Kia names first non-Korean as president and integrates Google Maps.

Avis to acquires Zipcar brand for $500 million.

Nivea woos investors as CEO admits Rihanna was the wrong brand ambassador and brand returns to NYC's Times Square as New Year's Eve event sponsor.

Amazon apologizes for Christmas Eve outage.

American Girl's 2013 Girl of the Year doll addresses U.S. arts education cuts.

Apple sees its store in Paris robbed.

BBC Worldwide appoints chief brands officer.Continue reading...

Last week, educational and consumer (via Penguin) publishing giant Pearson and Bertelsmann combined their book publishing divisions, Random House and Penguin, exponentially increasing their reach and scale in light of prodigious growth from e-books and digital retailers. Now comes word that Pearson's The Financial Times newspaper brand is in play and could be sold for as much as £1bn in a "trophy hunt" by potential buyers following John Fallon’s appointment as head of parent Pearson’s education division, replacing CEO Marjorie Scardino, one of the UK's highest-profile female corporate leaders, who is poised to step down in January after 16 years at the helm.

While Fallon affirmed Pearson’s commitment to the FT, saying it is a "highly valued and very valuable part of Pearson" to the Guardian, analysts predict the £1bn may be hard to forgo. Fallon is said to have no “emotional commitment" to the FT Group, which also own a 50% stake in the Economist and analysts at Deutsche Bank see his ascension as accelerating Pearson's digital transformation, including the "value tied up in non-core assets such as FT."Continue reading...

In a defensive and offensive move, two major European media companies, Bertelsmann and Pearson, are combining their book publishing divisions, Random House and Penguin, exponentially increasing their reach and scale in light of prodigious growth from e-books and digital retailers. 

"Together, the two publishers will be able to share a large part of their costs, to invest more for their author and reader constituencies and to be more adventurous in trying new models in this exciting, fast-moving world of digital books and digital readers," stated Pearson CEO Marjorie Scardino in a press release. 

The merger seals Random House’s leadership as the largest English-language consumer book publisher worldwide, and parent Bertelsmann will have the majority share at 53%. And no, web wags, it won't be called Penguin House or Random Penguin.Continue reading...

Google Nexus NYC tablet launch delayed by Hurricane Sandy, sells out online.

Pearson and Bertelsmann strike deal to combine Penguin and Random House publishing houses, thwarting News Corp.

Honda cuts full-year outlook over anti-Japan sentiment in China.

Audi repeats goal to match 2011 operating profit in 2012.

British Airways launches customer recognition program.

Burger King third-quarter net income falls, still beats estimates.

Burt's Bees "deflakes" with billboard and video campaign.

Cadillac raises prices in bid for luxury credibility.Continue reading...

US Eastern Seaboard braces for Hurricane Sandy, as NYSE (for first time since 9/11) and NASDAQ halt trading on Monday and thousands of flights are cancelled.

San Francisco Giants beat Detroit Tigers to win baseball's World Series.

GM tests magnesium to produce lighter cars.

NBC wins Premier League broadcast rights.

Toyota misfires with Chinese buyers.

Apple masters art of planned obsolescence, while Steve Jobs' yacht finally revealed.

EDF Energy in UK raising prices 10.8%.

IBM reports nanotube chip breakthrough.

McDonald's leans more on Dollar Menu.

News Corp. bids for Penguin books, owned by Pearson.

Univision to launch UVideos digital network spin-off.

Vodafone restructuring to result in "massive" job losses.

& British police arrest pop star Gary Glitter as more arrests are expected in Jimmy Savile scandal.

Amazon swings to loss on aggressive spending on future growth, worries about Apple's iPad mini, while Apple disses Microsoft Surface tablet.

BBC sees dimensions of Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal grow.

Bank of America still dealing with fallout from collapse of Countrywide.

Chanel benefits from buzz created by Brad Pitt campaign.

Cheesecake Factory bucks casual-dining traffic decline.

Chipotle considers once-forbidden veer toward fast-food platform.

Citigroup CEO exit reportedly was planned for months.Continue reading...

AIG unveils new corporate logo as part of rebranding.

Sprint left behind as T-Mobile talks about merging with MetroPCS.

Boeing lowers global forecast as GE calls for inspections of certain Boeing models with its engines.

Air Canada debuts plans for low-cost carrier.

Airtime startup by Napster founders stumbles.

Alexander McQueen show sets Paris abuzz.

American Airlines finds seat problems on six aircraft.

Better Place CEO resigns from EV-charging-station startup.Continue reading...

Pearson Education, the educational publishing brand, is under fire following a botched series of standardized exam questions now roiling public schools across New York State — and it's only year one of a five-year, $32 million contract between the publisher and the state.

As Gail Collins opined in Sunday's New York Times, it wasn't just the weirdness of the questions — more on that in a moment — but the debate over the commercialization of education and the control of a single brand, in this case Pearson, over kids' futures. Collins wrote, "We have turned school testing into a huge corporate profit center, led by Pearson, for whom $32 million is actually pretty small potatoes. Pearson has a five-year testing contract with Texas that’s costing the state taxpayers nearly half-a-billion dollars."Continue reading...