Jones Soda is a brand that is pretty well known in the Pacific Northwest, but is mostly a cult-soft-drink in the rest of the United States and Canada. The business is twenty-two years old and is known for quirky sayings under their caps, pictures taken by Jones-drinkers, and offbeat flavors like Pea Soup and Crushed Melon. It has been sold to a rival, Reed’s, in a low-key, low-profit deal.

Jones Soda, the struggling maker of cult-favorite soft drinks, has agreed to be acquired by rival Reed’s at a deep discount in a deal worth just shy of $10 million, the companies said Tuesday.Jones shareholders will receive 4.5 million shares of Reed’s common stock and cash of 10 cents a share, or about $2.6 million. That means natural soda maker Reed’s valued Jones at 37 cents per share — less than half its closing price on Monday. The deal, which is not yet binding, is worth about $9.8 million on those terms.

This deal is one that Jones would’ve laughed at back in 2006, before they attempted a failed expansion into canned drinks. This just goes to show that expansion is risky and can backfire.

Credit is a good thing–it allows individuals to purchase what they would not otherwise be able to afford because of others’ savings. However, we all know that credit cards can be quite dangerous if you let them get away from you. They can quickly rack up because of steep interest rates–I’ve heard more than a few stories about young people with five-digit credit card debts. However, this is a large and growing movement which wants to reject credit card usage.

In a country where the average consumer owns five credit cards, Maddox may seem somewhat quaint, like an Amish farmer who drives a horse-drawn buggy. But proponents of a no-credit-card lifestyle say there’s nothing old-fashioned about their choices. And they’re convinced that their numbers will grow as consumers become increasingly disenchanted with credit card industry practices.

Credit card usage has dropped in many respects recently–a fact attested to by several statistics in the article. Whether this is a good thing or not, I’ll leave up to the reader to judge.

Everyone in America is familiar with the day “Black Friday”. Even though it immediately follows a major holiday, it is considered a holiday in many respects by many people, especially avid shoppers, coupon collectors, or bargain hunters. It is a thoroughly American end to the week–on Thursday Americans, who are known for over-eating, over-eat themselves and on Friday Americans, who are known for spending too much money on things they don’t need, go out and spend too much on things they do not need.

But to be fair, there is a major price-cutting war going on out there. This article points out the price war between BestBuy, Target, and Walmart because of CircuitCity’s recent closure. Apparently it is a lucky time to be shopping for television sets.

As nervous merchants prepare to draw reluctant shoppers with juicy sales, retail experts say some of the sweetest deals in the coming weeks will be on high-definition televisions.

As they compete for customers, TV sellers are going to wage a price war, and the biggest bargains will likely be on smaller models.