Some news items and notable stock price moves in the restaurant space.
- Starbucks gained on strong volume yesterday. The Kraft issues are, in my view, insignificant for the longer term prospects of the company. One blog, arounddublinblog.com, is running a story about Starbucks being rumored to be buying Peet’s Coffee.
- WEN down on strong volume and underperforming peers over past week.
- SONC upgraded today.
- RT up 5.6% on strong volume.
- BWLD also up on strong volume – we will have a note out on this name shortly.
- MRT continues to perform well, better than any casual dining competitors over the past week.
- Story in the WSJ about new wage and tipping rules in restaurants tells how the Department of Labor is mandating a hike in minimum wages and other procedural changes in the hospitality industry starting January 1st. The move is likely to be met with stiff legal opposition.
- If you thought fried chicken was important in Asian markets, you were right. In South Korea, Lotte Mart undercut the market for fried chicken by 60 per cent. This led to three-hour lines, street protests, a regulatory investigation, and some input from the office of the President on the issue. View the story here.
Howard Penney
Managing Director
