar example of a Central Islip couple who could lose $2,200 in advance payments now that the Pure Weight Loss has closed all its centers nationwide. The article also provides information on say rules requiring bonds from health clubs and other member-based businesses - and how Pure Weight Loss (formerly LA Weight Loss) got around them.

Source: Newsday

Pure Weight Loss customers await refunds January 9, 2008

BY RICHARD J. DALTON JR. |richard.dalton@newsday.com

Nancy and Glen Urban of Central Islip have lost 113 pounds combined through Pure Weight Loss, formerly called LA Weight Loss.
Now they worry they may have lost a lot of money and the support that helped them lose the weight, because Pure Weight Loss, based in Horhsam, Penn., shuttered most of its locations last week.
The Urbans are concerned they could lose $2,200 in advance payments, joining many other consumers awaiting refunds.

In 2004, the corporate-owned locations of the LA Weight Loss split off and became Pure Weight Loss, which operated at least nine locations locally, from Forest Hills to Sayville, all of which have shut. Independently owned Pure Weight Loss locations in the southeast will remain open.
After the split, the franchise locations kept the LA Weight Loss name. That chain does not operate locally and could not be reached, but news reports indicate it will remain open. Read the rest of the story.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW.

Also check out:

PURE WEIGHT LOSS REFUND INFORMATION

HOW MUCH DOES PURE WEIGHT LOSS OWE YOU?

PURE WEIGHT LOSS CUSTOMERS: SHARE NEWS & OPINIONS HERE

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DietPower has given FranchisePick.com a $10 off discount code to extend to our readers through Feb. 2nd. You can try the Diet Power software for free. If you buy it, enter code PURE2008 for $10 off the already discounted price.

Visit FRANBEST: Unbiased franchise information, franchise interviews and detailed, searchable information on 400 franchise and and business opportunities.

Top New Franchise: Who’s hot. Who’s not.

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I wrote an article for Entrepreneur.com that was published this day about words and phrases that should be avoided in copywriting.  I think some of the information available in the article could be helpful to Brandcurve readers.  If you’d like to take a look, follow the link to read Misleading Marketing Copy.

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The shipping industry has started to get on board with more sustainable practices, like UPS who trucks no longer turn left to save gas. Now a smart entrepreneur has launched Shipgreen.net, a web-based service that integrates with retailers’ on the web shopping carts, calculates emissions from shipping and grants consumers to offset the carbon produced.

The program is the result of the research by Dr. Arpad Horvath of UC Berkeley and Dr. Cristiano Facanha of ICF International. Together, the two developed the algorithm that determines the carbon footprint from the manufacture of a product to its delivery at a consumer’s door. Because the algorithm is so accurate, the average cost for an offset is only 29 to 49 cents. - EL

The system seems to be ultra user-friendly and a great way for online retailers to have a more sustainable business without a lot of effort or cost. I’m always a little hesitant about offsets in general but in this case I think it makes a lot of sense.

What do you think? Would you incorporate this into your on the internet business?

Also check out The Year Ahead with Jason Sperling, ShipGreen co-founder and CEO. triplepundit also has a nice writeup on ShipGreen.

Via EL

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