The honeymoon's over

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Mar 21, 2000

Stills prefers to compare this tour to the recent reunion of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. "We're trying to do the same thing. And, judging from the response, we're certainly getting there," says Stills. "We don't want to beat it to death, but we really do enjoy each other's music and company. We're like a brotherhood."

How you know it's time to sell

LONDON (NYT) -- That BMW was able to find someone willing to take Rover off its hands surprised many in the auto industry. But few captured its motivation quite as succinctly as Car, the British auto magazine. Its March issue, printed weeks before a deal was in sight, observed: "It's a scary thought, but if BMW had paid each of Rover's employees 30,000 pounds to stay at home last year, the company would have lost less money." The magazine also said BMW had an offer from Volkswagen to swap Rover for equity stakes in Seat, Audi and Skoda, but no cash.

Discover revenge

BOSTON (NYT) -- Like a jilted lover, the Discover Card is out for revenge on its longtime retail partner, the chain of more than 300 Costco warehouse stores. The two companies parted ways last week after an eight-year period in which the only credit card accepted by Costco was the Discover Card. Costco replaced Discover with American Express, but Discover isn't going quietly into the night.

In a tactic unheard of in the credit card business, Discover last week sent letters to more than a million cardholders who shop at Costco urging them to not only complain to local Costco store managers but to take their business to rival Sam's Club, which accepts the Discover card. Discover even gave the cardholders a coupon for half-off a $35 Sam's Club membership.

"We were surprised, especially the part about complaining to the manager," said Richard Galanti, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Costco. "We certainly didn't tell people to cancel their Discover Card."

Cathy Edwards, a spokeswoman for Discover Financial Services, acknowledged she had never heard of a credit card company sending out a letter like the one Discover sent. She said the company was disappointed with Costco's decision and wanted to deal directly with the inconvenience the decision was causing for its customers. "We wanted to encourage our customers to shop where our card is accepted," Edwards said.

At stake is a very large pool of business. Costco has 27 million members worldwide and locking them in as credit card customers is a major coup for American Express. Costco is the largest wholesale club in terms of sales, although Wal-Mart's Sam's Club is the leader in total stores.

Monster.com Stadium?

BOSTON (AP) -- Internet job-search giant Monster.com is in considering buying the naming rights to a stadium that will be built for the New England Patriots. The company is known for a television ad that first aired during the 1999 Super Bowl, in which one child said, "When I grow up, I want to claw my way up to middle management" and another voiced the hope of someday being a "yes-man."