Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Some frivolous, off-topic, trivia
Even wonder where the name "Budweiser" for the beer came from. I thought it was a surname. Not so!
P.S. We should be ashamed that we downed so many of these and never knew the origin of the name.
P.P.S. I know what some of you are thinking: "That's the most intelligent thing he's posted all day" LOL!
"Today's Word "Budweis"
Budweis \BUD-vis\ (noun) - The German name of the Czech city of Ceske Budejovice.
The city of Cesky Budejovice is called "Budweis" in German so that Budweiser Beer means "beer from Budweis" in that language. The American brewery Anheuser-Busch began using the name in 1876. The problem is that the Czechs have been brewing beerwhich they called the Beer of Kingsin their town since thirsty King Premysl II Otakar (son of good King Wenceslas I) founded the city in 1245."
Source: Vocabulary, by ArcaMax.
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Formerly American brewery. It was was sold to the Belgian brewery inBev in 2008. It was the last MAJOR American owned brewery, I believe. Miller being owned by South African Breweries, and Coors being owned by Canadian-based Molsen.
ReplyDeleteThanks Me! Does anyone notice a trend of more and more significant American business becoming foreign owned. If I was in college, I'd be serious about getting a foreign language. Right now, I'd but money on Chinese. In some countries, foreigners cannot own property or businesses.
ReplyDeleteWhen American businesses become foreign owned, it's usually after weak performance. Propping up weak performers with nationalism is a prescription for disaster. Also, careful analysis of China's economy at the moment raises some extremely likely bumps in the road in the coming decade. I would choose German.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ridgway:
ReplyDeleteYou could be right, but I find it hard to believe that Budweiser is a weak performer in the U.S. I agree that the U.S. government should not prop up failing businesses. Germany might be a good choice. However, a falling birth rate has led to lots of Muslim immigration in Germany as in much of Europe. This has resulted in serious problems in other parts of Europe. Further, although German car makers are getting more mileage conscious, they are behind the U.S. and Japanese. German automakers could see decline in sales in the U.S. Of course Japans melt-down may mitigate this. Why Germany?
Ha! That comment from "Me," was, well ... me. I wondered if it just showed up that way on my screen. I think I've got it fixed now!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if you read about the events leading up to the purchase of Anheuser-Busch, it sounds like they were "bullied" into selling. InBev made an offer and A-B turned it down. Then InBev filed a suit to essentially (I believe) put the decision in the hands of shareholders instead of the A-B Board members; After which, A-B ultimately agreed to a buyout.
InBev made many promises about how A-B's operations would remain relatively the same. Since the buyout over 1,400 employees have been laid off and many benefits and programs for employees have been eliminated to increase profit margins. Not to mention insurance benefits for retirees.
These American workers suffered, while a foreign company reaped the rewards.
12:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I assume most of the shareholder votes for selling were from Americans?
"Owners of more than two-thirds of Anheuser-Busch stock voted for the deal. The 497 million shares cast in favor amounted to 96 percent of all votes cast, which Anheuser-Busch acclaimed as a strong endorsement. Some shareholders abstained from voting."
ReplyDelete---
One would have to assume that a large portion of the affirmative votes were American, but I cannot find data to support that claim.
Thanks everyone. Americans selling out an American company? Is this a great country or what?
ReplyDelete