The German conglomerate Siemens has been going green — and making more green (as in money) in the process.

CEO Peter Loscher, who joined the company some three years ago, has been on an aggressive campaign to implement a green strategy at Siemens and reposition the brand.

As a result, instead of marketing telecommunications and information technology products as it did in the past, today Siemens is into wind power, solar energy, and energy-conserving electricity grids — together, a $38 billion business. And that doesn't include the company's leadership in offshore wind turbines.Continue reading...

Lurking like a thief on the fringes of a new year’s party, higher gasoline prices could yet steal the momentum that the US auto industry has built heading into 2011. 

Industry executives this week said they’re much better prepared for any surge in gas prices this year than they were in the summer of 2008, when a spike past $4 a gallon became the first body blow in a series of hits that sent the U.S. auto market to depths not seen in a half-century.

But that may be whistling through the graveyard.Continue reading...

And on the twenth-eleventh day, the Lord said, "Let there be light — and let it not be incandescent." Yes, the image of the light bulb (one that normally connotes a bright idea) is being dimmed as environmentalists, brands and politicians take sides in the battle of the bulbs.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn is lobbying her fellow Republicans in the US Congress to support bill H.R.6144 (dubbed the Better Use of Light Bulbs act, or BULB), which proposes a nationwide rollback on the ban of incandescent light bulbs.Continue reading...

"BP Returns to Profit" reads the headline on the company's third quarter earnings press release today.

Excluding one-time charges, the London-based oil giant's quarterly profit was $5.5 billion, beating analysts' estimates. Its overall profit fell 66% — after taking a further charge of $7.7 billion related to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history — and its third-quarter net income dropped to $1.8 billion from $5.3 billion in the year-earlier period. 

The company booked a $39.9 billion charge in the quarter for costs related to the Gulf of Mexico spill, comprising a "pre-tax charge of $7.7 billion for the Gulf of Mexico spill followed a charge of $32.2 billion in the second quarter... due principally to higher spill response costs," BP's press release stated.

New CEO Robert Dudley said on a call with analysts that BP is “well on track” for recovery, with sales agreements in place for about $14 billion of assets, about half of the amount needed to foot the bill for the Gulf of Mexico accident.Continue reading...

The BP oil disaster may have done serious damage to the profitability of both BP and the Gulf Coast. But one brand profited handsomely from the ordeal: Google.

From Ad Age: "In two months, BP went from spending very little on search advertising — about $57,000 a month — to becoming one of Google's top advertisers, dropping nearly $3.6 million in the month of June alone… This is a significant outlay, even for BP, which spent $94 million on advertising in 2009, and $78.7 million in the first six months of 2010."

BP's Google AdWords spree launched the brand into the ranks of online advertisers that rely on search for a living, including Expedia, Amazon, eBay and Hotels.com. Ad Age combed this information from an internal Google document. So who were the other big Google ad-spending brands?Continue reading...

* Amazon is preparing a subscription service to deliver movies and TV shows online.

* AOL is acquiring Rally Up, a location-based social networking service.

* Apple is expected to unveil a souped up Apple TV with Netflix streaming today.

* Blockbuster tests new “early-delivery” marketing strategy as it tries to stave off bankruptcy.

* BP is selling its Malaysian assets to Petronas.

* Burger King talks about a possible sale.Continue reading...

* The rumor mill is running rampant ahead of Apple's music-themed press event tomorrow. Bloomberg's take: it will unveil a new set-top box that will deliver video (including from Netflix) to the TV. Amazon, meanwhile, is said to be working on a subscription-based streaming video service to deliver TV and movie programming, sources tell the Wall Street Journal.

* AOL's global brand marketing head decamps to Yahoo.

* Chrysler sets Fiat sales strategy in the US.

* Conde Nast is reviving the Gourmet brand for special newsstand-only issues.

* Danone is reportedly eyeing Dean Foods.

* Digg's Kevin Rose announces that former Amazon exec Matt Williams is taking over as CEO.

* Genzyme CEO is open to selling the company at a "fair value."

* Hugo Boss is taking a page from H&M and Zara; also expanding in China.

* Macy's is partnering with golfer Greg Norman for an exclusive collection.

* Yahoo and Google are expanding video offerings in Japan.

* Swiss study indicates that some diesels may be greener than electric cars.

Brands in the news:

* AIG's sale of Taiwan unit is on the brink of collapse.

* Autodesk will reintroduce its AutoCAD design software for Macs.

* Capital One is preparing customers for end of Chevy Chase Bank name.

* The Emmy Awards may eliminate miniseries and other “long-form” categories after HBO cleaned up (yet again) this year.

* Exelon is buying John Deere's wind energy unit for $900 million.

* Ford sets its sights on India as a market for sales and a hub for technological innovation.Continue reading...