No more child’s play...

This spells bad news with Mattel recalling about 1.5 million toys from the US market. So kids playing with their favourite characters of Sesame Street or Dora, need to return them! This is not the first time Mattel is recalling its products. In 1998, Mattel had recalled about 10 million of its Power Wheels. There were complains that these toys had the tendency to get overheated and thus cause fire. This time the reason is toxic lead that has been used by a certain Chinese contractor in the paint job. Hence, at a whopping price of $30 million, the toy maker is asking consumers to return back its Fisher–Price toys. The metal causes various health related problems in children and at times even severe ones like brain damage. The manufacturing phase of these lead infested toys was between April 19 & July 6 this year. The toys were sold between May & August 2007 and according to Mattel estimations, about 30% of the problem toys have already reached the shelves for sale. It is not only in the US that the toys have been sold in, but also Britain, Canada & Mexico. Mattel has now decided to test various other products which have come from China to make sure that they don’t have any hazardous property. This anomaly could well be termed as the side-effects of cost savings. There is no dearth of toys in the US which are ‘Made in China’, as China provides the desired cost savings for toy companies. However, the ripple effects of the undesired recall have reached China. Many Chinese labourers are losing their jobs, as the recall has hit the Chinese labour intensive toy industry hard.

AIG bullish on Germany...
To gain a better foothold of the German insurance market, American International Group, popularly known as AIG, is buying a German casualty insurer from a private equity firm J.C. Flowers. The portfolio being bought by AIG comprises Wurttembergische und Badische Versicherungs- AG, DARAG Deutsche Versicherungsund Ruckversicherungs-AG. Major subsidiary and other minor subsidiaries are part of the deal. The insurer is tight-lipped about the deal value. The acquisition is yet to receive the regulatory and other allied approvals and is expected to close no later than late 2007.

Campbell mulls a chocolate free diet!
In the process of reviewing its portfolio, Campbell Soups Co. might sell off its premium chocolate brand, Godiva. As per Douglas Conant, President & Chief Executive, Campbell, the brand is not a good fit with Campbell’s focus on simple meals. And to lap it up, as per analysts predictions there would be no dearth of suitors. The list includes big names like Hershey Co., Cadbury Schweppes Plc., Mars Inc. & Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. (in 2002, it had already ventured in the US market but its $12.5 billion deal with Hershey bombed). Godiva contributed $500 million to the total sales pie worth more than $7.3 billion. Analysts are expecting a $1 billion price for the luxury chocolate brand.

Disney ‘Club’bing with ‘Penguin’
Club Penguin is now a property of Walt Disney after it was bought for $350 million in cash. The price may further escalate by the same amount depending upon the earnings posted by the website in the coming two years. Club Penguin is a virtual world for children where they dress, control & communicate via resident animated penguins of the icy world. Chief Executive Robert Iger hopes that this new venture would contribute significantly to Disney’s bottom line figure in the first year. Good television programme sales and increased receipts from theme parks boosted Walt Disney’s performance as it had a 4.7% increase in its net profit.

Nissan goes diesel in Japan
Nissan is all set to drive the diesel car in Japan by 2008. X-Trail Sport Utility Vehicle’s diesel version is being launched by Nissan Motors in the third largest auto market in the world. This new introduction might just revive the nearly dead diesel passenger car market in Japan. With partner Renault SA, the company is designing an engine which would meet the new emission standards in the country. In autumn, 2008, Japanese will have a local branded diesel car after many years. Mercedes- Benz E320 CDI Sedan from the stable of Daimler- Chrysler is the only other diesel passenger car on the Japanese roads. Rising gasoline prices have forced a number of consumers in the developed world to move toward diesel. Like Europe, even Japan is expected to become a high volume diesel market soon.

Samsung loses due to a ‘chip’!
A power cut has hit consumer durables company Samsung in a major way. One of its plants near Seoul had the power cut following which the company had to close down six chip production lines. Losses are expected not to cross $54.19 million. But this accident in all probability would lead to a constricted supply & a price hike. It could also entail a complete loss of total NAND flash memory chips produced in a month. Portable electronics require these chips for data storage and in the first quarter Samsung commanded a good 44% share in this market. As the electronic industry is preparing to enter the holiday gift giving season, any restricted supply is sure to hit both the company & the market hard.

Airy moves by Northwest?
The union on behalf of the pilots at Northwest Airlines Corp. agreed to a deal that seeks to avoid late-month prickles in the airline’s flight cancellations such as those seen in June & July this year. The agreement makes contractual changes on quite a few work rules pertaining to international flying & settles an outstanding complaint. In exchange, Northwest will restore premium pay of 50% for all pilots flying more than 80 hours a month. The airline said the deal was “economically neutral” with the premium- pay costs counterbalanced by the work rule changes & the grievance settlement.

Star‘bucks’ at supermarkets!
If everything goes as planned, consumers would soon be able to purchase their favourite Starbucks coffee beans, ice creams & chocolates from convenience stores & supermarkets. Considering it as a potential market, the Starbucks Corp., might take this route to increase its sales. As per Gerry Lopez, President, Consumer Products Group, Starbucks, the company is yet to optimise the potential of selling its brands to outside retailers. Last year, supermarkets and other retailers sold a whopping 25.4 million kilograms of Starbucks packaged coff ee. Th e company is mulling to make ‘Limited Reserve’ coff ee available at supermarkets throughout the US market and that includes rare coff ee beans from Asia, Latin America & Africa.

Money speaks, honey!
More money there – AT&T Inc. has further added $100 million to the $750 million that was previously budgeted for 2007 to build up its global communications network. The largest telephone firm in the United States expressed recently that it has come up with another $100 million, this was reportedly affirmed by Gopi Gopinath, AT&T president for Asia Pacific himself! The plan was predominately for the (Asia Pacific) region. The surge in investment comes after an earthquake severed undersea cables near Taiwan in December – forcing many carriers to increase spending, awarding a licence for long distance and international services in India at the end of 2006.

Pfizer aiding for an AIDS-free world...
Pfizer Inc. will now bring out a new class of oral HIV medicines after the much awaited approval from the US regulators. The drug Selzentry is the first of its kind to keep the HIV virus that causes AIDS from getting inside healthy immune cells, the ones that came before the attacking virus! It’s also known as Maraviroc, which helps block the CCR5 co-receptor serving as the main entry for the HIV virus into immune cells. This drug can be used in patients who have used other medicines and for those for whom a test has made it sure that their HIV strain is associated to the CCR5 receptor. Precisely about 50% to 60% of all patients who have been treated with other AIDS drugs meet that definition. With the advent of this new drug, life expectancy for an HIV carrier patient is expected to rise further.

Will Lenovo “Bell” European “Packard”?
PC maker Lenovo is hoping to acquire Packard Bell, a major player in the European market. If this deal gets through, Lenovo would have a strong presence in the European market place where it is having a sluggish growth presently. While Packard Bell claims to have captured the number three slot in Europe, analysts are more conservative and rank it at seventh or eighth position. The acquisition would help Lenovo get a significant presence in the mid-tier segment where it is barely visible. But then all is not honky dory, as this would also open up Lenovo to competition from big players like Dell, HP & Acer. With Lenovo still struggling with its ‘buy’ from IBM, analysts predict that the Packard Bell deal would at least be a positive step for the company & help in further boosting sales for the PC maker.

Coke showers drops of joy
Sometimes a soft drink is more than just a fizzy, sugared liquid. Sometimes it symbolises an exhilarating lifestyle or, at times, a more humane & community-engaged face of the organisation. At least, that’s how the fizzy drink maker Coca Cola wants to market itself now. Getting more fizz out of the bottle, the soft drink major has recently unleashed a brand new corporate campaign – ‘Little Drops of Joy’ – for India. Put together by Prasoon Joshi headed McCann–Erickson, the campaign ropes in emotions of denizens of this country to strengthen Coke’s position in India. The new corporate logo & communication primarily highlights the fact that Coca-Cola has been a part of every day life of its consumers and the company is going gung ho with a 360-degree communication initiative for this campaign. Further, to put a stymie against the environmental related issues & unhealthy factors, the fizzy drink maker also cashed in the particular platform to unleash its ‘5-Pillar’ strategy that stands for Portfolio, People, Planet, Partners & Performance. The strategy includes initiatives such as Coca-Cola’s plan to build an equipment testing facility at Hyderabad to ensure their commitment towards quality. The company also plans to make its product portfolio exclusively customised for India. The emphasis would now be on local tastes with a pinch of health to it.

India plays a major role in the scheme of things for both Coca-Cola & its arch rival PepsiCo. And in an effort to show its further commitment for this country and ante up its ammunition to tap the immense opportunities available, the company would also be shelling out $250 million over a period of next three years to create bottling capacities for new product offerings, along with value creation for all its business partners. Hope these little drops of joy turn out to be big for Coke.

Anil Ambanithe next Murdoch??
After picking up stake in Aaj-Tak, Anil Ambani is all set to buy himself a bouquet of channels. In the beginning he would be looking at general entertainment channels and later on plans to venture into the news channel domain as well. His company, ADAG has already tied up with Microsoft to launch IPTV services in India. Moreover, the DTH services are to be rolled out very soon. And not to mention his intentions for Adlabs which he plans to make India’s largest film distribution & cinema chain. Now with this new venture and his planned foray into mainstream entertainment channel, he is all poised to become the next media moghul of India.

DLF constructs costliest land deal
DLF creates ripples again. The construction giant has just paid a whopping Rs.16.75 billion for 38 acres of land in Delhi. This happens to be the most expensive deal in the country so far beating Unitech’s Rs.15.82 billion purchase of 300 acres of land in Noida last year. The property better known as Swatantra Bharat Mills & DCM Silk Mills was jointly owned by DCM Shriram Consolidated (DSCL) & the Lohia Group, which had an equal share in the property. After this acquisition, the realty major’s total land bank in New Delhi now stands at staggering 65 acres.

ITC’s satiating its appetite for food!!!
The Indian conglomerate ITC Ltd. has gobbled an Australian agri-biotech company – Technico Pty Ltd. However, the amount of the deal has been kept under wraps. The deal is going to strengthen ITC’s food division. The deal was implemented through the investment arm Russell Credit, a fully owned subsidiary of ITC. Technico offers mass potato supply chain management & uses the exclusive Technituber technology which is known to transform the global seed potato industry. Technico has its business spread around Canada, China, the Middle East & India and utilises this reach to source potatoes all through the year for bulk users.

Spicing up the global skies!
After the domestic airlines like Jet Airways & Indian carrying the Indian passengers to foreign destinations, next seems Spice Jet’s turn to fly abroad (of course we can’t skip Kingfisher Airlines international interests in this context). In the hope of the Indian government’s policy being decided in its favour to get the license to fly abroad, Spice Jet is gearing up to start its international flights from next year on. It intends to fly shorter destinations initially and then might spread its wings further. Moreover, it plans to add 10 more aircraft s to its fleet in 2009 & 2011. So we wait to witness one more ‘Spice’ in the international skies soon.

TCL goes local in India
Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer, TCL, is mulling to set up a manufacturing unit for colour TV & DVD player in the northern part of the country within the next three years. TCL had conducted a study to locate manufacturing sites in India & Noida came out as a preferred location. Apart from meeting domestic demands, the site would also be used as its global sourcing hub and would supply to players like Sony & Philips. Local manufacturing would also enable it to supply products to retail majors like Reliance & Wal-Mart. However, the company is tight lipped about the investment and capacity details of the plant.

Moti lal Oswal taps dancing bourses
If you think the dancing bourses can scare all, then you seem slightly mistaken. India’s leading financial services company, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. (MOSL) has just come out with an IPO. The price band for the IPO has been fixed between Rs.725 & Rs.825 per share of face value Rs.5 each. The company plans to raise Rs.216.25 crores in lower end of the price band & Rs.246 crores at the higher price band. The proceeds of the issue will be used to infuse funds into MOSL & Motilal Oswal Commodities Brokers Pvt. Ltd. The capital infusion is likely strengthen the balance sheets of these companies enabling them to raise trading volumes in equities & commodities market.