First coffee, now beer.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Starbucks has started charging more for some coffee drinks in a few markets, including the Raleigh area, before increasing prices everywhere.
This morning, the newspaper notes that Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors plan to raise prices in most markets. The two companies account for about 80 percent of U.S. beer sales.
The companies also raised prices about the same time last year. The latest move could create an opportunity for smaller rivals and local brewers to win customers.
Despite declining beer sales, prices continue to rise faster than other consumer goods. In July, the price of beer and other malt beverages for consumption at home rose 4.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Labor Department data.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or