Reaching a tentative agreement with Vivendi, GE prepares for sale of NBCU. [NY Times]

Reps from Saab and the Swedish government in Detroit to meet with GM. [USA Today]

Kraft finalizes formal bid for Cadbury, again. [Times of London]

Geely Automotive strikes deal with Ford over intellectual-property rights, as part of Volvo bid. [WSJ]

eBay fined $2.5 million in brand resale case, plans to appeal decision. [CNET]

Christian Lacroix may be forced to liquidate. [Times of London]

Timberland and Reliance Brands announce partnership in India. [Boston Globe]

(More headlines: Waterford, Disney's Princess Tiana, Tiger Woods.)Continue reading...

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Google will launch its own smartphone brand. [Mobile News Direct]

Seeking growth, Cadbury will increase advertising in India. [Warc]

HSBC returns focus to Hong Kong business. [NY Times]

The last Pontiac rolled off the assembly line Wednesday. [Detroit News]

Fearing sluggish sales, retailers ramp up online savings offers. [WSJ]

M&A activity on Wall Street can be a good thing or a bad thing. [WSJ]

(More headlines: UK "family brands," Lululemon, Taobao.)Continue reading...

Cadbury is up for grabs, and as we have been following, it looks like like Hershey and Kraft Foods are hungry for a takeover.

Kraft has been at the center of the multi-billion struggle with no signs of giving up, though Nestlé is considering placing a rival bid for the chocolate company, which may incite a hostile reaction from Kraft. Regardless, Cadbury knows who the true power-players are:

Roger Carr, Cadbury’s chairman, indicated that a straight merger with Hershey would be preferable to a deal with Kraft. His rationale is that a deal with Hershey would deliver better value for its shareholders because both groups were focused on confectionery, while Kraft produces a variety of low-end processed foods.Continue reading...

In spinoff from Time Warner, AOL will adopt new identity and logo. [NY Times]

Chrysler offers sweet incentives, 0% financing and $4,000 cash back on 2010 models. [WSJ]

Seeking to triple sales in China, Coke doubles bottling plants in the country. [FT]

Microsoft's search engine Bing may pay to index the Wall Street Journal. [FT]

New Disney chief tries risky reshuffling of entertainment industry's structure. [LA Times]

(More headlines: Cadbury suitors, Vogue digital team.)Continue reading...

Kraft’s attempt to buy Cadbury has gone from Cadbury trying to tease more money from Kraft, to Cadbury rejecting Kraft’s firm offer, to Kraft going into hostile-takeover mode, setting the stage for a long boardroom battle for chocolate control.

Does that sound as complicated as nougat yet? Now, enter Hershey. North America’s largest chocolate manufacturer (and the brand responsible for 10% of my diet) has been eyeing Cadbury for weeks and might partner with Ferrero, the Italian chocolate-maker responsible for Nutella, to make a run at the coveted confectioner.

Both Hershey and Ferrero have been mum, but the reports are likely to force Kraft to raise its offer, which could lead to a “Barbarians at the Gate” slugfest reminiscent of the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco 20 years ago.Continue reading...

Goldman Sachs apologizes for mistakes, announces $500 million to aid small businesses. [NY Times]

JC Penney serves as an indicator of economy's health. [FT]

Hershey and Ferrero may counter Kraft's bid for Cadbury. [NY Times]

EU approves Lloyds restructuring program. [NY Times]

Coke will debut uniform global packaging for juice brands. [FT]

How price dispute led Costco to drop all Coca-Cola products. [WaPo]

Fewer 2010 car models pass safety tests. [WSJ]

(More headlines: Home Depot, Sy Syms, Sony.)Continue reading...

Cadbury rejects Kraft bid. [WaPo]

European antitrust authorities object to Sun-Oracle merger. [WSJ]

Lehman's creditors claim Barclays underpaid $5 billion in Lehman deal. [NY Times]

Google and partners ask for an extension in book case settlement review. [NY Times]

Moving toward mobile phone advertising, Google buys AdMob for $750 million. [NY Times]

Pfizer broke the law promoting drugs for off label usage. [Bloomberg]

Sony to release "Cloudy..." on-demand on Sony Bravia Internet-enabled TV's and Blu-ray, not DVD. [NY Times]

(More headlines: Talbots, Burberry online, MacLaren stroller recall.)Continue reading...

Kraft makes £9.8 billion hostile takeover bid for Cadbury today. [WSJ]

Retailer holiday ad spending increases, starts earlier. [WSJ]

Verizon will spend $100 million on the Droid campaign. [AdAge]

Apple to sell $99 iPhone to compete with Verizon Droid. [dbtechno]

With iPhone in its stable, Orange envisions a brand revitalization. [Times of London]

After successful GQ introduction, Conde Nast plans more Chinese magazine launches. [WSJ]

Novartis buys 85% stake in Chinese vaccine maker. [WSJ]

(More headlines: Ruby Tuesday's, Cadillac, ammunition.)Continue reading...