Latest news with #Schweppes
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Fed-up voters ‘baffled' over who to vote for in upcoming crunch Scots by-election
With just days to go voters say they have no clue who to support POLL POSITION Fed-up voters 'baffled' over who to vote for in upcoming crunch Scots by-election Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FED-UP voters say they still don't know who to back just days before a crucial by-election that could shape the 2026 Holyrood poll. Constituents preparing to cast their ballots in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse on Thursday told of a loss of trust in politicians — and a weariness at how often they're called to vote. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 10 Bookies say the by-election is a three-horse race 10 Opticians manager Elizabeth Stewart, 70, says people are tired of voting 10 Machine operator George Melrose, 51, says the constituency needs investment but doesn't trust any of the candidates to deliver it 10 Elizabeth Corcoran, 71, a retired Schweppes drinks factor worker, is not impressed by any of the parties It comes as the SNP bids to hold on to the seat — vacant following the tragic death of Christina McKelvie, their MSP for the area since 2011. Scottish Labour insists it is a straight fight between their candidate Davy Russell and the Nats' Katy Loudon for victory. However, Nigel Farage's Reform UK hopeful Ross Lambie has been installed as second favourite by bookmakers as the party seeks to make inroads ahead of the Holyrood election in 11 months time. With all seemingly to play for, The Scottish Sun on Sunday visited Hamilton to canvass locals' views. Elizabeth Stewart, 70, manager at the town's McMenamin Opticians, said: 'People are despondent and disengaged from the process. 'There's too many votes and elections and nothing to show for them. 'Politicians promise the earth but never deliver. 'No MSP has ever came into our shop to ask how we are doing. 'It's very difficult for independent businesses here now because there's so little to bring them into town.' Ex-Schweppes drinks factory worker Elizabeth Corcoran, 71, said: 'I'm not confident any party can bring real change here. Moment John Swinney is heckled by Reform UK campaigners as FM breezes past warring activists heads of Hamilton by-election "I really don't think any of them are very good. 'The issues here are huge, there's no jobs, nothing for kids and the town centre is falling apart.' Machine engineer George Melrose, 51, weighed in: 'We need more jobs and money put into our town centre. "It doesn't matter who gets in, it will make no difference.' Carer Lara Bosa, 38, who settled in Hamilton after arriving from Nigeria, said: 'This isn't a bad place to live. It's safe and the people are nice. 'But the roads are a mess and there needs to be improvements with the health service.' Lollipop man John Hamilton, 48, said: 'I'd like to see a focus on reforming welfare and improving the health service because it's a nightmare trying to see a doctor.' And John Daly, 65, a former heating and venting engineer, called for an SNP win. He said: 'We're an oil-rich nation, with natural resources like wind and wave power, so cutting bills should be a priority. 'I couldn't vote Labour now because taking money from old and disabled people is despicable.' Around 61,000 voters are being asked to choose between ten candidates. First Minister John Swinney initially said the election was a three-way battle among the SNP, Labour and Reform. But days later he claimed it would come down to a 'straight contest' between his party and Mr Farage's. However, the voter fatigue signalled by residents suggests there may be no clear front-runner. Mark Diffley, of research and insights firm Diffley Partnership, said: 'Like many across the country, voters in Hamilton are feeling scunnered, making the upcoming by-election difficult to predict. 'While this may result in a low turnout, this is an extremely important test of public opinion, less than a year before the Scottish Parliament election next May. 'The SNP are defending a majority of around 4,500 from 2021 and will feel the most confident, if not overwhelmingly, of winning. 'The great unknown will be the performance of Reform UK, particularly in relation to whether it can capture enough Labour voters to finish ahead of them. 'This would simultaneously damage Labour and help the SNP, by fragmenting the pro-union, anti-independence vote further.' Labour has taken over an empty shop in Hamilton town centre but it appeared quiet when we visited. Candidate Mr Russell was spotted taking a break from canvassing to attend a church's indoor curling club with party boss Anas Sarwar. Mr Russell said he had knocked on 'thousands of doors'. He said: 'I don't know where you've been asking people but if you actually get into the schemes and the housing estates, there are definitely significant numbers of the undecideds voting for myself.' And Mr Sarwar said: 'Nigel Farage can't solve the NHS crisis in Scotland, he can't sort investment in Hamilton town centre, he can't save the neonatal unit at Wishaw Hospital. "He probably doesn't even know where Hamilton is.' Yesterday Mr Swinney and Mr Sarwar were in the area to drum up support for their candidates. Mr Farage is expected to visit the constituency, and also Aberdeen, tomorrow in his first campaigning in Scotland for a decade. Ex-drugs and alcohol policy minister Ms McKelvie died aged 57 in March after a long battle with breast cancer. 10 Mum Lara Bose, 38, wants more cash put into the NHS 10 Lollipop man John Hamilton, 48, wants the new MSP to cut health service waiting times 10 Ex-heating engineer John Daly, 65, says action must be taken to cut energy bills 10 Reform UK candidate Ross Lambie believes his party can make inroads in Scotland Credit: GETTY IMAGES 10 Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has backed local man Davy Russell to win
The Age
5 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Haymarket's revamped Paddy's Markets vowed to be a first-rate food hub. Did it deliver?
According to Hay St Market's website, the hub is all about 'eats, treats, beets, meats' and 'sweets'. Either the marketing team is especially excited about the root vegetables on offer or it meant to write 'beats'. A jazzpop- electro-doof soundtrack is incessant, but makes little sense with whatever Dad and Dave vibe they're trying to create around the Traders Bar area with its recycled lumber, wooden Schweppes crates and vintage scales. For reasons beyond speculation, there are also old Encyclopaedia Britannicas strewn around the bar. Who's reading 'Volume 12: Hydrozoa to Jeremy, Epistle Of' with their Jansz Cuvée? Management should research the City of Sydney's recycling guidelines instead. There are plenty of bins (and a lot of disposable cutlery and boxes), but I haven't found any receptacles to separate cans, plastic and cardboard. Even Westfield has recycling bins for PET's sake. I have, however, been served a very good martini on three occasions at Traders, which is stocked with some decent booze. You can then take that martini to The Fish + Chippery and down it with thick chips of noble crunch fried in beef tallow. They're not just the best thing I've eaten across six visits to Hay St Market, they're some of the best chips in town. I'll also bat for the vibrant pho at Luke Nguyen's noodle store, even if you can get twice the amount for the same price at many restaurants nearby. Wan Chai Wok's chow fun with shaggy, soy-seasoned beef is totally fine, as are most of Thomas Hay Bakery's pastries. The cannoli shop's cannoli do the job; barbecued Skull Island prawns at Little Midden have long savoury flavour; Scoop & Sons knows what it's doing with gelato.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Haymarket's revamped Paddy's Markets vowed to be a first-rate food hub. Did it deliver?
According to Hay St Market's website, the hub is all about 'eats, treats, beets, meats' and 'sweets'. Either the marketing team is especially excited about the root vegetables on offer or it meant to write 'beats'. A jazzpop- electro-doof soundtrack is incessant, but makes little sense with whatever Dad and Dave vibe they're trying to create around the Traders Bar area with its recycled lumber, wooden Schweppes crates and vintage scales. For reasons beyond speculation, there are also old Encyclopaedia Britannicas strewn around the bar. Who's reading 'Volume 12: Hydrozoa to Jeremy, Epistle Of' with their Jansz Cuvée? Management should research the City of Sydney's recycling guidelines instead. There are plenty of bins (and a lot of disposable cutlery and boxes), but I haven't found any receptacles to separate cans, plastic and cardboard. Even Westfield has recycling bins for PET's sake. I have, however, been served a very good martini on three occasions at Traders, which is stocked with some decent booze. You can then take that martini to The Fish + Chippery and down it with thick chips of noble crunch fried in beef tallow. They're not just the best thing I've eaten across six visits to Hay St Market, they're some of the best chips in town. I'll also bat for the vibrant pho at Luke Nguyen's noodle store, even if you can get twice the amount for the same price at many restaurants nearby. Wan Chai Wok's chow fun with shaggy, soy-seasoned beef is totally fine, as are most of Thomas Hay Bakery's pastries. The cannoli shop's cannoli do the job; barbecued Skull Island prawns at Little Midden have long savoury flavour; Scoop & Sons knows what it's doing with gelato.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
4 Reasons to Buy Coca-Cola Stock Like There's No Tomorrow
This company's products are consistently marketable in any and all economic environments. The market tends to reward safe havens like Coca-Cola when other kinds of companies may pose above-average risk. While not exactly cheap, analysts still say this ticker is underpriced. 10 stocks we like better than Coca-Cola › Are you worried the market could still run right back into a tariff-induced headwind, but you also feel like you're running the risk of missing out on more gains? If so, you're not alone. Plenty of people are confused by the mixed messages stocks are currently delivering. There is a solution. That is, limit your options to names that are apt to perform well regardless of the economic or market environment. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) fits this bill nicely right now for four reasons, two of which aren't even specific to the company's business, but are instead linked to the bigger backdrop. You know the company. Coca-Cola is of course the planet's best-selling cola. The name has been so popular for so long, in fact, that it's been woven into the fabric of the global culture. Indeed, branding consultancy Interbrand says Coca-Cola is 2024's seventh-best global brand, right behind Toyota and right in front of Mercedes. That's a big deal simply because so many consumers now buy the product out of habit without really worrying about price. The Coca-Cola Company isn't just its namesake cola, though. Gold Peak tea, Powerade sports drink, Minute Maid juices, Schweppes ginger ale, Dasani water, and several other beverages are all part of the Coca-Cola family, and the company's worked similar marketing magic for all of them. These are all also household names, making them the go-to option out of habit even when most households are pinching pennies. Coca-Cola stock offers investors something far more specific, however, that matters all the time -- and especially matters in uncertain environments. That's a reliable dividend. Sure, its forward-looking yield isn't enormous at 2.8%. The percentage yield itself isn't the only detail to consider, though. Dividend growth is also important, in terms of size and frequency. Coca-Cola is solid by both standards. February's 5.2% year-over-year improvement in its quarterly per-share payout marks the 63rd consecutive year Coca-Cola's dividend payment has been raised. There's no end in sight to the streak either, as this company can consistently afford to pay its dividend from its earnings. Now's also the right time to plow into Coca-Cola stock simply because you need a little additional safety at this point in time, and Coca-Cola provides it. Other investors are even willing to pay a bit of a premium to get it -- as they should, in light of how well-shielded this company is from tariff-prompted headwinds. See, unlike many American companies, this one doesn't make much of its own products. It punts this work to third-party bottling partners who handle these duties so it can focus on what it does best. That's marketing and branding. Its network of bottlers also does this work in (or at least near) the countries where these goods will ultimately be consumed, so there's actually very little cross-border shipping going on to tax or tariff. The company's biggest border-related headache is simply repatriating profits generated overseas -- not exactly the worst of problems to have. Finally, while this stock defied the odds back in February by rallying when most everything else was sinking, it's not made any actual forward progress since then, suspiciously stopping right around August's record high of $72.57. This suggests investors may fear Coca-Cola shares are bumping into a psychological ceiling even if they deserve to be priced higher. Take a step back and look at the longer-term trend, though. This ticker's been making reliable forward (even if a bit erratic) progress for well over a decade now, shrugging off a wide range of potential stumbling blocks. Yet it's still well below analysts' consensus price target of $79.50, the majority of whom still rate Coca-Cola stock as a strong buy. The point is, even if the average amateur investor doesn't see it right now, the professional stock-pickers largely all agree that this ticker's stagnation since March doesn't make sense. The crowd may start to agree sooner than later, rekindling this stock's bigger-picture rally as a result. This isn't the only worthy name to buy right now, of course, nor is right now the only good time to buy this one -- Coca-Cola is a perennial winner even if it's not a high-growth stock. You could always do worse. But if you're looking for a smart forever holding to buy that will help your portfolio weather the looming unknown we're currently facing, this simple but reliable choice is a great one for almost any investor. Don't overthink it. Before you buy stock in Coca-Cola, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Coca-Cola wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $804,688!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 957% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 167% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 James Brumley has positions in Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 4 Reasons to Buy Coca-Cola Stock Like There's No Tomorrow was originally published by The Motley Fool
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Major fizzy drink brand launches its first range of canned cocktails
A major drink brand is launching its first range of canned alcoholic cocktails in the UK this April. The new line of ready-to-drink cocktails has been created by Schweppes, which is best known for making mixers like tonic water as well as other soft drinks. Called Schweppes Mix, the range boasts two flavours - Gin Twist and Paloma Bliss - which come in a 250ml can and are priced at £2.29. According to the brand, Gin Twist is a 'citrus-forward blend with a clean, refreshing finish'. Meanwhile, Paloma Bliss features a 'bold balance of grapefruit and tequila'. The new launch comes amid a slump for Schweppes, which has seen sales drop by almost 10 per cent over the past year, to £156.1 million. According to the brand, with its new drinks, it hopes to attract 'new consumers into the category with its bold taste and standout style'. It notes that 65 per cent of ready-to-drink consumption takes place at home, and adds that the cans are 'perfect for pre-party drinks', and offer an alternative to wine and Prosecco. Speaking about the new drinks, Elaine Maher, associate director for alcohol RTD at CCEP GB, said: 'Schweppes Mix is rooted in craft and credibility. 'It's a cocktail range made with the same expertise that's earned Schweppes its place behind the bar for over 200 years. 'This is a mixologist's choice, reimagined for modern drinkers – offering bold flavour combinations, premium spirits and ultimate convenience. 'Whether it's getting ready to go out or hosting friends at home, we're helping consumers serve up the perfect start to any night with confidence.' The range joins an increasingly crowded market, with most British supermarkets, as well as other drink companies, offering their own ready-to-drink cocktails including classic options like gin and tonics to martinis and margaritas. Sainsbury's for example, sells own brand RTD gin and tonics and vodka lime and sodas for £1.20 each, while also offering fancier cocktails, such as MOTH premixed margaritas, for £3.85. Ready to drink cocktails are more popular than even, but do you know how many units there are per can? Elsewhere, Altos have introduced ready-to-drink cocktail in bigger batches, offering a 750ml margarita, roughly five or six servings, in one bottle for £15. Many of these drinks contain more alcohol than people may think, with the bright packaging perhaps making consumers think the beverages have an alcohol content comparable to an alcopop such as Smirnoff Ice. So it might come as a surprise to see how many units of alcohol are contained in some of these canned cocktails. The beverages might seem innocent enough, but the units of alcohol in RTD cocktails are similar to the ones you might purchase at a bar, which can cause people to underestimate their alcohol consumption. Britons are urged not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, but how many RTD cocktails does that include? RTD beverages vary in strength, even for the same cocktail. For example, Marks and Spencer's gin and tonic has two units while Sainsbury's own brand came in lower at 1.25 units. The other cocktails on sale at Marks and Spencer's, including mojitos and martinis, also have two units, putting them on the stronger side of RTD alcoholic beverages. Upscale MOTH cocktails weren't far behind, and both their margarita and espresso martini cans had 1.9 units. White Claw's sparkling water with alcohol contained 1.5 units while Pimms had one of the lowest amounts of alcohol with 0.13 units in total. RTD cocktails that contain around two units are on the stronger side of the premixed offerings. The amount still comes in strong in comparison to non-premixed drinks that one could purchase at a bar, such as wine, beer, and a shot of tequila. Marks and Spencer's gin and tonic, for example, almost equals the amount of alcohol in a glass of champagne or a pint of lager. Meanwhile, one could consume the same amount of alcohol from an Aperol Spritz at a restaurant from a MOTH espresso martini or margarita on the go. Likewise, sipping on an espresso martini at a bar would equal the same amount of alcohol as in White Claw's alcoholic sparkling water. Meanwhile, non-premixed drinks such as margarita, double whiskey, and a white Russian, hold a much more potent alcohol content than RTD offerings. However, if one was to purchase a couple RTD cocktails, they wouldn't be far behind.
