Pizza With Topping of Irony In Racial Slur Role-Playing Call on Preventing Public Relations Crises
In what may be the most layered case of public-relations snafu irony this century, pizza joint Papa John’s (NASDAQ:PZZA) founder and Chairman John Schnatter resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board after using the racial slur “n188@r” in a role-playing call with a marketing agency called “Laundry Service” on the topic of preventing public relations crises, trying to demonstrate what not to do. This is not a joke, and shows that, even if you’re literally pretending to stoke a public relations crisis for the sake practicing how to prevent one, the acting itself can devolve into a public relations crisis, so don’t even try to prepare. In a statement, Schnatter said, “News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true. Regardless of the context, I apologize.”
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What to do: Be careful what you say, no matter the context, and this could be a good time to buy the Papa John’s dip, as the stock is at 52-week lows.
Comcast Doubles Down on Sky High Sky Offer
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is determined not be left out of yet another acquisition deal. It has offered $34 billion for the British broadcaster Sky (OTCMKTS:SKYAY), about $1.5 billion more than Fox’s (NASDAQ:FOX) last offer. In this mergers and acquisitions mobeus strip of sorts, Comcast and Disney (NYSE:DIS) are fighting for Fox, which owns 39% of Sky, while Comcast and Fox are fighting for Sky, which if bought by Comcast would be split by ownership between Comcast and Fox, considering Fox’s 39% ownership already. Comcast still has the option of upping its bid for Fox, which Disney already offered $71 billion for.
Dwayne “Lee” (Not The Rock) Johnson Opens Lawsuit Floodgates Against Monsanto, Bayer
Bayer (OTCMKTS:BAYRY) could be in for a heap of litigation trouble by long line of 4,000 people who claim that Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup made them get cancer. The judge presiding over the case, Judge Vince Chhabria, has allowed three expert witnesses to testify that glyphosphate, the active ingredient in Roundup, causes non Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Food and Drug Administration believes that Roundup “probably” does not cause cancer, but he World Health Organization believes that it “probably” does, and this debate has been going on since the 1970’s. Litigation is expected to last decades, given that there are over 4,000 plaintiffs.
What to do: Organic farming methods for now.
US to Overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia in Oil Production Next Year
The United States is on track to producing 11.8 million barrels of oil (NYSEARCA:USO) per day, more than Saudi Arabia or Russia, and will reclaim the title of world’s biggest oil producer by next year. This is according to the US Energy Information Administration. The US was eclipsed by Russia, then the USSR, in 1974, and eclipsed by Saudi Arabia in 1976. Both Saudi Arabia and Russia have the capacity to pump more, however, though not that much more than they are currently pumping.
PPI Blows Past Expectations, CPI Due Today
Inflation is heating up according to the Producer Price Index, which yesterday was reported to have reached its highest annual inflation rate levels since November 2011. Producer prices have risen 3.4% year over year. The Consumer Price Index figures will be published at 8:30 am, and consensus estimates are for a 2.3% increase, though a Reuters/Bloomberg poll calls for 2.9%. Last month the CPI came in at 2.8%.
