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By wire services
Published October 16, 2005

A FLOOD OF SPECIALTY BRANDS are capitalizing on immigrant nostalgia and are poised to give icons like Coke, McDonald's and Starbucks a run for their money, Business 2.0 reports. Some are labels that consumers remember from their homelands, such as Mexico's Jarritos soft drinks; others are U.S. startups selling products with immigrant appeal, such as Lifeway Foods' yogurtlike drink that is popular with Eastern Europeans. All plan major expansions in the next year to capitalize on the increasingly diverse American population, the magazine says.

SOME COMPANIES know what it takes to make customers happy and keep them coming back. One company that does it especially well is Netflix, the much-evangelized DVD service that takes top honors in Fast Company's Customers First Awards. Netflix is followed in the top five on the list by Panera Bread, Talbots, Cabela's and W Hotels.

WITH PROMINENT business leaders and politicians accused of wrongdoing over the past year, investors have grown much more mistrustful, according to a survey sponsored by financial services company TIAA-CREF. The survey is used to develop the Trust in America Index, which measures investors' trust in a range of people and institutions including the media, the president, Congress and Fortune 500 CEOs. The index fell sharply to 10.8 percent from 13.2 percent a year ago.

"HIP" DOESN'T USUALLY APPLY to chief executives, but then rapper Jay-Z (a.k.a. Shawn Carter) comes along. As an entrepreneur, he brings his own style to the corner office at Def Jam, a Fortune magazine profile says. "Jay-Z is hip-hop's reigning megastar, a crossover icon who's had 13 top-selling albums, sold more than 33-million records worldwide, cofounded an independent label as well as a clothing company, front-lined the fastest-selling sneaker in Reebok's history, and even taken an ownership stake in the NBA's New Jersey Nets," Fortune says. This year Carter became president and CEO of Def Jam records, making an unprecedented move from the recording studio to the corporate suites.

CONCERT POSTERS are not only an art form, they also can be money in the bank if you were insightful enough to save the right ones, Worth says. A poster for the Beatles' 1966 concert in Shea Stadium set a record for concert posters when it was auctioned off for $132,736 last year, the magazine says.

Compiled from Times wires and Web sites.

[Last modified October 13, 2005, 20:03:02]