January 14, 2014 PIZZA Hut plans to start offering pizza by the slice for the first time in two test locations this week, as the chain looks to keep pace with trendy competitors offering quick, made-to-order pies. The chain says the two locations – one in York, Neb. and Pawtucket, R.I. – will open on Tuesday. A slice will cost between $2 and $3 and take three to four minutes to heat up. They’ll be made with new recipes more in line with the thinner pies sold in the Northeast. The tests reflect how established restaurant chains are scrambling to reinvent themselves to keep pace with a rapidly changing industry. Diners are increasingly flocking to places such as Chipotle, where they feel they can get restaurant-quality food for just a little more than they would pay at fast-food chains such as Burger King. In fact, Chipotle recently announced plans to…

Peter Martin January 15, 2014 The Age When I was young the postman came twice a day. You could post a letter in the morning and if you were lucky have it delivered across town by the afternoon. It was the only way to send messages (apart from telegrams, which were expensive). Then came the phone (and the increasing usefulness of phones – they weren’t very useful at first when only a few houses were connected). Deliveries were cut back to once a day, and the Saturday service was axed. The nature of the post changed. Short messages arranging meetings were no longer needed. Longer ”essays” were still the preserve of the post as was the delivery of documents, parcels and bills. Then came mobile phones and text messages (and with them the gradual disappearance of Doctor Who-style telephone boxes). You could send messages from almost anywhere. Even away from…

Antony Lawes January 6, 2014 The Age Soaring land values in Sydney’s inner suburbs are contributing to the disappearance of small petrol stations, industry experts say. Stiff competition from the bigger players such as Woolworths and Coles, together with the cost of adhering to strict environmental regulations, are squeezing the profits of many smaller operators. But the value of sites is encouraging many of them to sell, often to property developers. There are few figures on how many of these smaller petrol stations are disappearing, but a senior manager with the Service Station Association, Colin Long, said it was happening predominantly in areas where land was at a premium. In other parts of the city, big-brand service stations were keenly sought as high-quality investments. “Land value is certainly an issue because you’ve got low-rise service stations on blocks which can be built with high-rise developments,” he said. One of these…

AAP January 15, 2014 VICTORIAN retailers who sell illicit tobacco products are set to face a four-fold hike in penalties. The state government announced the tough measures on Wednesday to try to clamp down on the illegal tobacco trade. Under the changes, retailers caught with illicit tobacco face $34,600 in fines for individuals and $173,200 for businesses. The quadrupling in penalties is expected to apply later this year. Health Minister David Davis says the risks of illicit tobacco are even higher than regulated tobacco because the illegal products can contain toxic chemicals or mould. They also do not comply with plain packaging laws, meaning people are not warned about the smoking dangers. “Illicit tobacco undermines the efforts of everyone working towards tobacco control and trying to help Victorians quit smoking,” Mr Davis told reporters. Twelve people have been charged over an illegal importation of 71 tonnes of illicit tobacco and…