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By TIMES WIRES
Published September 7, 2006

Japanese to get their U.S. beef bowls again

The Japanese fast-food chain that made its fame on a rice dish topped with American beef said Wednesday the "beef bowl" will return Sept. 18 after a two-year hiatus caused by a mad-cow scare. But Yoshinoya D&C Co. will have just 1-million servings, which are likely to sell out before the day is over, said the company's president, Shuji Abe. The chain, which operates about 1,000 restaurants in Japan, won't be able to regularly offer its famous "gyudon," as it can't procure a sufficient supply of American beef because of Tokyo's decision to allow only cattle 20 months or younger in lifting its ban on U.S. beef. Another reason for gyudon's popularity was its affordable 280 yen ($2.40) price. The beef bowl arriving this month will sell for 380 yen ($3.30).

Other chatter

GM BOOSTS WARRANTY: General Motors has increased the powertrain warranty on all of its 2007 passenger vehicles to five years and 100,000 miles, a move it hopes will boost its reputation for quality compared with its main Japanese rivals. The increase, from three years and 36,000 miles, went into effect Wednesday and covers 900 engine, transmission and driveline components.

SINGAPORE HAS FRIENDLIEST ECONOMY: Singapore topped an annual global ranking of business-friendly economies, according to a World Bank report released Wednesday that named China as best reformer in Asia over the past year. The "Doing Business" report ranks 175 economies, tracking indicators of the time and cost to meet government requirements to start and close a business, get licenses, get credit, pay taxes and other areas. New Zealand slipped to second, followed by the United States, Canada and Hong Kong.

MASTERCARD TO POST INTERCHANGE FEES: MasterCard Worldwide said it will establish a cap on the fees gas stations pay to clear consumer credit cards and will publish a complete list of its so-called interchange fees, which merchants pay for the processing of card transactions, at www.mastercard merchant.com. The move comes as a number of retail groups have filed class-action suits against MasterCard, Visa USA and a number of major banks over interchange fees. The suits target the fees, which are paid by merchant banks to card-issuing banks. The merchants pay those fees indirectly as a component of fees charged to them by their banks.

NIKE SMUGGLING RING FOILED: Federal agents have seized thousands of pairs of fake Nike sneakers in Tucson, Ariz., and charged six men in what is being called one of the largest smuggling rings in recent history. The alleged plot involved 15 sea cargo containers holding about 135,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike Air Jordans, with a retail value of $16-million. The ring is thought to have shipped 82 containers of counterfeit shoes and athletic clothing into the country, authorities said.

[Last modified September 6, 2006, 21:15:59]