Grape Nuts, Honeycomb, Shredded Wheat, Raisin Bran, and plenty of other cereals have been starting Americans' days for a long time, no matter who has owned them. 

Since 2008, it has been St. Louis-based Ralcorp Holdings. Inc., a manufacturer of private-label goods for US grocery stores including Stop & Shop, IGA and Hannaford, which produces cereals in its Ralston Foods division.

Ralcorp bought the organization from Kraft Foods for $2.7 billion. Now, Ralcorp finds itself the target of an unwanted takeover attempt by ConAgra Foods, which has offered $4.9 billion, according to FoodProcessing.com.Continue reading...

Diet Coke's latest ads target a younger generation of consumers. [Brandweek]

Netbook manufacturers are tailoring products for children. [Reuters]

Stop & Shop will see a 24-hour strike by its workers starting tomorrow. [Boston Herald]

Diane von Furstenberg will lend her talents to Claridge's in London. [WWD]

YouTube initiates an auto-captioning feature to aid searching. [Econsultancy]

Borders begs for another loan in order to save its failing business. [Daily Finance]Continue reading...

Stop & Shop is negotiating with workers, but a strike may still be in the works. [Boston Herald]

Lufthansa pilots refuse to cease demands, strike scheduled for tomorrow. [Businessweek]

Upcoming horror movie 'The Crazies' has a multitude of promotional products. [BrandFreak]

Though net profit was down by 42%, Nestle saw sales growth in overseas markets. [WSJ]

With less people working, sales for early-morning fast-food meals drop. [Washington Post]

Visa advertisements tug at the hearstrings of Olympic audiences. [Adweek]Continue reading...

EBay changes its listing fees to increase sales. [Reuters]

Starting February, Chanel will raise handbag prices by $100. [Madison Avenue Spy]

Prince Charles stars in a new campaign to help Britain's wool industry. [WWD]

Toyota temporarily stops sale and construction of 8 models post-recall. [NY Times]

Thanks to General Motors, Saab enters Spyker's hands. [NY Times]

Book publishers continue to talk with Apple over Tablet e-books. [WSJ]Continue reading...