AT&T introduces first prepaid smartphone with LG.

BP readies to argue about financial assessment of Gulf spill damage, and scrambles to save deal with Rosneft.

Cisco cheered on Wall Street for killing the Flip video camera.

JPMorgan quarterly profit surges.

Kroger fuels up gas-reward program.

Levi Strauss plans to bring Denizen jeans brand to U.S. after Asian success.

Method launches new green campaign.Continue reading...

Google may be the target of a Us antitrust probe,  as brand's bid for Nortel’s patent assets coincides with Larry Page’s first day back as CEO.

Japan sets new radiation safety level for seafood after nuclear plant spews highly contaminated water into sea as Tepco shares plunge to record low. Also, Toyota reports misunderstanding over US impact and Honda targets rise in US sales but faces supply restrictions.

Amazon, Costco and Kohls are top brands for customer service in a new survey. 

BAT to develop “safer” nicotine products for long-term use. 

Boeing and Southwest deal with aftermath of fuselage tear.Continue reading...

"Private Label vs. Brands: An Inseparable Combination" is a new report from Rabobank, a Dutch international financial services provider, indicating that store brands, also known as private label products, could see their global market share double to 50% by 2025.

For years, it has been an accepted fact of life in the brand world that store brands have their place on store shelves, right next to the brand name products with which they compete.

During recessionary times, store brands typically gain in market share. Last year, for example, some 84% of U.S. shoppers bought store brands and 93% of those who purchased store brands said they would keep buying them even after the economy recovers. In the U.S., almost one in four products sold in supermarkets are store brands, according to Consumer Reports.

Even more significant, consumers are beginning to not only accept but to trust store brands.Continue reading...

Dozens of antacid brands, including Johnson & Johnson's trio of Rolaids, Pepcid and Mylanta, aren't available in the US due to recalls. As J&J works to get its products up to FDA muster and back on shelves, the pressure's on generic store brands such as Kroger’s and CVS private-label products to meet demand.

At a CVS store in Fortville, Ind., USA Today spotted a sign on a shelf where Pepcid AC should have been: "Looking for Pepcid AC products? Try CVS/pharmacy Brand for the same great results."

Less reputable outlets are looking to meet demand — witness the recent theft of $500 of heartburn products (either for personal or black market use) from Target.Continue reading...

Americans shop, on average, 2.5 times weekly for groceries and once a month for drug items. Naturally, drugstores and big-box outlets, ever savvy to shifting consumer habits, are adding more groceries to their shelves.

Target, Walmart, Walgreens and CVS are leading the charge. Walmart has 33% of the market, Target has about 3%, and Kroger, Safeway and Supervalu range from 4-9%, according to Janney Capital Markets. That makes Walmart not only the nation's biggest retailer, but America's biggest grocer, too.

Wal-Mart corporate is determined to get even more of the market, with a five-year commitment unveiled today to make its own-brand food healthier, and pressure its suppliers to follow suit.

In addition to releasing a video, above, featuring "Walmart moms" (execs Andrea Thomas, SVP of sustainability, and corporate nutritionist Megan Diaz), the announcement won the support of one high-profile mom: the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, who co-presented the news at a press conference in Washington, D.C.Continue reading...

* Apple is close to a deal with Disney to rent ABC TV shows via iTunes, the Wall Street Journal reports. It's also looking to trademark several of its mobile app icons.

* Burger King reported slumping sales.

* AARP research finds brand-name drug prices increased 8% last year.

* Barnes & Noble reported a tough quarter and increased legal costs due to proxy fight with investor.

* Best Buy named Aura Oslapas its new chief design officer.Continue reading...

GM focuses on Chevrolet and Cadillac and its impending IPO as Buick "very quietly" becomes the fastest growing car brand in the U.S. Detroit is also rebounding. After huge losses and deep cuts that led to the bailout of GM and Chrysler, the gloom over the American auto industry is starting to lift.

Facebook bought semantic search firm Chai Labs for more than $10M, while Google is said to be close to acquiring visual search startup Like.com for $100M+.

Google is launching a New York-based think tank (tentatively called Google Ideas) to develop "technology solutions to problems faced by the developing world."

An Apple employee was arrested Friday for allegedly receiving more than $1 million in kickbacks from six suppliers in Asia.Continue reading...

Last July, branding powerhouse Procter & Gamble tried appealing to budget-conscious consumers with a value-priced version of Tide detergent called Tide Basic. The product was carried by Wal-Mart and Kroger stores, primarily in the south and southwestern parts of the United States.

Tide Basic was essentially a test to see if stripping out some of Tide's features and pricing it as much as twenty percent lower than original Tide would make the product more attractive. It was seen as a strategy to compete with the growing popularity of store brands and generics.

P&G has announced it has ended the test and will pull Tide Basic from the market. Why?Continue reading...