In brief: Starbucks raises prices for some drinks

NEW YORK – Starbucks is raising prices again starting today, with the increases ranging from 5 to 20 cents for most affected drinks, the company said. The Seattle-based company also raised prices nationally about a year ago.

A small and large brewed coffee will each go up by 10 cents in most areas of the country, Starbucks said. That would bring the price of a large coffee to $2.45 in most U.S. stores.

In an emailed statement Monday, Starbucks Corp. said the company continually evaluates pricing to “balance the need to run our business profitably while continuing to provide value to our loyal customers and to attract new customers.”

A representative for Starbucks, Lisa Passe, said the price increases are expected to impact less than 20 percent of customers. But that estimate is based on current purchasing patterns, which include more cold drinks given the warmer weather.

The price hikes mostly affect hot drinks, Passe said. That means the percentage of customers affected by the higher prices would likely rise as people start buying warmer drinks as the weather cools.

Prices are not being raised on any food items, Passe said.

Oreo Thins lower on calories, not meant to be pulled apart

NEW YORK – Oreos are getting a skinny new look, and its maker said the new cookie is a “sophisticated” snack for grown-ups that isn’t meant to be twisted or dunked.

Mondelez International Inc. said it will add Oreo Thins to its permanent lineup in the U.S. starting next week. The cookies look like regular Oreos and have a similar cookie-to-filling ratio, except that they’re slimmer. That means four of the cookies contain 140 calories, compared with 160 calories for three regular Oreos.

And since they’re for adults, Oreo said they weren’t designed to be twisted open or dunked. That’s even though about half of customers pull apart regular Oreos before eating them, according to the company.

Despite having fewer calories per serving, Mondelez said the new cookies aren’t meant to be a diet snack. Still, the “Thins” name could be a stealth way to appeal to people who want to watch their weight, without the stigma of being seen as a diet food.

Although the original Oreos started in the U.S. in 1912, Americans won’t be the first to taste the Thins. The slimmer cookies were rolled out last year in China to address the company’s tumbling cookie sales in the country.

Growth for U.S. services firms edges up slightly in June

WASHINGTON – U.S. services firms grew at a slightly faster pace in June, as business activity and new orders increased.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday its services index edged up to 56 in June from 55.7 in May. Any reading over 50 indicates that services firms are expanding.

Steady hiring over the past year has fueled a consumer spending rebound from a winter slump. Many economists say the economy will expand at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the second quarter, after shrinking during the first three months of 2015.

Still, the index’s hiring component slipped in June to 52.7 from 55.3 in May, which indicates that the rate of job growth might slow.

“This was a mixed but still decent report on the U.S. economy,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

The report corresponds with economic growth of around 3 percent annually in the second quarter, Lee said.