Crocs footwear moves into accessories and apparel

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Niwot, CO, United States (AHN) – Crocs, the maker of the popular clunky, multicolored, bright, foam clogs, is expanding its brand to include accessories, eyewear and apparel. The Niwot, Colorado, based company is launching a line of Crocs-branded accessories, which include hats, bags, backpacks, socks and gloves. Paramount, a sports licensee, is selling collegiate and Major League Baseball licensed footwear for the iconic Crocs brand. The Crocs brand will branch out into children’s apparel, set to launch in April, through an agreement with A Group. And, Eye King LLC will start selling branded sunglasses and sunglass accessories starting in May. That’s not all. Through a partnership with ICER Brand, [...] Continue Reading…

American Airlines to lay out cuts to unions, may send jobs overseas

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Fort Worth, TX, United States (AHN) – American Airlines’ parent company on Wednesday warned its unions to expect deep cuts to the staff of 88,000. AMR Corp. (AAMRQ) CEO Thomas Horton issued the warning during a presentation on the company’s cost-cutting plans. American Airlines is the nation’s third largest airline. While reportedly saying that American did not want to close any of its hubs and that it wants to remain an independent airline instead of being merged into another airline during the ongoing reorganization process stemming from its Nov. 29 bankruptcy filing. Horton also indicated there was a need to cut costs, which would result in a reduction in employees. [...] Continue Reading…

‘Expat Unfriendly’: Fighting words for the UAE

The Media Line Staff
United Arab Emirates David Rosenberg (The Medi – Calling the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the world’s “least friendly” place for expatriates-well, those are fighting words. Certainly, they are in a place where non-citizens make up close to 90 percent of the population and are responsible for everything from running the national airline to cleaning up at construction sites. But a fight is what Forbes magazine and one of its contributing writers, Beth Greenfield, got when they ran a piece putting the Gulf confederation of seven mini-states at the bottom of a list using criteria that hone in on social factors – the ability to befriend natives, fitting into local culture, learning the language and integrating [...] Continue Reading…

Motorized shoes to hit stores in March

Windsor Genova – AHN News News Writer
Los Angeles, CA, United States (AHN) – Battery-powered motorized shoes that can move a person at 10 miles per hour will hit the stores in March, according to its inventor. Called spnKiX, the gadgets, shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, will sell for $649 a pair, said Los Angeles-based industrial designer Peter Treadway. His Acton Inc. company will produce the wearable machines that look like roller skates with oversized wheels. Treadway decided to develop the spnKiX in the 1990s after experiencing difficulty in finding a place to park his car. Kickstarter, a website that collects donations for creative projects, helped him raise the targeted $25,000 to fund the [...] Continue Reading…

Dow ended final trading day of 2011 down, closed up for the year

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Last year was turbulent, trying and tumultuous for global stocks and commodities, And for many investors and traders, 2011 couldn’t end soon enough. In the final trading day of 2011, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 69 points, but managed to eck out a 5.5 percent gain for the year. The closely tracked Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed virtually flat, ending 2011 down 0.43 percent, while the tech heavy NASDAQ said good-bye to 2011 off 1.80 percent. Commodities fared much better. Oil gained 8.15 percent in 2011, and gold was the sole double digit finisher bidding the year adieu with a stellar [...] Continue Reading…

No. 1 worry among Americans is the economy

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – It’s the economy that keeps Americans up at night, on edge and worried, revealed a new CNN/ORC International poll released Friday. Some 70 percent said that things are not going well in the United States, with just three out of 10 saying things are okay, putting the state of the economy as the top worry and the most pressing issue heading into the new year. More than half of those surveyed, or 57 percent, said the economy is the most important issue facing the country at present, and half named unemployment as the most important issue facing the economy. The deficit came in a very [...] Continue Reading…

Markets back off after Fed meeting; hold gains

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Federal policy makers left interest rates unchanged Tuesday and also made no change to its policy of selling short term holdings and reinvesting them into longer term securities. The Fed also reiterated its pledge to keep rates at low levels through the middle of 2013. The Fed said the economy is moderately expanding despite some apparent slowing in global growth. They cited the high unemployment rate as being a drag on the economy. As with its last meeting, the Fed voted 9-1 in favor, with the sole holdout being Chicago Fed President Charles Evans who asked for additional policy accommodations. Immediately after the [...] Continue Reading…

Honda widens recall for airbag problem

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Torrence, CA, United States (AHN) – Japanese automaker Honda has expanded its previously announced recall of vehicles with dangerous air bags to include almost 900,000 vehicles. The recall affects only vehicles sold in the United States and includes model years 2001 to 2003 of the affected cars. The recalled vehicles now include certain 2001 and 2002 Accord, 2001 to 2003 Civic, 2001 to 2003 Odyssey, 2002 and 2003 CR-V, 2003 Pilot, 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL models, Honda officials said in a statement. Honda first said the driver’s airbag inflator needed to be replaced because it had a risk of deploying with too much pressure [...] Continue Reading…

Nokia Siemens Networks to cut 17,000 employees

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Helsinki, Sweden (AHN) – Network-equipment vendor Nokia Siemens Networks announced plans to cut 23 percent of its work force to save in order to save $1.35 billion by 2013. The move is aimed at helping the company to make a profit so it can become independent. It is now a joint venture of Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG. Along with cutting 17,000 jobs globally, the company announced plans to focus on its mobile broadband businesses and either manage its other noncore businesses for value or shed them. The joint venture has struggled with losses. During the third quarter, it had operating losses of $155 million despite a 16 percent increase in [...] Continue Reading…

Berlusconi to quit; Italy OK’s reforms

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Rome, Italy (AHN) – Italy’s lower house of parliament approved a series of austerity measures on Saturday paving the way for the resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The package, demanded by euro zone leaders to shore up confidence in the financially strapped country, was passed by a vote of 380 for to 26 against. Approved by the Senate on Friday, the passage, which includes pension reform with plans to raise the retirement age to 67 from 65, the privatization of state-owned companies and the sale of state owned properties, sent markets surging. Berlusconi has survived numerous sexual and ethic scandals in the past. But Italy’s financial woes will end his [...] Continue Reading…

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