By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – It's Friday, so "It's Only Money," a review of the big and not-so-big stories of the week. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
All right, the market hasn't been pleased about the prospect of going to war. Why should the indices be any different then you and me? The dollar, which has been sliding against the British pound and Euro, rallied this morning on the hopes that the war might be delayed. Even the market rallied this morning on the same optimism, if that's what you can call it. Who knows what's going happen next?!
That said, let's talk about food. Dean Foods, home of Alta Dena, Land O'Lakes, Meadow Gold, Pet, Oak Farms, Borden, International Delight, Coffee Rich, Silk or White Wave, Real Whip, Peter Pipers, and Hershey's Chocolate Milk to name, and I mean, just a few, more than doubled it's profits for its fourth quarter. White Wave, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dean Foods (that means Dean owns 100% of the common stock), has announced an exclusive relationship with Starbucks. Starting this summer at certain locations, you'll be able to get little individual Silks to go. But here's the biggie - there's also going to be an exclusive Silk soymilk formula, specially designed to complement Starbucks "hand-crafted beverages using Starbuck signature espresso roast." Soy's hot and so is Dean.
I have a little pet peeve. I like to know where my money's going when I buy I product. All these different labels and one company. But they don't want you to know that. Dean, at least, give a full list of products on its website.
Not so at Campbell's. Yesterday, Campbell's Soup Company announced its net income rose 14% for its last quarter. No thanks to its condensed soups. It was all those new products like Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Colors Crackers. That's right - Pepperidge Farm, Prego Spaghetti Sauce, Franco-American, Pace Mexican foods, Swanson, V8, and I hate to tell you this on Valentine's Day, but Godiva Chocolate are all owned by Campbell's Soup. Kind of takes the mystic out of it, doesn't it? For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m. To contact Maxine Shapiro, please send emails to mshapiro@kera.org.