By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – It's time for the good, the bad and the ugly on Wall Street. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
High-protein, low-carbohydrate - the diet that's no longer just a fad. Just ask anyone who makes those flavorful, hard-to-chew meat snacks. It's now the hottest new treat around. Kenneth Fries, 7- Eleven Category Manager for snacks, told the Dallas Morning News, "Beef jerky sales have gone through the roof, with industry sales up 20% on top of 17% last year." The Morning News reports sales of meat snacks for 2001 were up to $625 million. That's more than triple the once-popular granola bar. So while Texas ranchers are getting fat from the Atkins way of life, our friends in the tortilla, pasta and bread-making industries would like to turn back the clocks. The tortilla-makers see this diet as a real "threat;" pasta consumption is growing but nothing like it was; and wheat flour consumption has been declining since the late 90's.
So would someone please explain to me how Krispy Kreme, the poster child for high carbs and zero protein, today announced a 48% increase in income for its fiscal first quarter from last year? Sure, credit them for opening up some new stores, but same-store sales enjoyed a boost as well. I guess if you go off the Atkins diet, you do it with a Krispy Kreme.
Now, this is bad: last year, women on Wyeth's Prempo, a hormone-therapy, were told the drug presented a higher risk of breast cancer and numerous heart problems. Many women stayed on the drug to help brain function. Don't, says a new study. It now actually leads to an increase in dementia in older women. And Wyeth stock is up today.
And if you want ugly, get this: a renowned New York stockbroker was charged last year for stealing millions from his clients. A lawyer employed by him received $1.5 million in hush money. The lawyer threatened to reveal the fraud and expose naughty e-mail messages from the married broker to other women. The lawyer found them when he broke into his boss' e-mail account. The lawyer pleaded guilty.
For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
Email Maxine Shapiro about this story.