Patrick Carlyon 16 Aug Smoking is bad. Big tobacco is evil. These truisms are as entwined as pies and sauce. Therefore, the plain packaging of cigarette packets must be a progressive step, given tobacco companies have spent tens of millions of dollars fighting the idea. Yesterday, the High Court made such legislation binding. An industry so scary they now make funny movies about it… Even smokers might gloat at the idea of tobacco companies being flogged in a courtroom. And Australia, once again, gets a gold medal for showing the world how it should be done, which is a step up at least from some of ourl male swimmers. It was a “victory for all families who had lost someone to a tobacco-related disease” said a Gillard Government press release. It was “a relief for every parent”. “For anyone who has ever lost someone, this is for you.” Cigarettes, it…

August 16, 2012 The Age Big Tobacco may have suffered a loss in the High Court yesterday, but a look at the share prices of tobacco companies shows the market sees a future in smoking. While most tobacco stocks eased on the news of the court’s ruling on the plain packaging of cigarettes, shares in the companies are still up dramatically over the past year – underscoring the loyalty investors have for these lucrative companies and the booming markets they are tapping in Asia. The Chinese and Eastern Europeans smoke at bloody breakfast. Shares in Imperial Tobacco fell 1.7 per cent, or 44 pence, to £24.89, yet they are up 24.3 per cent over the past year. British American Tobacco stock fell 65 pence, or 2 per cent, to £33.80, but are up 27.5 per cent for the year. “Those stocks still have a defensive quality to their earnings in…

BRIAN X. CHEN August 15, 2012 The New York Times Cash, credit or debit? You may one day have far more choices to make at the checkout counter. A group of big retailers, including 7-Eleven, Best Buy, CVS and Wal-Mart, said on Wednesday that they were forming a company that would offer a way for customers to pay for purchases with their smartphones, joining a wide array of businesses seeking a piece of this market. Other than announcing the formation of the payment network, to be called Merchant Customer Exchange, the companies gave few details about how their mobile system would work or when it would be released. They said that their payment application would be available for virtually any smartphone, and that it would use a secure technology to process transactions. Fourteen companies so far have agreed to help develop the mobile wallet system, and more are expected to…

August 16, 2012 The Age Wesfarmers said full-year net profit came in at $2.126 billion, boosted by a strong showing from its Coles supermarket chain. Shares in the company jumped on the news, rising as high as $1.14, or 3.5 per cent, in recent trading to $33.63. Net profit for the Perth-based conglomerare rose 11 per cent for the year and matched estimates from analysts. The earnings growth was driven by the continued resurgence of the once struggling Coles division which recorded a 16.3 per cent increase in 2011-12 pre-tax earnings to $1.356 billion. Revenue for the group, which also includes hardware store Bunnings, Kmart and other investments in coal and insurance, rose 5.8 per cent to $58 billion. The group’s other consumer-focused business units also put in solid performances, with pre-tax earnings at Bunnings up 4.9 per cent to $841 million, and Kmart also showing strong signs of improvement…

August 16, 2012 The Age FORGET aimlessly browsing through a store, lining up for the change rooms and paying at tills. Australian consumers still enjoy traditional shopping but they want to be able to virtually try on a pair of jeans or use a map on their smartphones to locate the product they want, new research from Monash University revealed. The research from the Australian Centre for Retail Studies, based at Monash, showed that consumers were not ready to abandon bricks-and-mortar stores in favour of online shopping but they expected more from the in-store experience. Selma Mehmedovic, a retail consultant from the centre, said they found the key drivers getting shoppers into stores were still price, product range and products always being in stock. But Ms Mehmedovic said they also discovered shoppers wanted more from stores, including maps and coupons on their phones and in-store kiosks to access information, make…

NACS Daily News Aug 15 2012 LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky’s law prohibiting the sale of wine and liquor in grocery and convenience stores violates the U.S. Constitution, a district court judge decided, Business First reports. Judge John G. Heyburn II of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled yesterday that the state’s ban on supermarkets and gasoline stations from stocking wine and liquor is unconstitutional. Back in late January, David Maxwell, who co-owns the Eastern Parkway Pic-Pac, filed the lawsuit along with the Food with Wine Coalition, alleging that the ban kept grocery and convenience stores from competing. “We look at it from a competitiveness standpoint,” said Maxwell at the time. “It’s something they can offer their customers and we can’t.” The lawsuit requested the court assert that the law was unconstitutional in prohibiting the sale of distilled spirits and wine at retail locations that receive…