Comcast rate hikes have been seen across the nation in Chicago IL, Houston TX, Lancaster PA, Tacoma and Seattle WA, and San Francisco CA. The cable company says the higher prices reflect the cost of hiring hundreds of call-center and technical support employees. Maybe they got sad after years of being the lowest in customer satisfaction and decided to do something about it.
prices
Budget For A 10% Increase In Heating Costs This Year
By 10.9.07
Colder temperatures and higher fuel prices are going to hit consumers in the wallet this winter, according to estimates from the government. Depending on your fuel of choice, heat could cost from 4%-22% more, though most households will see an increase of 9.5%.
These Frappuccino Prices Are Confusing
By 10.4.07
Someone explain how this works. Jason tells us that Starbucks Frappuccinos 4-packs normally retails at the Target in Amherst, NY, for $5.24, but there’s a new price tag on them for $5.49, boasting they’re, “Even Lower than our advertised price.” So, in the circulars they’re advertising them for, say, $5.99? Why not a sign that says, “BIG SAVINGS” and then in small letters, “as compared to a piece of gold bullion.”
Heating Costs Will Break New Records This Winter
By 9.25.07
If you’re poor, maybe you just shouldn’t have a winter this year. Government energy officials have announced that prices this winter for heating oil, electricity, propane and natural gas will all be at record highs: 28% more for heating oil, 30% more for propane, 7% for electricity, and 5% for natural gas.
Toy Prices To Rise 10%
By 9.15.07
Toys will be 10% more expensive next year thanks the toy industry’s latest attempts to protect American children from defective merchandise. Toy makers will use the hike to offset the cost of retaining independent labs to both test for defective and dangerous toys, and provide a measure of PR security.
Consumers could also see higher prices on other Chinese imports such as fish and children’s apparel, but the big price gains in toys could be more jolting.
Walmart Rolls Back Prices Negative Sixteen Cents
By 9.6.07
Reader Jonathan’s son snapped this photo of a Walmart price “rollback” in Tawas City, Michigan, this Labor Day Monday. The current price is $1.98, the previous, $1.82. “I do see the irony of being in a Wal-Mart on Labor Day,” writes Jonathan, “and I still feel unclean for it.”
Walmart Shares Fall After Stock Downgraded To "Sell"
By 8.30.07
Walmart share price falls after Merril-Lynch downgrades stocks to “sell” from “neutral.” In a note to clients, a Merril analyst cited shrinking profit margins as a concern for the retailer. This would be the first time in 2007 the stock has been marked as sell.
Watch Out For Falling Rising Prices
By 6.30.07
Walmart’s little yellow smiley face must have taken revenge on the corporate overseers who make him slash through the aisles like a jaundiced deflationary Casper. More pictures and our tipster’s email, inside…
Netflix Lowers Costs As Blockbuster Prepares To Raise Prices
By 6.29.07
Netflix has reduced the cost of its 2-DVD plan by $1 to $13.99, matching a move made by Blockbuster earlier this month. Blockbuster had expected to be dancing triumphantly atop the battered and bankrupt corpse of its rival by now, but Netflix’s staying power is causing Blockbuster to re-think its strategy. By the end of the year, Blockbuster will raise the price of its Total Access service, which allows subscribers access to its retail locations.
The company said in the filing that it planned to modify its popular Total Access plan before the end of the year to “strike the appropriate balance between continued subscriber growth and enhanced profitability.”
Netflix’s email to subscribers, after the jump:
Ethanol Raises Prices As Part Of Continuing Crusade To Liberate Nation From Expensive Foreign Oil
By 6.17.07
Ethanol is billed as the answer to America’s addiction to foreign oil, but the immense demand for the corn, from which ethanol is made, is also raising prices in supermarkets and restaurants across the nation. The demand to transform corn into ethanol has already doubled the average price for a bushel of corn from $2 to $4.
The corn price increases flow like gravy down the food chain, to grocery stores and menus. The cost of rounded cubed steak at local Harris Teeters is up from $4.59 last year to $5.29 this year, according to TheGroceryGame.com, which tracks prices. The Palm restaurant chain recently raised prices as much as $2 for a New York strip. And so on.
Michael Pollan best summarized our little-known reliance on corn in The Omnivore’s Dilemma:
Gas Station Owners Hate High Gas Prices
By 6.15.07
Lately, he says, he and his employees have been receiving a lot of complaints from customers. Although he tries to explain his situation, people don’t want to hear it.
Ride The Real Estate Rollercoaster!
By 4.4.07
Thinking of buying a house as an investment? You may want to ride this roller coaster first. No, it’s not a real roller coaster, it’s the graph of US Home prices (adjusted for inflation) mapped out with Roller Coaster Tycoon. It’s oddly fun, with a “cliffhanger” ending. Enjoy!
Awesome Target Battery Sale: Regular Price $8.69 On Sale For $8.99?
By 3.23.07
Not that this is a big deal, but I thought it was funny.
Parking Garage Rates Are Out Of Control
By 3.13.07
Getting in and out of a downtown garage in 20 minutes is possible — but just barely. A Globe reporter managed a 20-minute turnaround at 75 State St. only by racing from the garage to gulp down a drink at a nearby coffee shop and then racing back.
Get Ready For High Prices: California’s Citrus Crop “Severely Damaged”
By 1.18.07
- Consumers could feel the effects in higher costs, said Toni Spigelmyer, spokeswoman for Sysco Corp., the nation’s largest food service distributor.
Travel Prices To Rise in 2007
By 12.21.06
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that travel prices will rise, in some cases dramatically, in the new year. Due to the weak dollar acting as a siren song for European tourists, tourism from the old country will increase 5%, to over 54 million visitors. What does this mean to you? More expensive hotels. American Express is estimating that already pricey New York hotels will raise their rates by 18%, Domestic coach airfares will rise 3 to 5 percent, and across the nation hotel prices will increase 2 to 8 percent. —MEGHANN MARCO
Worst Stores For Pricing Law Compliance
By 12.15.06
Store compliance with state pricing laws fell modestly to 67% this year, a recent Arizona Department of Weights and Measures study found. Here are the worst offenders.
Comcast: Rate Hikes Are Coming
By 11.27.06
Comcast is raising rates as much as 6.5% in several markets starting January 1st. So far, Washington state, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Richmond, VA have been confirmed as markets that will be affected by the increase. But don’t blame Comcast, blame HDTV.
