Nike yanks T-shirts in wake of bombing

Nike yanks T-shirts in wake of bombing

NEW YORK

Nike Inc. says it has pulled from the market T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Boston Massacre” in the aftermath of last week’s bombing during the Boston Marathon that killed three people and left dozens injured.

The athletic company, based in Portland, Ore., said Monday that it took immediate action last week to remove the products. The shirts were sold primarily at its factory-store outlets.

The shirts, which featured blood-splattered lettering, were designed for New York Yankees fans.

The “Boston Massacre” phrase has been used to describe a pivotal late- season sweep by the Yankees of the rival Boston Red Sox in 1978. That season culminated in a World Series championship for the Yankees.

Netflix’s subscriber gains catapult stock

SAN FRANCISCO

Netflix’s move to compete against traditional cable-TV channels with original programming is pulling in more subscribers to its Internet video service and winning back investors who doubted the company’s ability to develop distinctive entertainment.

The skepticism dissipated Monday with the release of Netflix’s financial results for the opening three months of the year.

The first-quarter numbers showed Netflix Inc. added 2 million U.S. subscribers from January through March — hitting the top end of the target set by the company’s management. The growth left Netflix with 29.2 million U.S. subscribers to an $8-per-month service that streams movie and TV shows to Internet-connected devices.

Those first-quarter gains, coupled with signs that Netflix’s profit margins are widening, delighted investors. The company’s stock soared $42.54, or 24 percent, to $216.91 after the results came out. If the stock rallies similarly today, it will mark the first time Netflix’s stock has topped $200 in 19 months.

NYC would raise age for buying tobacco

NEW YORK

No one under 21 would be able to buy cigarettes in the city under a proposal unveiled Monday to make it the most-populous place in America to set the minimum age that high.

Extending a decade of moves to crack down on smoking in the nation’s largest city, the measure aims to stop young people from developing a habit that remains the leading preventable cause of death, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said as she announced the plan. Eighty percent of the city’s smokers started lighting up before they were 21, officials say.

But the proposal may face questions about its effectiveness and fairness. A retailers’ representative suggested the measure simply would drive younger smokers to neighboring communities or corner-store cigarette sellers instead of city stores, while a smokers’- rights advocate called it “government paternalism at its worst.”

Associated Press