• The Bangor Daily News reports that the Maine Supreme Court is expected to decide whether consumers who are affected by a data breach at Hannaford Supermarkets two years ago are entitled to damages related to the case.
A class action suit against the company already has been dismissed, despite the fact that millions of credit card numbers were compromised, resulting in almost 2,000 fraudulent charges.
While Hannaford has been arguing that consumer protection laws are adequate, plaintiffs in the case believe that they are entitled to damages because of the time and effort expended in straightening out their accounts.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev said yesterday that it no longer plans to sell its Beck’s Beer brand, which reportedly was going to be sold for $2.5 billion to Bain Capital. According to the company, the expected sale of some if its European breweries will ease its debt burden to the point where a sale of Beck’s no longer was necessary.
Kraft Foods reportedly has sold its Balance Bar brand to Brynwood Partners, a private equity firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• Boston Beer Co., the maker of Samuel Adams beer, announced that it has an updated version of its Utopias beer - which is 27 percent alcohol and costs $150 a bottle.
The only downside? There are 13 states - Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington - where the beer cannot be sold because of laws against selling beer with alcohol content that is so high.
"Just part of trying to push the envelope," says Boston Beer CEO Jim Koch. "I'm pushing it beyond what the laws of these 13 states ever contemplated when they passed those laws decades ago."
- KC's View:
