Bacardi Americas’ headquarters has officially opened for business in Coral Gables, Florida. The move, which consolidates 300 employees previously dispersed over 7 buildings, represents a step towards a more efficient and green-friendly future for the family owned spirits company. The state-of-the-art office building was opened on Thursday, February 4, for which Coral Gables Mayor Don Slesnick was on-site to, officially, declare Bacardi Day.

“South Florida has been our home for more than forty years, and it’s exciting to accomplish our goal of uniting all employees previously spread throughout seven different buildings under one roof,” said John P. Esposito, president and CEO of Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. “Working out of this new location will further strengthen our collaboration, communications, cross-functionality and teamwork to continue to market the most recognized and top-selling spirits in the United States.”

The 15 story, 230,000 square-foot complex is the largest built in Coral gables in many years and boasts the latest IT infrastructure; including voice over IP telephone calls, faster access to Internet-based services, collaboration tools, and rich media intranets, to name a few.

On Tuesday, Toyota Motor Corp. said that hundreds of thousands of Priuses currently in use will be recalled to prevent floor mats from pinning down the gas pedal. However, according to Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons, the recall hasn't yet been issued because Toyota "hasn't developed the remedy yet."

In November 2009, the automaker recalled several models, including the Toyota Camry and Avalon, as well as the Lexus ES sedan in order to reshape the floor and gas pedals to prevent unsecured or poorly fitting floor mats from entrapping the pedal in an open position. As a part of that recall, Toyota now says that Prius hybrids from model years 2004 to 2009 will be recalled in the future to address the same problem.

Toyota is advising owners of those Priuses which fall in those model years to remove their floor mats in the meantime. From the 2004 to 2009 model years, Toyota sold 745,000 Priuses.

Gatorade was one of the first sponsors to drop Tiger Woods, and one of the last to admit it. Little more than a week after Woods infamous Thanksgiving Day altercation with his wife that involved him running out of the house and crashing his car into a tree and a fire hydrant, and the subsequent string of women who came forth admitting to affairs with him, Gatorade announced that they would be discontinuing their Tiger Woods Focus Gatorade line.

At the time, Gatorade said that the decision to end the Tiger Woods line of drinks was made prior to the crash and the National Enquirer story that broke the story of his affair with NYC party girl Rachel Uchitel. The timing was certainly more than suspect.

In early December, despite speculation that Gatorade was distancing themselves from the fallen star, the company assured us that all was fine, stating:

"We made the decision several months ago... our relationship with Tiger continues."

WIth another few months to think it over, Gatorade has apparently decided to finally admit what we all knew back in December -- that they no longer want to be associated with Tiger Woods.

A representative for Gatorade said:

Starbucks launched oatmeal as a breakfast offering in 2008 and it quickly became one of their top-selling breakfast food. Hoping to take a bite from Starbucks, McDonalds is now hopping on the oatmeal bandwagon and has begun offering oatmeal on their breakfast menu at restaurants in Washington D.C. and Baltimore.

McDonalds maple brown sugar oatmeal sells for $1.99, and is topped with apples, raisins, and cranberries and is blended with cream. The oatmeal has only 260 calories and 4 grams of fat.

A spokesperson for McDonalds said that oatmeal has bene "well-received by customers", but that the company has not yet decided whether to expand the test to other markets or offer the item nationwide on its menus.

Little Brownie Bakers, makers of the delicious Girl Scout Cookies, are recalling batches of Lemon Chalet Crèmes cookies. While the company says that the cookies are safe to eat, they are not up to quality standards.

The recall was prompted by complains that the cookies had an odd smell and an off-taste. No other Girl Scout Cookies were affected.

The company posted a press release, which said that they found no traces of bacteria:

“Certain lots of Lemon Chalet Crème cookies contain oils that may be breaking down which can result in an off taste and smell. We determined that while the cookies are safe for consumers to eat, they are not up to our quality standards.”

Each box of cookies has a code on the bottom. The affected batches are labeled: 7455881, 7455882, 7455883, 7456741, 7456742, 7456743, 7457661, 7457662, 7457663, 7458521, 7458522, 7458523, 7459401, 7459402, or 7459403.

Refunds can be requested by calling the Little Brownie Bakers at 800-962-1718.

Verizon has been sued in a class action case by the Cleveland, OH, based law firm Goldman Scarlato & Karon, who accuses the telecommunications company of illegally charging phantom data fees. The case was filed in a New Jersey federal court on Friday, and echoes allegations that Verzion has randomly charged customers with regular cellphones $2 for data that they never used.

The exact demands of the lawsuit have not yet been revealed, but the suit would compensate any Verizon customer who could prove that they saw the fees on their bills.

Publicly, Verizon has denied charing its customers the extra fees and claims that customers were not being truthful, stating that it does not charge customers for accidentally launching into its portal website. This contradiction between what subscribers are reporting has led to an FCC inquiry into the necessity of many cell carrier charges.

After General Motors failed to sell its Hummer SUV line of vehicles to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., the company announced Wednesday that it will shutter Hummer. GM has unsuccessfully been trying to unload the Hummer brand for more than a year now.

GM and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery had been planning to close a $150 million deal in January, but the sale was delayed while the two companies awaited approval by the Chinese government. Now, the deal is dead in the water.

John Smith, GM's vice president of corporate planning and alliances said:

"We are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances. GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner."

While Hummer will cease to exist in the very near future, GM will contiue to honor Hummer warranties and provide service and parts for the SUVs.

With so many auto insurance companies claiming to be the best, it’s difficult to know which one to choose. Here are five important questions to ask before signing on with any car insurance company.

1) What type of coverage do I need?

There are four big ones to ask about.

• Personal coverage: This includes medical coverage and compensation of lost wages for the policyholder and his or her passengers.
• Collision coverage: This coverage will pay for the repair or replacement of your vehicle in case of an accident.
• Comprehensive coverage: This includes coverage in case of a natural disaster or theft.
• Uninsured motorist coverage: This coverage will help if you’re in an accident with someone who is uninsured. If they are uninsured or do not have enough coverage to pay for you, this insurance coverage will pay for your repairs. Also included in this coverage is a hit and run.

2) What discounts are available?

According to new documents just recently shared with congressional investigators, Toyota officials claimed to have saved the automaker $100 million by successfully negotiating with the government on a limited recall of floor mats in some Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Translation: by delaying the investigation of defects and slowing down other industry requirements, Toyota was able to save a large sum of money.

The automaker's greed, however, has come back to haunt them as an investigation into the company continues.

In an internal presentation in July 2009 at its Washington office, Toyota said it saved $100 million or more by negotiating an "equipment recall" of floor mats involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in September 2007. The savings are listed under the title, "Wins for Toyota - Safety Group."

The document also cites millions of dollars in other savings realized by delaying safety regulations, avoiding defect investigations, and slowing down other industry requirements. It also appears to show that Toyota put profits ahead of consumer safety, and urged regulators to narrow the scope of recalls.

Burger King executives announced Tuesday that the country's No. 2 burger chain will begin adding Starbucks Corp.'s Seattle's Best Coffee to all of its U.S. restaurants in a phased roll-out that will begin this summer.

Such a move clearly takes a page from rival McDonalds Corp.'s book, which has seen success with its McCafe line-up of coffee drinks that have been credited with boosting its performance. It also throws an interesting new twist into the coffee wars, as McDonalds' ads have been taking aim at Starbucks.

John Schaufelberger, senior vice president of BK's global product marketing and innovation, said that improving the company's breakfast business is amongst its "top strategic priorities, and added that:

"We'll be delivering a better cup of coffee."

More than 7,000 Burger King restaurants will begin to sell the coffee, as well as iced varieties that will come with a choice of plain, vanilla, or mocha falovrs and whipped toppings. The drinks will be sold all day, and while prices will be set by franchise owners, the suggested prices will range from $1 to $2.79.