A familiar presence on the breakfast table, General Mills has expressed an optimistic outlook for its 2009 earnings, stating that lower operating costs and a lower quarterly tax rate are responsible for the change. Understandably, investor confidence in General Mills increased enough to send its shares up 3.6 percent.
Things have been looking good for General Mills for the first nine months of their fiscal year, as sales are up 10 percent and volume is up 4 percent. The company places the praise with product innovation, asserting that General Mills’ wise investments in product development allowed them to ratchet up sales.
Analysts …read more

It’s funny how the Cheerios post has stirred up so much interest, particularly from Iceland. Truth be told, though, expats everywhere miss something from home, and newer expats need advice on how to adapt to their new surroundings, no matter how much they enjoy them.
When I first arrived in Munich, I bought a book which was to become my bible, the name of which I unfortunately forget (I’m hoping Jean will remember). In any event, that book told me all of the things I needed to know as an expat in Munich, including silly things like why the teapot started …read more

After outing myself as a die-hard Cheerios fan who schlepps boxes from the US to Germany (see previous post), I sent a message to General Mills, suggesting Germany as a new market for the product. Unfortunately, the reply was not positive:
Dear Ms. Mercedes,
Thank you for contacting General Mills regarding Cheerios.
Our US colleagues have transferred your request to the German office.
General Mills and Nestle have a global joint-venture on the cereal business Cereal Partners Worldwide CPW. Europe belongs to the region that is managed by Nestle and sold under the Nestle brand. They have decided not to sell Cheerios anymore. The …read more

Chris pointed out last week that May is World Trade Month.
As an American ex-pat in Germany, I have schlepped so many things back and forth between two continents that it sometimes feels like I am running my own private import/export business. Sure, I take advantage of exchange rates wherever I can (why buy an iPod for 129 Euros when you can get it for 129 USD?) but there are also a lot of products I like which are only available in one market. Here are some of my current faves:
SmartWool Socks
Mostly available at US camping stores, these are the best/most …read more