Olive Garden, Red Lobster opposition to Obamacare backfires

Candice Choi and Michelle Chapman, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - After new ad campaigns touting the quality of its food failed to spark sales, the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster is retooling its strategy to attract diners with more promotional deals...

L.A. Reid leaves 'The X Factor,' will focus on record label

Marquise Francis

theGRIO REPORT - Music mogul L.A. Reid will not be returning to be a judge on the hit show The X Factor. Instead, Reid, 56, says he will focus on his role of chairman of Epic Records...

Do minority banks still matter?

Ann Brown, Madame Noire Business

Besides the recession, other experts say minority banks are failing because they aren’t needed.

Wal-Mart, Target employees' plight saps fun out of Black Friday

Shartia Brantley

theGRIO REPORT - The holiday shopping creep may delight some bargain shoppers who are on the hunt for a great deal, but some employees of retail giants such as Target and Wal-Mart are not happy...

Twinkie maker Hostess reaches the end of the line

Candice Choi and Tom Murphy, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of iconic childhood treats including Ding Dongs, Wonder Bread and Drakes, is winding down its operations...

What's next for 'Sesame Street' star Kevin Clash?

Shartia Brantley

theGRIO REPORT - Many questions remain. What impact will this have on the Elmo brand and sales as we enter the holiday shopping season? How will this impact Mr. Clash’s job?...

Mainstream marketers accused of ignoring blacks on social media

Kimberly Maul, Madame Noire Business

Despite all of this, only 54 percent of US marketers are using new media tools — social media, video and mobile, among others — to target black consumers, according to the ANA’s survey. Nearly all marketers, 88 percent, said they were targeting Hispanic customers.

Pastors to fight black-run banks foreclosing on black churches

Tonya Garcia, Madame Noire Business

A group of Los Angeles pastors are protesting the foreclosure proceedings on a number churches, to be executed by a black-owned bank that was created to serve a once-segregated black population.