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AUTOMOTIVE Lyft/Cost Estimates On demand ride service Lyft has added a new feature to its app: cost estimates for how much rides will cost. BEVERAGES Dr Pepper Snapple/ The Wall Street Journal reported that two of the big U.S. soda makers are Bai Brands/PepsiCo/ scooping up fast growing companies that market healthier beverages: Dr KeVita Pepper Snapple Group acquired Bai Brands, the maker of low calorie coffee fruit drinks, for $1.7 billion, and PepsiCo purchased KeVita, a maker of fermented probiotic and kombucha beverages at roughly $200 million. BROADCAST CBS Radio CBS Radio filed a preliminary prospectus for what will be a new publicly traded company for its 117-radio station group. FCC/Forward Auction The FCC begins stage three of its forward auction on December 5. The reverse auction is where TV stations set the price at which they will give up spectrum – with the FCC lowering the price in each round, while the forward is where bidders compete for the rights to that spectrum, presumably for wireless broadband. The third stage of the FCC’s broadcast incentive spectrum auction closed last Thursday after 52 rounds with the broadcasters’ new asking price now at $40+ billion for 108 MHz of spectrum. Note: Broadcasters’ stage one clearing price was about $86 billion and the second stage price was about $55 billion. MGM/Light TV Mark Burnett (and wife Roma Downey) and MGM are launching a locally based digital network for family entertainment called Light TV. The network, which will feature what it calls “wholesome family and faith based entertainment programming” using MGM’s library of film and television content, will launch in December on 14 Fox owned and operated TV stations. CONFECTION Nestle/Sugar Lite Nestle announced that it has developed a method of restructuring sugar, allowing the company to reduce the amount of sugar in its candy products by as much as 40%. CORPORATE Samsung Rumors are circulating that Samsung Electronics is contemplating whether to split into two companies in an effort to boost long-term value for shareholders as well as listing the company’s shares on more international exchanges. 1 of 9 DATA Nielsen/DAR Nielsen is launching an extension of its Digital Ad Ratings called DAR Publisher Publisher Insights Insights, whose mission is to allow digital publishers to achieve a deeper analysis of advertising campaign data. Components: Digital Reach Benchmark, which ranks publishers against both reach and on-target percentages for campaigns. Publishers can then view their efforts in comparison to their competitors. Also, using Nielsen Catalina Solutions and Nielsen Buyer Insights data in combination with DAR Publisher Insights can give publishers return on ad spend research. DIGITAL AppNexus/ B&C reported that digital ad service company AppNexus has barred Breitbart News Breitbart form using its ad-serving tools because the conservative online publisher violated its hate speech rules. After reviewing the site, AppNexus determined that many of the site’s articles and headlines, using overt or coded language, constituted hate speech. Going forward, Breitbart will no longer gets ads from the exchange that AppNexus runs. FINANCE Market Closings For the first time in 17 years (December 31,1999) all four markets – S&P 500, Dow, Russell 2000 and Nasdaq – closed at a new high on the same date. GAMING Consoles/Market According to Gaming Industry website, Sony’s PlayStation 4 console dominates Share market penetration with 55% of the global console market and 45.3 million PS4s in consumer hands, compared with 29% for Microsoft (23.5 million Xbox Ones) and 16% for Nintendo’s Wii U (13.5 million). Facebook/Gaming Facebook is adding Instant Games to Messenger and News Feed. On Messenger, Instant Games can be accessed through a new game controller icon just below where users typically type a message. There, users can find score based games, leaderboards and group thread conversations to compete against personal contacts. GLOBAL Pope/Abortion The Wall Street Journal reported that Pope Francis indefinitely extended the power of priests to forgive the “grave sin” of abortion, one of his signature gestures from the Catholic Church’s just ended Jubilee Year of Mercy. In a document released by the Vatican, Pope Francis wrote that his gesture was aimed at helping the sacrament of confession “regain its central place in the Christian life,” so that “everyone is afforded the opportunity of experiencing the liberating power of forgiveness.” The following chart delineates the percentage of U.S. adults in selected religious groups who say abortion should be legal/illegal: Abortion Abortion Religion Legal Illegal Religion Legal Illegal Jewish 83% 15% Muslim 55% 37% Buddhist 82% 17% Orthodox Christian 53% 45% Hindu 68% 29% Catholic 48% 47% Protestant 60% 35% Evangelical Protestants 33% 63% Weeks of November 28 & December 5, 2016 2 of 9 GLOBAL(cont’d) U.K./Wealth Credit Suisse Group’s latest global wealth study reported that U.K. households shed $1.5 trillion in wealth, a 10% drop, based on its calculations of data at the middle of the year compared with the same time a year earlier. A big factor, cites the report, was the weaker pound, which reduced the value of British assets when priced in dollars. Also, the U.K. lost just over 400,000 of its millionaires when adjusted into dollars – so reported The Wall Street Journal. HOLIDAYS Thanksgiving The American Farm Bureau Federation reported that a classic Thanksgiving dinner would cost $49.87 for a gathering of 10, just under $5 per person. The total is a step back from 2015’s all time high of $50.11. LEXICON Post-Truth Oxford dictionary selected “post-truth” as its word of the year. It was first used in 1992 by Steve Tesich in an essay but has spiked this year in the context of Brexit and the American election. Other words that made the shortlist includ “alt-right”, “Brexit-eer” and coulrophobia (an extreme fear of clowns). MUSIC iHeartRadio/On iHeartRadio launched an on demand service, iHeartRadio All Access, which is Demand powered by Napster, the music service that until recently was known as Rhapsody in the U.S.. The service costs $9.99 per month and offers users unlimited streaming access to full albums and millions of songs. PERSONALITIES The Big Apple Circus New York’s Big Apple Circus filed for bankruptcy protection. Since its founding in 1977, as a school and a show, Big Apple Circus stood apart form the corporate circus business. Instead of lions, tigers and elephants, it featured dogs, ponies and the occasional pig. Fidel Castro Cuban leader and dictator Fidel Castro has passed away. He was 90 years old. Emma Morano Italian born Emma Morano, who is the oldest person in the world, celebrated her 117th birthday last week. She is the only living person who was born in the 1800s. Andrew Sachs Actor Andrew Sachs, best known for his portrayal of a bumbling waiter in the British comedy Fawlty Towers, has passed away. He was 86 years old. Grant Tinker Former NBC chairman and CEO circa 1981 – who also founded production company MTM Enterprises (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Hill Street Blues, Lou Reed, Rhoda) with second wife Mary Tyler Moore – has passed away. He was 90 years old. Note: During his tenure, he introduced programs such as Family Ties, The Cosby Show and Cheers, which brought NBC to the top of the networks. Weeks of November 28 & December 5, 2016 3 of 9 PUBLISHING Self Magazine Publisher Condé Nast announced that Self magazine will shutter its monthly print edition after a 38-year run and go digital only. Southern Living Publication Southern Living opened a branded retail store in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – the first of many, the publisher announced. The brick and mortar store features items from local Southern artists and producers, as well as Southern Living’s own products, such as cookbooks. REAL ESTATE Airbnb/Rental Limits Airbnb agreed for the first time to limit the number of nights a year a host can rent out a home in two of its biggest European markets, London and Amsterdam. RETAIL Holiday Spending A National Retail Federation survey reported that online spending during the Thanksgiving weekend grew at the expense of store spending for a straight second year. The NRF estimates that about 109 million people shopped online, compared with 99 million in stores. Online spending was pegged at $5.27 billion according to Adobe Systems, which analyzed data from 22.6 billion visits to retail stores. Also, Adobe Digital Insights reported that Cyber Monday revenue hit an all time high of $3.45 billion, becoming the most lucrative online sales day in history. Another survey of holiday weekend shoppers showed that there were 154 million shoppers who spent on average $289.19 per person – down from $299.60 the prior year. Levi’s/Leave Your Retailer Levi’s is requesting that gun owners leave their weapons at home when Guns At Home in the company’s offices, facilities or stores – “even in states where it’s permitted by law.” SPORTS Tom Brady New England quarterback Tom Brady has become the fifth NFL quarterback to reach 60,000 yards passing. Top four record holders: Peyton Manning (71,940), Brett Favre (71,838), Drew Brees (64,180) and Dan Marina (61,361). TECHNOLOGY Amazon Echo Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reported that Amazon has sold 5.1 million Echo devices to U.S. consumers since late 2014. Also, Amazon is rumored to be developing a premium Echo-like speaker with a video screen. Fitbit/Pebble Rumors are circulating that fitness wearable manufacturer Fitbit is set to acquire smartwatch maker Pebble for around $40 million.