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By Ashley M. Heher The Associated Press "Customers are conditioned to 'shop the discounts,' " an analyst says. ( Associated Press file photo ) CHICAGO — Fortunes at chain restaurants are tumbling, the fallout from a strategy of slashing menu prices in the hopes that a cheap meal will be enough to entice diners back to their booths. Instead, diners are ringing up smaller checks or simply staying home. And the deep discounts, like the two meals for $20 being offered at places such as Chili's and Applebee's, come with a high cost for sales and profits. Some worry the chains are creating a culture of diners looking only for a cheap meal. "These companies are competing any way they can to get customers in the door," said Morningstar restaurant analyst R.J. Hottovy. While the discounts became prevalent earlier this year, the... [read full story]
TALLINN, Estonia, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Estonian officials said that if Russia buys a French amphibious assault ship, Estonia should consider taking security measures. The Mistral-class helicopter carrier ship, for which the French...
By MIKE SPECTOR And ERIC YEP In a major bid to go global, Reliance Industries Ltd., the giant Indian energy and materials company, made an offer of around $12 billion to take a controlling interest in Lyondell Basell Industries...
Because its there! 9:52 p.m. on 22nd November 2009 Explorer George Mallory, who died attempting to scale Mount Everest, once responded with: "Because it's there." when asked why he wanted to climb Everest. This answer...
