Arctic Roll

Production of Arctic Roll, the retro ice cream dessert, was halted in 1997, but in 2008, Birds Eye chose to revive the brand because the recession is fuelling a demand for comfort food.

Business Correspondent Ian Reeve went to the north Yorkshire factory that is making nine million of them a year.

Watch the video.

Rolls-Royce in $2bn engine orders

BBC reports

UK engineering firm Rolls-Royce says it has won orders to make $2bn(£1.2bn) of aircraft engines to power Airbus planes for Air China and Ethiopian Airlines.

Apple and Amazon will power on through slump, say analysts

The Guardian reports on the continuing sucess of Apple and Amazon despite the credit crunch and recession.

The recession-busting technology companies Apple and Amazon have room to continue expanding during the downturn, according to analysts.

While most businesses are still struggling to cope with the effects of recession, the two American corporations saw their stock prices hit all-time highs last week after reporting rising profits. Apple’s continued success pushed its shares to a historic high of $208, while Amazon – boosted by a huge jump in profits – returned to levels above $115, last seen during the height of the dotcom boom.

Do cupcake shops show an area is getting richer?

According to the BBC, the cupcake business is booming.

Recent data from market researchers TNS shows cupcake sales are overtaking flapjacks to rival biscuit sales, with a 22% increase over the past year to £37m.

Cupcakes are also been used to assess demographic changes.

According to others, cupcakes are a clear cultural barometer. Academics in New York are constructing a map of emerging cupcake shops throughout the city. The theory is that these give a more accurate guide to gentrification than traditional demographic and housing surveys.

Read more.

Photo source.

Vodafone enters UK iPhone market

So O2’s exclusive contract with Apple and the iPhone has come to an end…

Again…

Vodafone has reached an agreement to sell Apple’s popular iPhone in the UK.

More from BBC News.

Orange announces UK iPhone deal

So O2’s exclusive contract with Apple and the iPhone has come to an end…

BBC News reports:

Orange has reached an agreement to sell Apple’s popular iPhone in the UK.

The deal ends an exclusive arrangement between UK network operator O2 and the Californian phone maker, which has been in place since 2007.

I am not sure that there was much consumer benefit to the exclusive arrangement that O2 had (well has at the moment) however I am equally sure that bringing Orange into the market won’t actually make too much difference to consumers; more likely it will benefit those who can’t get an O2 signal but can get Orange.

Part of the issue has to be the fact that iPhone is in a league of its own when it comes to smartphones, not many other devices match the iPhone in terms of usability, applications and features.

Product Placement

With companies reducing their marketing budgets; combine that with the growth of PVRs and use of Sky+ that allow viewers to fast forward through the adverts, commerical television has had it tough with advertising revenues.

BBC reports that product placement, which is allowed in the USA and was banned in the UK, will now be legal in commercial UK television programmes.

Product placement is to be allowed on British TV shows, in a move due to be announced next week.

Independent broadcasters will be allowed to take payments for displaying commercial products during shows.

The change is intended to bring in extra funds for commercial broadcasters. Experts believe it could raise up to £100m a year.

This though won’t impact on the BBC who would still be banned,

There are currently strict rules against product placement and this ban would remain in place on BBC shows.

Of course advertisers and broadcasters may want to take note of many complaints about excessive product placement in US television, shows and many films.

Quantum of Solace recevied many complaints about its product placement as it had a lot of placements, however it can be a big earner with a reputed £50million coming from product placement in the film.

At the end of the day, we already see a lot of television with product placement (think of any sport broadcast) and will this make a big difference to the viewer? Probably not. Will it raise revenues for the TV companies? Probably yes.

Photo source.

Darling warns banks on loan rates

From the BBC News:

The chancellor is to quiz bank bosses over how much they charge small firms for loans, saying he is “extremely concerned” their rates may be too high.

Alastair Darling said the cost of loans seemed to have risen, despite the UK’s record low base interest rate of 0.5%.

He told the BBC that banks had a duty to restore lending levels, saying the government did not rescue the banking sector “out of some charitable act”.

Read more

Airline complaints ‘on the rise’

BBC reports

Complaints from customers about the airline industry have risen by 11% in a year, a consumer support group says.

So is everything really bad when it comes to customer service in the airline industry? Well no…

It accepted that complaints came from a “tiny” minority of passengers.

Companies should not ignore complaints but often they rise to the top of the agenda as people are more likely to complain then to praise. Likewise it is important to deal with them, as people not happy with a service will often tell ten other people about it, while people who had good service often tell only one person. Says more about society than the level of customer service though.

£1 or 99p – which is cheaper?

Over the past year, the four largest UK grocers have been swapping their 99-pence price tags for round-pound sales. In bad economic times, consumers may just be willing to fork out an extra penny at the till. But why?

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