DailyFinance.comhttp://www.dailyfinance.comDailyFinance.com%http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/BlogURL%/media/feedlogo.gifDailyFinance.comhttp://www.dailyfinance.comen-usCopyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Which state would have been the first in Concealed Carry Licenses?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/03/which-state-would-have-been-the-first-in-concealed-carry-license/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/03/which-state-would-have-been-the-first-in-concealed-carry-license/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/03/which-state-would-have-been-the-first-in-concealed-carry-license/#commentsCongress recently turned down a chance to require all states to honor concealed-carry permits from other states -- effectively overriding all local gun laws. The defeat turned back, at least for the moment, a chance for the states with the weakest gun laws to make a killing by bringing more gun buyers and potential permit holders to their states. Those states that are popular with the $3 billion-plus gun industry now, like Florida and Virginia, have a chance to become real winners if the rule ever goes through.

A whisper campaign already makes Southern states extremely popular with gun dealers: most handguns used in crime in Northern cities were purchased down South.

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]]>carryconcealedconcealed weaponconcealed-carry gun permitsgunshandgunlawspistolreciprocityrevolverCarol VinzantMon, 03 Aug 2009 17:30:00 ESTSurprise Hits: Dippin' Dots -- the ice cream of the future has finally arrivedhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/07/04/surprise-hits-dippin-dots-the-ice-cream-of-the-future-has-fi/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/07/04/surprise-hits-dippin-dots-the-ice-cream-of-the-future-has-fi/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/07/04/surprise-hits-dippin-dots-the-ice-cream-of-the-future-has-fi/#commentsFiled under: ,

For two decades, Dippin' Dots has been the "ice cream of the future." Like jetpacks and flying cars, it seemed like the future would never quite arrive for the little ice-cream balls that microbiologist Curt Jones invented in 1988. For years, they were an exotic, hard-to-find treat. But recently the beads of ice cream are showing up all over the place -- at thousands of kiosks at amusement parks, theaters, malls, and stores. Not that there's anything wrong with ice cream, but it's fun to eat in the freeze-dried format.

Dippin' Dots, based in Paducah, Kentucky, is finally having its day. In 2006, MSNBC put its sales at $50 million, up 38 percent in three years. Last year, Inc. named it one of the fastest-growing private companies. Entrepreneur says it has 486 franchises, up from 420 last year.

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]]>coffeeCurt Jonesdippin dotsflash freezingice creamittibitzmollicoolzpatentSurprise HitsCarol VinzantSat, 04 Jul 2009 16:00:00 ESTSurprise Hits: FURminator terminates pet hair, cheaper brusheshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/06/29/surprise-hits-furminator-is-the-terminator-of-pet-brushes/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/06/29/surprise-hits-furminator-is-the-terminator-of-pet-brushes/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/06/29/surprise-hits-furminator-is-the-terminator-of-pet-brushes/#commentsFiled under:

Would you spend $60 for a hair brush for your dog? No, you say? Well, that's probably because you've never seen the FURminator. The groundbreaking undercoat-removing device with the bright yellow handle is a must-have for pet owners. Really.

I was skeptical at first. Sixty bucks for a dog brush! My own hairbrush doesn't cost half that. But then I borrowed one a few times at the dog run, and I was completely won over. The FURminator may cost 10 times what some generic pet brush does, but it does at least 10 times as good a job.

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]]>brushcombdogfurfurminatorhairpetsheddingsurpise hitCarol VinzantMon, 29 Jun 2009 16:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Play music to your pets and you may have to pay up...http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/10/animals-and-money-play-music-to-your-pets-and-you-may-have-to-pay/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/10/animals-and-money-play-music-to-your-pets-and-you-may-have-to-pay/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/10/animals-and-money-play-music-to-your-pets-and-you-may-have-to-pay/#commentsFiled under:

Like many animal caretakers, Rosemary Greenway puts on a little music to calm her horses. Music has powers to calm the savage beast, and all that. But now the Performing Rights Society says that playing the music at the Malthouse Equestrian Centre constitutes a public performance and she must pay a licensing fee of about $150 a year. The PRS says the audience it's concerned about is the stable staff of two, not the 11 horses who live at the stable, which is next to a military airport, which makes all kinds of scary noises.

Greenway turned the radio to a classical station. "The staff are not bothered whether they have the radio on or not, in fact they don't particularly like my music and turn if off when I'm not around," she told the Daily Telegraph.

PRS is the equivalent of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. It collects royalties for artists. But these groups around the globe have a hobby of trying to drum up fees from inappropriate targets. Finnish taxi drivers have to pay a fee to play the radio. In the UK charities, car repair shops, home businesses and even the police have come under scrutiny. In the U.S. bookstores and the Girl Scouts have squirmed. WIRED speculates it will start charging music in Second Life, too.The Nascent internet radio industry may collapse under the weight of these rules.

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]]>animalanimalsascapcatdogenglandhorsemusicperformanceprsrightsshelterCarol VinzantFri, 10 Apr 2009 09:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Will companies try to save the species on their logo?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/06/animals-and-money-will-companies-try-to-save-the-species-on-their/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/06/animals-and-money-will-companies-try-to-save-the-species-on-their/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/06/animals-and-money-will-companies-try-to-save-the-species-on-their/#commentsFiled under: ,

lacoste ad for save your logoLast fall companies in Europe got this pitch: Save Your Logo, or, more specificially, save the threatened animal that's made your logo so catchy over the years. Lacoste just became the first company to jump on board. René Lacoste, a famous tennis player in the twenties, was nicknamed "the Crocodile" because he was fierce, so his Izod shirts bear the creature. The company announced their new project with pride: "LACOSTE is the international brand the most clearly associated with an animal. The brand's commitment to the preservation of crocodiles seems natural as this animal is part of LACOSTE's history and identity."

This is no goofball little plan or trifling publicity stunt. It's something we're probably going to see more of. Behind the plan are some of the biggest names in finance and and conservation. They hope private-public partnerships save some species. The World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, which funds environmental projects that support sustainable development and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (known as the IUCN or the people who place species around the globe on the spectrum between "least concern" to extinct.) The World Bank is obviously more concerned about economic development, but they're in here because it's a way to bring cash into developing countries. People are willing to travel to see animals in the wild, especially rare ones.

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]]>advertisinganimalbankconservationiconizodlacostelogonaturalnaturesavespeciesworldyourCarol VinzantMon, 06 Apr 2009 15:30:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Some sick pets lose medical care, homes in recessionhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/23/animals-and-money-some-sick-pets-lose-medical-care-homes-in-rece/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/23/animals-and-money-some-sick-pets-lose-medical-care-homes-in-rece/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/23/animals-and-money-some-sick-pets-lose-medical-care-homes-in-rece/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Tammy Duckworth has special needs and is up for adoptionSome animal owners may be turning their sick or disabled dogs and cats in to shelters because they feel they can't afford them during the recession.

The Pittsburgh Post found recently that their local shelters are seeing lots of cats with broken legs or asthma. The editor wrote in to Al's Morning Meeting to say that the shelters say they think they've seen a greater percentage of animals with special medical needs since the recession. Their statistics were scarce, but it certainly adds up.

A survey in Veterinary Economics last fall found that half of pet owners would cut vet costs in a recession and 75% would cut pet supplies. In other words, people sensibly were more likely to cut expenses that just supported a pet's extravagant lifestyle. What's a luxury item for a dog? This week Unemploymentality featured a funny picture of a dog on the street with a sign "Will Work for Snausages" after the owner announced he was cutting out the beloved dog treat. Last fall the Kennel Club had another, much happier survey showing 96% of us would give up Starbucks -- something we mainly consider just a lifestyle splurge.

But the vet survey also makes sense. After all, people are trying to game their own health by delaying or rushing surgeries according to whether they hope they'll get health insurance or fear they'll lose it. Potentially money-saving surgeries like vasectomies are up, while luxury-like procedures such as Lasiks are down, Daniel Hamermesh pointed out.



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]]>animalbirddogcatdogduckwortheconomicsillinoismoneypetfinderpetsrescuescrimptammyvetveterinarianCarol VinzantMon, 23 Mar 2009 17:30:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Fight over the money to save half our wild horseshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/16/animals-and-money-fight-over-the-money-to-save-half-our-wild-hors/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/16/animals-and-money-fight-over-the-money-to-save-half-our-wild-hors/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/16/animals-and-money-fight-over-the-money-to-save-half-our-wild-hors/#commentsFiled under: ,

The hopes for creating the world's largest wild horse sanctuary have dwindled in the last month. Last fall, Madeleine Pickens, wife of oilman T. Boone Pickens, proposed buying or leasing a million acres of land out West to save the 30,000 some wild horses that the Bureau of Land Management is keeping in holding pens. Now the BLM is claiming the plan won't work because of issues of money and location. "We tried to thank her politely," Ron Wenkler, the BLM's director for Nevada obnoxiously said.

In case you haven't checked into the mess that is our country's wild horse conservation program, here's the backstory: We used to have about 2 million wild horses but that dwindled as we took their land. Wild horses starved, were shot by ranchers or rounded up and sold for dog meat -- until the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971.

The BLM originally estimated we had 17,000 horses left, but were wildly off. We had 42,000. We originally gave horses 54 million acres, but cut that down to 35 million. The BLM continually cuts the population it wants to mis-manage on the range. Right now it has 33,000 roaming, but it wants to cut that to 27,000. The agency had less than 10,000 in holding in 2001; now it's triple that. Each year it rounds up mustangs and tries to sell them at auction to people who at least promise to take good care of them.

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]]>blmbureaucattlefeaturedhorsehorseslandmanagmentmustangpickenswild horsesWildHorsesCarol VinzantMon, 16 Mar 2009 18:00:00 ESTI want my new penny. Where's my new penny?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/15/i-want-my-new-penny-wheres-my-new-penny/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/15/i-want-my-new-penny-wheres-my-new-penny/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/15/i-want-my-new-penny-wheres-my-new-penny/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The U.S. Mint rolled out a new Lincoln-themed penny over a month ago. But I still have not seen any. At first I was asking clerks in stores "Got any of the new pennies?" I quickly discovered that nobody had any idea that the Mint was rolling out four new designs for the penny this year and gave up on that tactic.

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]]>coinebayfeaturedlincolnnew pennyNewPennynumismaticspennyCarol VinzantSun, 15 Mar 2009 13:50:00 ESTAnimals & Money: How much does the endangered species act cost?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/09/animals-and-money-how-much-does-the-endangered-species-act-cost/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/09/animals-and-money-how-much-does-the-endangered-species-act-cost/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/09/animals-and-money-how-much-does-the-endangered-species-act-cost/#commentsFiled under: , ,

This week President Obama brought science back into the Endangered Species Act, effectively overturning a wild diversion of the law by the Bush administration last summer. Bush decided that federal officials didn't have to bother to consult with scientists when they decided whether logging or mining would impact a species on the brink of extinction. And at the time Bush didn't even want to consult with the public, ramming it though in 30 days, accepting public comment only by snailmail. Rolling Stone called it Bush's last-minute regulatory spree a "final F.U." to the country and the gutting of the ESA "the most jaw-dropping" part. Hundreds of thousands of people wrote in despite the obstacles -- and Bush pretty much ignored them.

"Throughout our history, there's been a tension between those who've sought to conserve our natural resources for the benefit of future generations, and those who have sought to profit from these resources. But I'm here to tell you this is a false choice," Obama said. Republicans, who hate the Endangered Species Act like it was some kind of flag-burning illegal immigrant lesbian, have long contended that the law costs more money than its worth.


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]]>actanimalsbusheaglleenangeredesafundingobamaspecieswatchingwildlifeCarol VinzantMon, 09 Mar 2009 13:30:00 ESTA resurgence in coupons, but people still hate themhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/07/a-resurgence-in-coupons-but-people-still-hate-them/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/07/a-resurgence-in-coupons-but-people-still-hate-them/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/07/a-resurgence-in-coupons-but-people-still-hate-them/#commentsFiled under: , ,

We used 10% more coupons in the fourth quarter of 2008 than we did during the same time last year, according to Inman, a company that processes promotions. For the whole year we collectively reached into our wallet and pulled out 2.6 billion pieces of ratty paper. But that's nothing compared to the 7.9 billion pieces of indignity we used in 1992 at the end of the last recession.

The recession is leading us all to do things we'd rather not. Coupons are one of them. The company says coupon use was actually down for most of 2008, but really surged in November and December. Coupons are shifting from supermarkets to mass marketers and getting more valuable. And sellers are using them more: they produced 317 billion last year.

So it's still less than one in 100 coupons turned in, even in the worst economy in most of our lifetimes. Why? Because we hate coupons. They make us feel like we're being led around to not only buy what an ad sells us, but carry around little scraps of paper, treat them like currency and risk the wrath of some unruly clerk who finds some reason not to accept them. (And here I know I am biased from living in New York City, where grocery stores refuse coupons with impunity and glee.)

I just feel like a sucker using a coupon: surely for the cost of printing 100 coupons and processing mine, someone could have just lowered the price a little. Store coupons -- as opposed to those issued by a manufacturer -- are the worst: just have a sale, don't put me through the little song and dance. As the economy gets worse I may become desperate enough to use them, but for now I'm cutting back in other ways that don't feel so grubby.

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]]>cents offCentsOffcouponcouponspaperpenny-pinchingpromotionretailCarol VinzantSat, 07 Mar 2009 19:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Blowing big money on blowing away predatorshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/03/animals-and-money-blowing-big-money-on-blowing-away-predators/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/03/animals-and-money-blowing-big-money-on-blowing-away-predators/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/03/03/animals-and-money-blowing-big-money-on-blowing-away-predators/#commentsFiled under: ,

Now that Obama is in control of the government, one of the big priorities of animal advocates -- even bigger than getting the Obama family a shelter dog -- is the elimination of the USDA's Wildlife Services Department, which spends $117 million a year in a Sisyphean quest to exterminate predators.

They kill about 1.5 million birds (mainly starlings) and 150,000 animals (mainly coyotes). All of this is in the name of protecting livestock -- or, in the case of the starlings, grain -- and ironically, often grain farmers are growing for birdseed. The beef and sheep producers say they lose $125 million a year to predators and claim the number would be much higher without the federal help.

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]]>agricultureanimalsbiologycatcoyotedogenvironmenthumanemeatpredatorspendingtaxeswastewatchingwild earthWildEarthwildlifewolfCarol VinzantTue, 03 Mar 2009 08:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Do shark attacks and other exotic deaths go down in a recession?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/23/animals-and-money-do-shark-attacks-and-other-exotic-deaths-go-dow/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/23/animals-and-money-do-shark-attacks-and-other-exotic-deaths-go-dow/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/23/animals-and-money-do-shark-attacks-and-other-exotic-deaths-go-dow/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The number of humans bit by sharks declined in 2008 and the leading shark attack researcher blames the recession. George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, says sharks bit 59 people around the world in 2008, down from 71 the year before.

Sharks bit fewer people not because they evolved in any way or some new shark repellent was deployed, but, Burgess says, because people worried about money took fewer vacations to places where they might find themselves in the water with sharks. I think Burgess is right. His theory should also make us reconsider the various hysterias over other kinds of animal attacks, animal-related car accidents and animal nuisances in human territory. Are the animals causing the change or are we?

Look at all kinds of recreation-related deaths, you see a bit of a slump since 2005. According to the latest figures available from the National Vital Statistics Report , the death rate fell from 826 per 100,000 in 2005 to 810 in 2006. The diseases were pretty constant. It's the accidental deaths that fell slightly. As we did less and risked less, we died less. About 750 fewer people died in car accidents. Only 777 died in the accidental discharge of a gun, down from 789 in 2005. About 100 fewer drowned. (Some kinds of accidental deaths, like falls, were up.) Because vital statistics lag incredibly--for something so vital--we don't have more recent figures. But my guess is they continued to fall. If sailing, yachting and golf had fatalities I'd bet they'd really be down.

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]]>accidentanimalsattackblamecollisiondeathsdeclinedeerfatalitiesmooseraterisesharkwildlifeCarol VinzantMon, 23 Feb 2009 17:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: New $50 instant rabies test could be a breakthroughhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/16/animals-and-money-new-50-instant-rabies-test-could-be-a-breakthr/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/16/animals-and-money-new-50-instant-rabies-test-could-be-a-breakthr/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/16/animals-and-money-new-50-instant-rabies-test-could-be-a-breakthr/#commentsFiled under: ,

The typical way to figure out if an animal that bit you has rabies is to kill it, cut off its head and express ship it-- unfrozen--to your state health department for a test that will take 10 to 14 days. The state probably won't charge you, but you'll pay shipping costs, spend weeks worrying and--depending on the situation--begin preventive shots that cost $1,500 to $2,500 per person. (Though, on the bright side, they're just shots around the wound, arm or buttocks, no longer the painful stomach injections people scare each other with.)

So, you can see why a $50 test that can detect rabies in an animal's saliva in a half an hour would be such a huge breakthrough. (You can't test rabies by blood.) And that's just what Dyne Immune says they've got. Though it warns that you can't totally trust the negative results: "A negative result does not guarantee that rabies is not present." It did test the procedure at their local animal shelter, where a kitten tested positive, then died the next day.

If this works out, the potential is huge. About 40,000 Americans are treated for exposure to rabies every year. That costs about $80 million. Two or three people die each year, according to the CDC. In 2006, states paid to test 6,400 animals. Only 6% of the animals had rabies, but all had to die for the test. That includes 318 cats and 79 dogs. Only 1% of cats and 0% of dogs tested positive.

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]]>animalanimalshumane societyHumaneSocietyhunterhuntingmaxliferabiesraccoonshotswildlifeCarol VinzantMon, 16 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST"Obamify" your Valentine's Day--for freehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/13/obamify-your-valentines-day-for-free/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/13/obamify-your-valentines-day-for-free/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/13/obamify-your-valentines-day-for-free/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Whether you're trying to exorcise the memories of your ex or just happy to have a president you love, ScanCafe has a Valentine's treat for you. They will "Obamify" any romantic picture for you. You send them the picture of you and your ex-boyfriend, they take the boyfriend out and put Obama in. Magic!

Photojojo describes this free service as "It's realistic! Convincing! Not creepy at all! (:-/)" You don't even have to re-write your personal history if you don't want to. You can also stand next to a smiling Obama if you have a picture of yourself just standing alone looking pretty.

And it's free. ScanCafe, which is one of those neat services that scans in all your old family pictures, warns that you'll get an email with an estimate, but "be assured, your quote will be $0."

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]]>digitalobamaphotophotographypicturescanscancafevalentinevalentines dayValentinesDayCarol VinzantFri, 13 Feb 2009 15:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: What's the hottest dog show on TV?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/09/animals-and-money-whats-the-hottest-dog-show-on-tv/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/09/animals-and-money-whats-the-hottest-dog-show-on-tv/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/09/animals-and-money-whats-the-hottest-dog-show-on-tv/#commentsFiled under:

Westminster Dog ShowThe Westminster Dog Show, which starts today, is no doubt the most glamorous and widely covered dog TV event in the country. But with all the new, more down-to-earth programming out there, it may be losing its status as the most important dog event in America, especially on TV.

Last year's broadcast of Westminster was an all-time record. But it still drew only 3.2 million people watching show on TV each night (up from 2.6 million in 2007) and another million watching online. Westminster isn't even the most popular dog show on TV. NBC airs the National Dog Show after the Thanksgiving Day Parade and gets 19.2 million people to watch. And it's taped ahead. In Reading, Pennsylvania.

DOG EVENT VIEWERS

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]]>agilityakcanimalbreedclubdogdog challengedog showdog whispererDogChallengedogsDogShowdogtownDogWhisperergreatest american dogGreatestAmericanDogkennelmuttnational dog showNationalDogShowpuppy bowlPuppyBowlratingstelevisiontvwestminsterwestminster dog showWestminsterDogShowCarol VinzantMon, 09 Feb 2009 13:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Martha Speaks...volumes about what pets can do for youhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/04/animals-and-money-martha-speaks-volumes-about-what-pets-can-do/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/04/animals-and-money-martha-speaks-volumes-about-what-pets-can-do/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/04/animals-and-money-martha-speaks-volumes-about-what-pets-can-do/#commentsFiled under:

Back in the early 1990s illustrator Susan Meddaugh got a call from her friend Martha, who had found a skinny mutt. Susan took in the dog, named her after her friend and made Martha part of a loving family. In return Martha made Susan prosperous beyond her wildest dreams. Or at least that's the way Meddaugh sees it.

"I really enjoy being able to say: you adopt a dog from a shelter or a stray, look what can happen. This amazing dog has taken me on a ride," Susan told me when I interviewed her for PeoplePets.com. Since 1992, people have bought some 800,000 copies of her fantastic Martha Speaks kids' book series about the adventures of a dog who can speak after eating alphabet soup. Now Martha is speaking to a new generation on a hit show PBS show of the same name.

Susan's gratitude to Martha is akin to the philosophy of Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow. In Susan's case, she loved dogs in general and Martha in particular. She also loved illustrating, of course.

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]]>animalbookdogmarthameddaughmuttpbspetshowspeakssusantvCarol VinzantWed, 04 Feb 2009 13:00:00 ESTAnother thing bailed-out banks shouldn't be doing: flamboyant advertisinghttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/04/another-thing-bailed-out-banks-shouldnt-be-doing-flamboyant-ad/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/04/another-thing-bailed-out-banks-shouldnt-be-doing-flamboyant-ad/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/02/04/another-thing-bailed-out-banks-shouldnt-be-doing-flamboyant-ad/#commentsFiled under: ,

This month the New York Times got so desperate it sold on ad on the bottom of the front page of the Sunday paper. These ads were such a big deal people that people wrote stories and blogged about them. I don't know how much the ads cost, but I know they are expensive and flashy. So why did Citibank, which got federal bailout money, have to do it?

If there's one thing I would like to see from all the companies included in the federal government bailout (aside from staving off the country's financial collapse and reigning in executive salaries), it's less of them. If we're giving/loaning you a fortune, could you not blow it on extravagant ad purchases? I know if the banks pull back in advertising that will hurt media businesses. And the banks claim they have to grow. But since they're not loaning money to anyone anyway, do they really need to spend this much on ads?

Citibank isn't the only one. Those Capital One ads were annoying before Capital One Financial took $3.5 billion in federal help. Now I really don't want to see them. During the Super Bowl we watched an ad from eTrade. According to this handy list of bailout recipients from Time Magazine, eTrade got $800 million in the bailout. Broadcast and Cable says Super Bowl ads cost up to $3 million this year.

Here's my advice for the bailed out banks: Consider every story about the bailout to be free advertising. It's just one more gift from the American taxpayer. So, no need to spend our money bombarding us with ads about what a great company you are right now.

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]]>advertisingbailoutcaptial oneCaptialOneciticitigroupcommericaletradesuper bowlSuperBowltarpCarol VinzantWed, 04 Feb 2009 12:00:00 ESTForget Black Friday; Super Bowl Sunday is the best shopping dayhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/30/forget-black-friday-super-bowl-sunday-is-the-best-shopping-day/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/30/forget-black-friday-super-bowl-sunday-is-the-best-shopping-day/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/30/forget-black-friday-super-bowl-sunday-is-the-best-shopping-day/#commentsFiled under: ,

Do you hate crowds? Does anyone love them? Then you may want to try something a friend and I discovered a few years ago: while the rest of the country is watching some sports event you care nothing about, you can shop in peace.

I am, of course, speaking more to the ladies here. And to anyone who doesn't like football. My friend Chris and I discovered this treat a few years ago. We wanted to go to Ikea and picked some day when there was a huge local basketball game. Don't ask me what championship because I don't know or care. All I know is, the stores were noticeably less crowded. I'm surprised some retailer hasn't hit on the idea and offered special sales to bring people in on this otherwise moribund retail day.

We did our Super Bowl shopping with Ikea, which is never going to be uncrowded. I think they could put up three times as many stores as they have. But the same obviously applies to other shopping ordeals like Trader Joe's.
I used this strategy a few times back when I was single. Now I'm married and am actually going to a fun gathering on Sunday. (Though it's Chinese New Year counter-programming.) Empty stores, along with the Puppy Bowl, can make Super Bowl Sunday fun for every one.

Where's your favorite place to shop Super Bowl Sunday?

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]]>black fridayBlackFridaybowlcrowdsfeaturedfootballpuppysundaysupersuper bowlSuperBowlCarol VinzantFri, 30 Jan 2009 15:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Making pet drugs cheaperhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/30/animals-and-money-making-pet-drugs-cheaper/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/30/animals-and-money-making-pet-drugs-cheaper/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/30/animals-and-money-making-pet-drugs-cheaper/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Human doctors can't sell prescription drugs because it would be a conflict of interest to have them dispense certain medicines for profit. A lot of veterinarians, however, count on prescription drugs as an income stream. DVM Magazine recommends charging a $20 dispensing fee and Veterinary Economics recommends an average markup of 150% to 175%.

So it's a relief to see some competition finally entering the area. Online pet sellers like 1-800-PetMeds and Doctors Foster and Smith have been making headway toward cracking what is something close to a monopoly on pet medications. Now Costco is getting in on the game. As the dog blogger Terrierman points out, Costco has started selling the expensive flea medication Frontline.

Veterinary Economics says that "practices typically mark up heartworm and flea control products 100%." That means half the amount you pay is going to your vet. Online pet retailers have already put price pressure on vets. But not all vets have to or will write prescriptions to be filled elsewhere. Having Costco enter the fray just puts added price pressure on the most common drugs.

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]]>animalanimalscatcostcodogfosterheartwormnovartispetpetsprescriptionsmithveterinarianwal-martCarol VinzantFri, 30 Jan 2009 11:00:00 ESTAnimals & Money: Pet companies jump on the adopt-a-pet bandwagonhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/26/animals-and-money-pet-companies-jump-on-the-adopt-a-pet-bandwagon/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/26/animals-and-money-pet-companies-jump-on-the-adopt-a-pet-bandwagon/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/26/animals-and-money-pet-companies-jump-on-the-adopt-a-pet-bandwagon/#commentsFiled under: , ,

When Pedigree has a Super Bowl ad this week, it won't be advertising dog and cat food, but pet adoptions. The pet food industry has discovered cause advertising. It's a form of advertising that links a product to a feel-good cause. Instead of companies just blowing money on ads that tell you how great they are, they actually do something great.

Emmis Marketing says that 87% of consumers would switch to a brand associated with a cause over a comparable brand. Pedigree's director of marketing, John Anton, recently told The Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "Every time we run this campaign, we see increased sales."

Not to be outdone, Purina has several programs: It gives food to shelters, pays adoption fees for seniors and advertizes for the adoption cause. Hill's Science Diet sponsored Change a Pet's Life Day this weekend, paying for the first 10 adoptions at shelters around the country. Iams works with Adoptapet.com and says its Home for the Holidays program has put 1 million dogs and cats in homes over the last decade. Iams donates food and each of the pets goes home with an Iams starter kit

Consumers rightly question whether big brands are really putting some muscle into their pet causes or just slapping a few phrases on their bags.

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]]>adoptionAnimals and MoneyAnimalsAndMoneycatcause markCauseMarkdogfoodhillsiamspetpurebredpurinaCarol VinzantMon, 26 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST