Business Digest || Starbucks expands big-drink rollout

Starbucks expands big-drink rollout

NEW YORK

The bigger-is-better concept seems to be striking a chord among some Starbucks customers.

Starbucks will begin a phased-in nationwide rollout today of its Trenta cup size that can be filled with just shy of a quart’s worth of iced beverages such as coffee, tea and lemonade.

Starbucks Corp. says Trenta, which means 30 in Italian, will be 31 ounces and cost about 50 cents more than the 20-ounce Venti size.

The new cups will be introduced today in 14 states: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona.

California residents will be able to buy them beginning Feb. 1, and the nationwide rollout should be complete by May 3.

The expansion comes after the chain tested the 31-ounce cup in several markets last year, including Phoenix, Tampa, Fla., and Atlanta.

Goldman limits Facebook offering

NEW YORK

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has prohibited U.S. investors from participating in a private offering expected to raise up to $1.5 billion for social networking site Facebook, citing widespread media coverage that could run afoul of securities guidelines.

The investment bank said Monday it decided to restrict the fund to prospective shareholders in Asia and Europe because it determined that the news coverage could be inconsistent with the laws that govern private placements.

In a statement, Goldman Sachs said it made the decision on its own and “believes this is the most prudent path to take.”

Although Goldman Sachs did not specify which laws it was concerned about, the Securities and Exchange Commission has guidelines that regulate the amount of solicitation and publicity that is allowed in connection with a private placement.

Oil flows again in Alaska pipeline

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Oil began flowing again Monday through the trans-Alaska pipeline after workers installed a pipe to bypass a leak at a pump house station on the North Slope.

Alyeska Service Pipeline Co. said it hoped to increase the amount of oil in the 800-mile pipeline to 500,000 barrels during the next 24 hours.

The pipeline was carrying about 630,000 barrels a day before the leak was discovered Jan. 8 in an underground pipe encased in concrete.

The pipeline delivers about 13 percent of the nation’s daily domestic oil production to tankers for West Coast delivery.

The oil began flowing again after crews completed a 157-foot bypass.

Associated Press