Cause and effects: Baton Rouge-based Composite Effects, or CFX, says it has entered into an agreement with Marvel Entertainment to produce silicone masks of popular Marvel characters such as Venom, Hulk and Captain America. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “We have all been inspired by and grew up with Marvel characters, so this partnership is especially meaningful to us,” says CFX Chief Creative Officer Diana Branton in a prepared statement issued today. The masks, some of which have already been released and others of which are forthcoming, are clearly not toys: they carry a suggested retail price ranging from around $400 to $700 each.
On the homefront: Louisiana small business executives remain significantly more confident about the local economy than the national economy, at least according to the latest Market Pulse Survey from Capital One. The third-quarter survey, released today, shows the gap between optimism in the local economy (73%) and national economy (43%) widened during the quarter. According to other survey data, 44% of Louisiana small business owners say their sales have risen in the past six months, representing a six percentage point increase since the first quarter, while 32% of owners say their sales have remained the same. Capital One issues the survey of small business executives biannually.
Gesundheit!: If you haven’t gotten a flu shot yet, you might want to consider getting one. According to Walgreens’ new Flu Index, released today, Louisiana is the top state for influenza outbreaks in recent weeks and Baton Rouge is said to have the nation’s sixth-highest rate of flu cases among all midsize and large metro areas. New Orleans is said to have the second-highest rate of cases, second only to the Brownsville, Texas, metro area. See the complete Flu Index.
