Green Mountain Coffee Brand Offers New Vending Solution for Single-Cup Brewing

Vended K-Cup Portion Packs And Keurig Brewers Transform Coffee Vending Experience

WATERBURY, Vt.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Single-cup brewing technology is changing the way people brew and enjoy their coffee. Now coffee lovers can get a great cup of coffee in an unexpected place: a vending machine. The Specialty Coffee Business Unit of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), is offering a new full-line vending machine designed for single-cup brewing in high-traffic commercial and manufacturing environments.

The Green Mountain Coffee® branded vending machine dispenses K-Cup® portion packs and is used in conjunction with a Keurig® Single-Cup Brewer. The unit is designed for large venues that sell coffee and other beverages to employees or visitors. The new machine allows vending operators to meet the demand for high-quality coffee with an economical, low maintenance, easy-to-use, sanitary solution. Tully’s Coffee® and Caribou Coffee® branded machines will be available later this summer.

“This innovative system will make people think about coffee from a vending machine in a whole new way,” says T.J. Whalen, Vice President of Marketing for GMCR’s Specialty Coffee Business Unit. “With its value proposition of quality, variety and convenience, this unit brings a coffeehouse experience to vending locations.”

The Green Mountain Coffee vending unit holds more than 1,000 K-Cup portion packs. Operators can choose to offer up to 12 product selections from more than 60 coffees, teas, and hot cocoa in K-Cups from GMCR’s family of brands, including Green Mountain Coffee®, Tully’s Coffee®, Newman’s Own® Organics Coffee, Caribou Coffee®, Celestial Seasonings® Teas, and Café Escapes™. The machines are paired with Keurig’s proprietary brewing system, which delivers the proper amount, temperature and pressure of water to ensure a perfect cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa, in under one minute.

Scott Meskin, Owner and Partner of Black Tie Services, tested the new vending unit in Baltimore, MD. “It’s the new buzz,” he says. “I finally have a coffee vending machine that competes with any gourmet coffee shop. And it’s so easy! There’s no mess to clean, no cups jamming – just happy customers.”

The Green Mountain Coffee branded vending units are now available to order. For additional information, please call 800-432-4627.

About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR)

As a leader in the specialty coffee industry, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR’s operations are managed through two business units. The Specialty Coffee business unit produces coffee, tea and hot cocoa from its family of brands, including Tully’s Coffee®, Green Mountain Coffee® and Newman’s Own® Organics coffee. The Keurig business unit is a pioneer and leading manufacturer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems. K-Cup® portion packs for Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers are produced by a variety of licensed roasters, including Green Mountain Coffee and Tully’s Coffee. GMCR supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, and donating at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects. Visit www.GreenMountainCoffee.com and www.Keurig.com for more information.

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Contacts:
Green Mountain Coffee
Sandy Yusen, 866-968-2739
Director of Public Relations

KIGALI, Rwanda–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As part of its ongoing commitment to east Africa, Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) announced today that participating stores in the U.S. and Canada will offer for a limited time a selection of African coffees and other products from the region beginning next week. In addition, Starbucks executives started a four-day visit to Rwanda today and met with the local groups supplying the items for the Starbucks coffee and merchandise as well as recipients of contributions through its relationship with (PRODUCT)RED™.

Featured coffees for this summer include an East African coffee blend offered as part of Starbucks ongoing relationship with (PRODUCT)RED™. For every pound of the (STARBUCKS)RED Whole Bean Coffee sold in the U.S. and Canada, Starbucks will contribute US $1 to the Global Fund to help support AIDS programs in Africa. Stores in the U.S. and Canada will also feature a 100 percent Rwanda coffee, which is noted for its crisp and clean finish.

Included in today’s visit was the TRAC (Treatment and Research AIDS Center) center and clinic. TRAC is Rwanda’s national HIV and AIDS research center which houses the country’s busiest/most demanding HIV clinic. Starbucks senior leadership team had the opportunity to visit the clinic and learn and witness in person how the availability of antiretroviral therapy, which (RED) helps finance has help make a difference in peoples’ lives.

Also featured in Starbucks stores this summer will be merchandise created by Rwandan artisans – such as authentic African fabric tumblers and cotton canvas hand sewn totes – from Fair Winds Trading. Through our relationship with Fair Winds Trading, we are able to give our customers an opportunity to connect with a community of artisans who are working to create a better life for themselves and their families. These products are another way Starbucks is connecting our customers with the people and places that grow our coffee and investing in the success of Rwandan communities.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Coffee Company provides an uplifting experience that enriches people’s lives one moment, one human being, one extraordinary cup of coffee at a time. To share in the experience, visit www.starbucks.com.

About (RED)TM and (PRODUCT)RED

(RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT)RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children. Current partners are: American Express (U.K. only), Apple, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark, Dell, Windows and Starbucks. Since its launch in the Spring of 2006, more than $130 million has been generated by (RED) for the Global Fund. (RED) money is at work in Swaziland, Rwanda, Ghana and Lesotho. For more information, visit www.joinred.com.

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Contacts:

Starbucks Coffee Company
Lara Wyss, 206-318-7100
press@starbucks.com
or
Edelman
Meredith Bell, 323-202-1042
meredith.bell@edelman.com
or
For UK Media:
Edelman
Emma Noble, +44(0)7989 857167
Emma.noble@edelman.com

In order to make rational, successful trades, the FOREX trader needs information – lots of information. Current exchange rates are the tip of the iceberg – the trader needs historical data as well as current information about political and economic conditions that could affect currency prices. All this information is provided by many FOREX brokers on their web sites.

Successful FOREX trading relies on making accurate assessments of current political and economic conditions. Being able to predict whether a currency will fall or rise against another currency allows the FOREX trader to profit from currency movements.

There are two basic trading methods for buying and selling currencies. Reactive trading means the trader responds to changes in the political or economic climate. Speculative trading means the trader makes buying decisions based on predictions on how the market will respond to current events. While most FOREX trading is speculative, both types of trade require up-to-the-minute information and an analysis of current and historical conditions.

Traders rely on both fundamental and technical analyses. Fundamental analysis is based on news information about political conditions, economic policies, trade patterns, interest rates and unemployment rates. Technical analysis relies on historical charting to identify trends and patterns over time. Information needed for both types of analyses is available in real time on the Internet. Most online brokers offer live news feeds and streaming rates for observing minute by minute changes in the market.

All this information can help you decide which currencies to buy. More tools are available to help you minimize your risk and maximize your profits.

The Risk Probability Calculator (RPC) can be used to identify trades that have more potential gain than potential loss. The RPC can also help you target exit points to end the trade.

Pivot Points can be used to predict movements of currency prices. They are calculated as an average of the currencies high, low and closing prices. Pivot Point Calculators tell you whether prices fall in the normal trading range or extreme trading ranges.

Pip value calculators are used to tell you the value of each pip (smallest currency unit) according to various sized lots. Pip calculators can tell you the actual profit or loss that will result from movements in the FOREX.

Once a trader has decided which currency pair to trade, he logs on to his online account provided by his broker. The desired currency pair is entered and the current exchange rate appears on the screen. The amount of the trade is entered (how much currency you wish to buy). Some brokers may give you the option of specifying the amount you wish to risk. This automatically enters a ’stop loss rate’ into your order.

After the details of the trade are entered, you will be taken to a confirmation screen where you can accept the current price on screen. You may be given the option of ‘freezing’ the quoted price, meaning the price of your transaction is exactly what you see on screen without any slippage. Accept the rate and your deal is running.

Just as you can enter a ’stop loss rate’ to automatically sell the currency if it falls below a certain rate, you can enter a ‘take profit rate’ to automatically sell the currency when it reaches a certain level. If you don’t enter a ‘take profit rate’ you need to monitor the movement of the currency to decide when to close the deal and take either your profits or your losses.

There are many different stock indexes, the most common in the United States being the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NYSE Composite index, and the S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index. Stock indexes give an overall perspective about the economic health of a particular industry or stock exchange.

There are several different ways to calculate indexes. An index based solely on the price of stocks is called a ‘price weighted index’. This type of index does not take into consideration the importance of any particular stock or the size of the company. An index which is ‘market value weighted’, on the other hand, takes into account the size of the companies. That way, price shifts of small companies have less influence than those of larger companies. Another type of index is the ‘market-share weighted’ index. This type of index is based on the number of shares rather than their total value.

Index Funds

As well as giving an overall grade to a particular economy, indexes can also be an investment instrument. Mutual funds based on indexes are known as ‘passively managed mutual funds’ and have been shown to consistently outperform managed funds. Mutual funds based on an index simply duplicate the holdings where the index is based on. Thus if the Dow Jones rises by 1% the fund based on the Dow Jones also rises by the same amount. This has the advantage of lower costs for research and transactions – savings that can be passed on to the investor who participates in these funds.

The Big Indexes

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is one of the best-known indexes in the United States. It follows the stock movements of 30 of the most influential companies in America including General Electric, Coca Cola and General Motors. It is a ‘price-weighted average’ index – thus giving more influence to more expensive stocks. Some analysts feel that the price-weighting does not give an accurate picture of stock market movements and that 30 companies are not enough to form an accurate assessment.

The S&P 500 Index is based on 500 United States corporations. These companies are carefully chosen to represent a broad slice of economic activity. It is second in influence after the Dow Jones and is felt to be an accurate predictor of the state of the United States economy.

Outside of the United States the most influential index is the FTSE 100 Index. This is based on 100 of the largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is an indicator of the British economy and is one of the biggest indexes in Europe. Other important non-US indexes are the CAC 40 from France and the Nikkei 225 from Japan.

Several countries in Europe, which have now consolidated their currencies to agree on the Euro (since 1999) trade on Forex, as it is called for short. Britain, which to this point has opted to continue using the pound sterling, also takes part in international trade, as well as the United States, Japan, and Australia. Each of these countries utilizes its own currency for standard trading purposes, with options for investment in foreign currencies. Determining whether or not this is worthwhile depends on the currency conversion rate.
The value of a nation’s currency is determined by its government and federal bank (the Federal Reserve, better known as the FED, is the federal bank of the United States). Purposeful change in the rate of conversion by a government is referred to as valuation – devaluation is taking value and strength from the currency, and revaluation adds strength and purchase power to the currency. If the same change to the rate of conversion occurs naturally through events and the volatility of the market, it is then called appreciation and depreciation.

Careers In The Market

Without the assistance of professionals, it is nearly impossible to trade on the open market. Market analysts track trends in the stock market that affect the value of share holdings. They use such information and basic history to help predict the outcome of different aspects of the market in the future.

Other individuals, referred to as chartists, create charts and graphs that interpret all the data – various numbers, statistics, percentages, etc – into an easy to read candlestick chart that tracks the trends of specific commodities on the market.

A stockbroker is an individual or a company that assists you in making your investments. A broker can aid you in making smart financial decisions, helping you track your and place your orders, and following trends in the market.

A market-maker does the same job as a stockbroker, with the exception that this individual or company retains an investment in a particular variety of securities and bonds that can be sold in short order to a client for a lower price so that the client can make money by immediately selling the same shares at the higher market price.

Other individuals can assist with loans, allowing you to buy on margin. This involves the opposite approach – borrowing money to purchase a stock or security that is at a low market value so that the client can later resell the commodity at a higher price.

Protecting Your Investments

There are several ways to protect your investments. By placing limit orders, you guarantee to the best of your ability that you will not lose money on the market and virtually guarantee at least a minimal profit. However, if you change your mind about those limits, you can always place a stop order. If you leave standing instructions with your stockbroker, these are referred to as open orders that remain such until the transaction is executed and the order filled.

Try to set your limit orders just above the support levels (the lowest levels of value to which a stock can drop) and just below the level of resistance (the upper level above which it is difficult for the value of a stock to rise).

Also, set a value date – a date at which time you can take an average of the value of a particular commodity and review your options. This should be reviewed at least every six months, if you plan to retain any holdings of a particular security.

What is the advantage of a diversified portfolio? It offers protection against rapid market losses of any one particular stock. If a portfolio is spread across 20 stocks, if any one of those stocks quickly loses value the effect is less than if the portfolio consisted of that one stock by itself.

When investing it is always a good idea to diversify. The problem for small investors is that they often don’t have the funds to buy a variety of stocks. Mutual funds allow small investors to benefit from diversification with a small amount of money.

Besides stocks, mutual funds can be made up of a variety of holdings including bonds and money market instruments. A mutual fund is actually a company and investors that buy into a fund are buying shares of that company. Shares in a mutual fund are bought directly from the fund itself or brokers acting on behalf of the fund. Shares can be redeemed by selling them back to the fund.

Some funds are managed by investment professionals who decide which securities to include in the fund. Non-managed funds are also available. They are usually based on an index such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The fund simply duplicates the holdings of the index it is based on so that if the Dow Jones (for example) rises by 5% the mutual fund based on that index also rises by the same amount. Non-managed funds often perform very well – sometimes better than managed funds.

There are downsides to mutual funds. There are usually fees that must be paid no matter how the fund performs, and the individual investor has no say in which securities can be included in the fund. Also, the actual value of a mutual fund share is not known with the same precision as stocks on the stock market.

Mutual funds are often a better choice for the small investor than either stocks or bonds. They offer the diversity that provides cushion against sudden stock market movements and usually provide a greater return than bonds. Of course, mutual funds can also lose value, especially in the short term, so short term investors may be better off with bonds which offer a set rate of return.

There are three main types of mutual funds: money market funds, bond funds and stock funds. Money market funds offer the lowest risk – they consist solely of high quality investments such as those issued by the US government and blue chip corporations. Money market funds have rarely lost money, but they pay a low rate of return.

Bond funds aim to produce higher yields than money market funds and therefore carry a correspondingly higher risk. All the risks that are associated with bonds – company bankruptcy, falling interest rates – also apply to bond funds.

Stock funds usually have the greatest potential for profitable investment but also carry the greatest risk. The risk is more for short-term holders of mutual funds – stocks have traditionally outperformed other investment instruments in the long run.

There are different types of stock funds including ‘growth funds’ that attempt to maximize capital gain and ‘income funds’ that concentrate on stocks that pay regular dividends.

Mutual funds are an ideal investment for those with limited funds or investment experience. Choosing the right fund is a decision on how much risk you are willing to take against your expected return on your investment.

Investors who treat trading as a full-time job have the time to watch the market movements for signals. Oftentimes, however, signals can be automated and integrated into trading software. The investor can choose which signals to be alerted about and they will automatically appear on screen. Software signals are usually only available by subscription and some services charge hundreds of dollars a year for a complete package. This includes trading software and access to up-to-the-minute charts for the latest information about the stock market.

Investors who don’t have the time to watch the market closely can subscribe to services which publish signals on a daily or hourly basis. These services may employ market analysts who may follow several indicators to arrive at a particular signal. More commonly, however, their systems are completely automated with signals being generated by software which examines market conditions. Some of these services have a better track record than others – it’s a good idea to research them before signing up.

With any third-party signal provider it pays to know how the signals are being generated. Since there are such a large number of market indicators some of them may contradict each other. In addition, a particular indicator may send out conflicting signals depending on the time frame.

Market conditions also play an important part on the accuracy of indicators. During upswings in the market, for example, trend indicators will send out buy signals but longer-term oscillator indicators will view the market as being overbought and send out a sell signal. Generally speaking, trend indicators are most accurate during trend conditions and oscillators are best during times of transition. Both types of indicators are often in variance with the other.

To overcome these problems, try to find a signal generator that uses at least 3 market indicators for verification. Signals that are verified by 3 different indicators are strong and tend to be accurate. It is also important to look at signals from varying time frames. An upswing may simply be a short term correction and the market may afterwards continue its downward movement. Taking a broad view of market conditions allows you to see these variations more clearly.

Depending on the type of service you sign up for, signals can be delivered by email on a daily basis, available for viewing on a website, or be integrated into your trading software so that popups appear on your screen for particular signals that you are watching.

Companies which provide signals usually offer their services on a monthly basis. Some are quite expensive – as high as several hundred dollars a month. These are obviously aimed at the professional trader but other services are also available at more reasonable costs.

The value of these services has to be weighed by the individual investor. They can be a great time saver but they may also encourage laziness when it comes to analyzing the market. A knowledgeable trader should have the tools necessary to judge the effectiveness of a signal system and do some of the calculations himself to keep on top of the market.

After shoveling through piles of information and taking in so much knowledge, you probably feel like you are swimming in terminology and cannot remember just where to begin. The best way to retain knowledge is through repetition, and having a quick reference guide is never a bad idea, either. The following pages are a brief overview of the in depth discussions in this book, allowing you to quickly reference a topic in a bind.

The Basic Trade

A share is a holding of a company that varies in value based on the desire or need for that particular company’s goods or services. As a shareholder, your net worth increases and decreases based on taking a short position (selling) when values are high and a long position (buying) when prices are low. As long as the stock or security is in your possession, the change in value is considered unrealized gain or loss because you cannot measure it in liquid assets (cash).

When most commodities traded on the market are on a strong upward trend for a period of time, this is referred to as a bull market. Should value take a sharp downward swing and continue on that path, it is called a bear market. If no such trend is recognized, and the value of stocks and securities is fairly even, this is referred to as flat.

Besides the expert options described above, there are other nontraditional ways to make money on the stock market. In considering these options, however, you should consider making a career of trading stocks and securities. Some types of trading are simply not for the faint of heart, and that means you must have complete motivation and an adventurous spirit to take part in these areas of the market. The chances of taking a giant hit and experiencing a great loss are multiplied.

Day Trading

Day traders take on some of the greatest market risk of all. Because day traders work with investments that change drastically within hours, they are by nature playing in the lion’s den. These stocks are extremely volatile, and for most, day trading is a quick way to lose a great deal of money. It is difficult to make a great deal of cash in this manner, and it is even more difficult to forecast the outcome of these day trade stock options. You cannot be certain of the overnight position (the net value at which a stockbroker or day trader will open the following morning).

And in Forex, there is little room for day trading, as the market never shuts down during the workweek. In these cases, the day trader has to set a time limit for him- or herself to get out, selling all shares, so that he or she can sleep soundly while the world spins round and start the next day fresh.

Day trading is very dangerous and is not recommended to newcomers. In fact, it is not really recommended at all, and most people who partake of this volatile part of the industry are extremely seasoned in trading on the open market, do not consider the risk factors carefully enough prior to entering this branch of the market, or have enough money that they simply wish to try this form of investment and do not care if they lose a goodly sum.

Secondary Markets

Secondary markets are interesting in that they are created by the government to help redistribute money that is used for loans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are two of the major corporations from which stocks are purchased on a secondary market.

Here is how it works. When a person purchases a home, he or she requests a loan from the bank, usually for about eighty percent of the cost of the house. This is granted, and the house is purchased by the bank for the individual or family, who begins to pay off the loan to the bank.

Meanwhile, to assure that money is available at that bank for the next person who needs a mortgage loan, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, two entities originally established by the United States government, will purchase the loan from the bank. Therefore, the money is returned to the bank for use in the future.

What do these agencies then do with the deficit they have acquired? They sell it. On the secondary market, they break up the loan into shares that are backed by the mortgage itself and sell those shares, recovering the money from investors. Eventually, those securities mature, probably about the same time that the original loan is paid off to the bank, and the investors reap the benefits of their investment with the interest earned.

Another way to take advantage of a volatile international stock market is to make a swap. This is the exchange of securities or bonds in order to take advantage of lower interest rates. For example, if a business entity in Britain is in possession of one security, and another in Japan is in possession of a different security, the two commodities may be beneficially traded or sold to each other in order to save on the interest rates, if the currently held bond or security is kept at a lower interest rate in the opposing market.
For example, let’s say one business is in possession of a bond “A” that is paying out only two percent interest in its current market, and another is holding bonds “B” in its market at three percent interest. If bond A is actually paying out three percent on the foreign market, and bond B can be cashed in for four percent on the first market, both parties can make more money on a trade of bonds. They can mutually benefit from a sale of the securities to each other due to a gain of more interest.

If that seems confusing, then perhaps a swap is not in your near future. This is more often processed between businesses on the foreign market rather than individual parties, though with the correct broker, it could be accomplished. However, should you work the deal, you need know little except that you are looking at a higher profit margin than previously, and your broker will take care of the rest.

If you determine that you should have stock options as a business, you will probably decide to hire a fulltime consultant for all your financial needs, including the handling of your share holdings. In fact, when businesses are large enough and present a strong enough trading presence within the market, especially on Forex, you will find that there are entire departments dedicated to maintenance on the stock options.

What, then, becomes the next big challenge for someone trading on the open market? What keeps things from becoming monotonous and boring? First of all, there is always something new and different happening on the Foreign Exchange Market. Remember, it operates 24 hours a day, and you never know what you will find when you wake up in the morning. However, there are various ways that you can take advantage of the variance in currency conversion and a lag in time between markets that can affect trading values.

Arbitrage

There are some commodities that are traded in multiple currencies on multiple markets on Forex. Although computers have made worldwide communication almost lightning fast these days, all of these markets can trade together with fairly equivalent values for the securities shared across currencies.

However, the system is not perfect, and the value may rise or fall in one country and currency prior to the same change in value reaching across another border. Seasoned traders have learned to take advantage of this lag in the market trending by using a process called arbitrage. In this transaction, you purchase the particular stock or security on the market with the lower price while simultaneously selling the same in a market where the value is higher. The process is a bit complex, so we will use an example. Let’s say that one U.S. dollar is equivalent to .5 British pounds, meaning that everything is going to be twice as expensive in British pounds.

Now, let’s take a look at the price of a stock that is traded on both markets. If they were equivalent, then the stock would trade for two dollars in the United States and one pound in Britain. However, if something happens and the stock value drops in Britain, it is six hours ahead of the United States, and this drop may not hit the American market immediately.

If the value of the stock drops in Britain to .8 pounds, the purchase price is now below that of the price in dollars due to the currency conversion. In this case, arbitrage would take place when you bought shares of the stock in on the British market in pounds and sold it on the U.S. market in dollars, benefiting by the slow communication of the fall in value of the stock. In effect, you will make $.40 per stock.

Volatility of Currency Conversion

Another way to take advantage of the ever-shifting value of each individual currency is to trade based on the changing rates. What exactly does this involve? You must closely watch the changing conversion rates. When a currency conversion rate changes drastically, it is time to make a move. This is very similar to arbitrage, but the area is much riskier due to high volatility. For instance, if you have purchased a stock in the scenario above on the U.S. market for two dollars a share, and suddenly the British pound gains value, dropping to a conversion of only half a pound for every two dollars, you would want to sell your shares on the British market because the value of a pound is higher and now has greater purchasing power.

One piece of advice to keep in mind, though, is that it is best to immediately dispose of all liquid assets in foreign currency, usually in the same day. This is referred to as tomorrow next because it takes two to three business days for foreign currency to be delivered, and by exchanging the currency for value in stocks on the same business day, you avoid having to take delivery of the currency altogether.