Mattel’s Kahlo doll in dispute
MEXICO CITY — Toymaker Mattel was in a dispute Thursday with a distant relative of the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo over rights to a Frida Barbie doll released as part of the company’s Inspiring Women series.
Kahlo’s great-niece Mara de Anda Romeo said Mattel doesn’t have the rights to use Kahlo’s image.
Pablo Sangri, a lawyer for de Anda Romeo, said his client doesn’t seek money but wants Mattel to talk about redesigning the doll.
“We will talk to them about regularizing this situation, and by regularizing I mean talking about the appearance of the doll, its characteristics, the history the doll should have to match what the artist really was,” Sangri said.
Critics complain the doll doesn’t reflect Kahlo’s heavy, nearly conjoined eyebrows, and they say its costume doesn’t accurately portray the elaborate Tehuana-style dresses the artist wore.
That is, it’s more Barbie-like than Frida-like. Barbie is an American icon that has often been criticized as promoting an unrealistic body image and consumerist lifestyle. Kahlo was a lifelong communist who died in 1954 before the doll was introduced.
Mattel said in a statement that it worked with the Panama-based Frida Kahlo Corp., “which owns all the rights.”
U.S. mortgage rates move up to 4-year high
WASHINGTON — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates climbed this week to their highest average in more than four years.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed to 4.46 percent this week from 4.43 percent last week. The average rate on 15year fixed-rate loans rose to 3.94 percent from 3.90 percent.
Kroger’s outlook disappoints Wall Street
Kroger’s fourth-quarter profit soared 70 percent, mainly due to a large tax benefit. But its stock dropped 12 percent Thursday after it gave a disappointing earnings outlook as it spends more to compete with Amazon.
Grocers have been racing to boost their digital efforts, especially since Amazon acquired grocer Whole Foods and its 470 stores last year.
So far, the online retailer has cut prices on some Whole Foods items and recently began offering free two-hour delivery in six cities, with plans for a nationwide rollout. Kroger offers delivery and online ordering-and-pickup in some stores; it said Thursday that digital sales jumped 90 percent in 2017 from the year before.
Two banks giving disaster recovery grants
Allegiance Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas plan to award $382,000 in disaster recovery grants Friday to help with Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts.
Executives from the banks will present checks at 10 a.m. at Deluxe Theatre, 3303 Lyons Ave. in the Fifth Ward. The funds will benefit 32 Houston homeowners, seven businesses and three community groups, the banks said.
Uber co-founder establishing investment fund
Travis Kalanick, the former chief executive and co-founder of the ride-hailing company Uber, has announced his next venture: an investment fund.
The announcement answers lingering questions about what the brash tech entrepreneur would take up after his tumultuous departure from Uber.
“Over the past few months I’ve started thinking about what’s next,” Kalanick wrote in a tweet Wednesday evening. “I’ve begun making investments, joining boards, working with entrepreneurs and non-profits. Today I’m announcing the creation of a fund called 10100 (pronounced ‘ten-one-hundred’), home to my passions, investments, ideas and bigbets.”
Kalanick said his investments will center on large-scale job creation.
Houston sending entrepreneurs to SXSW event
Houston is sending its entrepreneurial movers and shakers to SXSW to promote the city's startup community and build relationships that could help lure those lucrative venture capitalists.
The South by Southwest event begins Friday in Austin.
Two of the city's entrepreneurial organizations, Station Houston and Houston Exponential, have teamed up to create #HOUSxSW. The weeklong campaign will bring 22 influencers and innovators to Austin, where they'll overlap with the conference's Interactive, Film, Music and Convergence tracks.
In addition to mingling and networking, the campaign is renting a house in the South Congress area where Houstonians can meet with investors, clients and collaborators during pop-up pizza parties or other spontaneous events.