Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky revealed on Wednesday a rebrand for the room-sharing startup complete with a new corporate logo in the shape of well, its hard to say.

Along with a new website and an updated mobile app, the San Francisco company showed off the strange symbol, which it dubbed the Belo.

Airbnb is about so much more about renting rooms, Chesky said in teleconference, saying its about friendship and belonging.

Apparently, its also about branded merchandise. Like Disneyland or the Yankees, Airbnb plans to start selling T-shirts, mugs and trinkets emblazoned with the icon.

Resembling an upside down heart, the Belo was created as the universal symbol of belonging, Chesky said. When you see it you will know that you are not alone.

Airbnb is encouraging users to play around with the symbol and create their own version through a new site, Create Airbnb, where they can also buy Belo merchandise.

In addition to rental listings, the revamped website offers travel advice, including editors picks and a search service for people seeking out new destinations.

The overhaul suggests that Airbnb which just raised $500 million from investors is looking to use some of that cash to expand into travel services beyond just room rentals.

By luring people in the early stages of planning a trip, Airbnb may be setting the stage to move into airline bookings or even auto rentals.

The fast growing company has hit some major potholes on its journey.

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Airbnb unveils cryptic new logo

Weight-management services providerNutrisystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) hasn't been a great long-term investment, as evidenced by its modest price appreciation over the past five years. The company's sales growth has been hurt over that time frameby rising competition in the diet business, a trend that has hurt the fortunes of other major players in the space, including Weight Watchers International (NYSE: WTW) .

However, Nutrisystem surprised Mr. Market with a double-digit revenue increase, as well as slightly better than expected profitability, in its latest financial update. These data points led to a subsequent pop in its share price, continuing a rebound from its mid-2013 lows.So, after some good price action, does the company have more upside ahead?

What's the value?Nutrisystem is one of the major players in the diet business, primarily selling portion-controlled meals, as well as shakes and snacks, through television and online distribution channels. Like its competitors, the company has benefited from a rise in the number of people who are overweight, which the World Health Organization estimates will encompass roughly 2.3 billion people worldwide by 2015.However, turning those potential customers into buyers of its products has been harder than it would seem at first glance, resulting in a downward trajectory for Nutrisystem's top line over the past few years.

Its latest fiscal year was a continuation of the trend for Nutrisystem, as evidenced by a 9.8% decline in revenues that was a function of lower overall customer volumes.On the upside, though, the company's strategic decision to reduce promotional product giveaways improved its average product pricing.In addition, the initiation of cost savings programs, including workforce reductions, cut Nutrisystem's corporate overhead, allowing it to return to operating profitability during the period.

Looking into the crystal ballOf course, the question for investors is whether Nutrisystem can channel higher sales into profit growth, thereby creating a solid foundation for its stock price. Unfortunately, the data in that respect isn't looking great, judging by a double-digit fall in its adjusted operating profitduring its latest fiscal quarter.

Also worrisome is the performance of competitors in the diet space, like Weight Watchers International, the world's largest provider of weight-loss services.Despite a major investment in its digital capabilities, the company has been hurt by a big drop-off in its meetings-based business, where attendance declined by a double-digit percentage in its latest fiscal year.Even Weight Watchers' online business, its focus of growth, saw momentum dissipate during the period, a trend that management blamed on the proliferation of free online activity trackers and diet apps.The net result for the company was a decline in operating profit, down 7.1%.

Likewise, weight-management services provider Medifast (NYSE: MED) has seen its top-line growth slow to a trickle lately, after enjoying a more than doubling of its sales from fiscal year 2009 to 2012.While the company's overall revenues were flat in FY 2013 versus the prior-year period, its weight centers segment had a relatively poor sales performance, down 6.4%, a negative trend that has caused management to seek franchisee partners for its company-owned stores.On the plus side, the strategic shift to a franchisee model has eliminated the related overhead, improving Medifast's operating profitability and providing greater cash flow to invest in product development, highlighted by the recent introduction of its new Flavors of Home line of replacement meals.

The bottom lineMr. Market seems to like Nutrisystem's recent business developments, pushing the company's share price up more than 60% over the past 12 months. Indeed, Nutrisystem showed some sales momentum in its latest fiscal quarter, with revenues up 15.9%, something that has been absent over the past few years.That said, Nutrisystem still seems to be a work in process, given its marginal profitability,which is far belowthe operating margins of competitors like Weight Watchers International and Medifast. As such, the company is an intriguing turnaround story, but prudent investors are probably better off watching theaction from the sidelines.

Try as you might, you can't stay on the sidelines of this battleYou know cable's going away. But do you know how to profit? Right now, media companies are battling tooth and nail for a spot in your living room, as there's $2.2 trillion out there to be had for the victor. Currently, cable grabs a big piece of that. But that won't last. And when cable falters, three companies are poised to benefit. Click here for their names. Hint: They're not Netflix, Google, and Apple.

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Does Nutrisystem Have More Room to Run?

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ThinkGeek's Star Trek Phaser looks like the universe's greatest universal remote.

With the rise of smart TVs and clever gadgets, do you still need that one remote to rule them all?

A few years ago I would have said that a decent universal remote control was an essential addition to any tech-savvy lounge room, to help you escape the mountain of remotes piled up on your coffee table. Even if you know exactly how your lounge room is wired up, your loved ones shouldn't need a degree in electrical engineering just so they can turn on the television at the end of the day.

A universal remote can certainly help ease tensions, plus something like the Star Trek phaser universal remote from Think Geekwould make a classy addition to any lounge room it even makes the sound effects.

I've long been a fan of Logitech's Harmony universal remote controls, because they're highly flexible. Logitech maintains a database of thousands of AV devices, and if you get stuck the Logitech remote can actually learn the commands from your existing remotes. You can program complicated macros to configure every device in your lounge room with a single button press.

My old trusty old Logitech Harmony 785 universal remote finally gave up the ghost this week, having been knocked off the coffee table and dropped on the floor more times than I care to remember over the last seven years. It got to the point where even my kids weren't overly apologetic when the remote control hit the deck.

After all the rough and tumble it was actually a worn-out button which finally brought about my Harmony's demise. To tell the truth, I pulled it apart in an effort to mend the button and managed to "fix" it beyond repair but it was already living on borrowed time and the charge cradle was flaky. It's time had come. Unfortunately newer model Harmony remotes tend to offer fewer features than the old ones so, rather than buy a new one, I've dug up an old Harmony 525 to take the 785's place.

I wouldn't dream of living without a universal remote, because my television only has two HDMI inputs. One is hooked up to an HDMI amplifier with four HDMI sockets, and the other TV input is connected to a four-way HDMI switch.

To watch most of the devices in my lounge room you need to turn on the television and set it to the right input, then turn on the amp or switch and change it to the correct input. Next you need to find the remote for the device you actually want to watch, such as the TiVo, Blu-ray player, media centre or Apple TV. The thought of doing all this manually every time I flop down on the couch doesn't thrill me.

While a universal remote is mandatory for my lounge room, they're becoming less important in lounge rooms with all-in-one devices like smart TVs and Blu-ray players with internet access. When your devices handle more tasks, you switch between them far less often. At this point you might find the basic universal features built into the supplied remote controls are up to the job. More so if you're abandoning optical disc players and Personal Video Recorders in favour of internet video.

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Has the universal remote had its day?

Move over Jeremy Meeks. Angela Green is looking to dethrone you as sovereign of the viral mug shot.

Green made her spirited addition to this years mug shot hall of fame following her arrest Saturday for refusing to leave a Wickliffe, Ohio, hotel.

WOIO, Cleveland, reported authorities were summoned to a Quality Inn after Green refused to check out of her hotel room. She had rented the room Friday night and was supposed to leave the room by 11 a.m. Saturday.

Police say officers arrived and told Green she needed to rent the room for an additional day or leave the premises. Green then became upset with officers and refused to cooperate, officials say. They added officers discovered Green had given them a fake identity.

Though she put up a bit of a struggle, Green was placed under arrest and taken to the police station where authorities snapped Greens much-talked-about picture.

Green was charged with obstructing official business. She was later released on $354 cash bond.

The image was posted to theWickliffe Police Department's Facebook pageSaturday and has since been shared by several Facebook users. The photo hasn't received as much buzz as that of the nation's favorite handsome felon Jeremy Meeks, but with her aggressively unbothered pose, Green has definitely left her mark on this year's list of most-memorable mug shots.

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Angela Green Takes Epic 'Duckface' Mugshot After Arrest At Ohio Hotel

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The Sacramento region's biggest card room opened Thursday, offering 30 poker tables for players and an economic boost for the community.

Stones Gambling Hall is located in a 25,000 square-foot building off Antelope Road near Interstate 80.

Watch report:Citrus Heights card room brings hundreds of jobs

The building used to be home to a camping supply store, a gym and the Salvation Army, but sat vacant for eight years before the current owners bought it.

"I work right around the block, so I'll probably be coming here daily," said David Roldan, as he waited to play a hand of poker.

In addition to poker, Stones also offers blackjack, pai gow and baccarat.

Unlike Indian casinos, card rooms cannot have slot machines and players must bet against each other, not the house.

Ryan Stone, co-owner of Stones, said his business can compete against Indian casinos -- including Thunder Valley Casino, which is just 13 miles away in Lincoln.

"The Indian casinos are beautiful facilities," Stone said. "They're amazing, fantastic. We're just a neighborhood card room."

Actually, it is two card rooms with two separate licenses and two addresses. However, the two rooms are separated by just a glass wall and sliding door, and they share a restaurant and bar.

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Sac area's biggest card room opens in Citrus Heights

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