The Economist is warning that while stocks prices are still off their past peaks, there is overvaluation in the marketplace. Combine that with low interest rates and, as the article argues, there is a bubble forming.

Agree that such a bubble is forming?

Hardcore Saab owners gathered in Detroit yesterday to show their support for the brand and to urge GM to sell it rather than close it. Read more.

via autoblog

You may or may not have read reports earlier this year that Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant business was near bankruptcy. Bloomberg has a detailed article not only on the current status of this enterprise, but Ramsay’s other activities as well.

via popcandy

Wired has a greatly informative piece on the litigious and protective nature of Toho Co. Ltd., the rightsholder to Godzilla, and quick they are to protect their piece of IP.

GM has ended its marketing sponsorship deal with Tiger Woods a year early. Ah, spending cuts.

If the equity and commodities markets are not doing much for your portfolio these days, perhaps designer kicks just might be a worthwhile investment.

Neil Young, yes the singer/songwriter, through the Huffington Post, has offered his wisdom on how Detroit can be saved one car company at a time.

A true sign of these tricky economic times, Bloomberg reports on the collapse of the white truffle market.

Oy, as everyone knew, October was a very hard month for automakers in North America. Follow this link to see how bad things were. Only 1 car brand, Mini, had a noted increase in sales, while everyone else tanked. Hummer saw its sales drop by 64.6%. Yikes!

In what may not be a surprise to most, a recent Google study found that mobile phones, their features and their brands (think iPhone and Blackberry) influence – I would say guide – which mobile providers consumers sign up with. This finding is not surprising given that we are in the age where mobile phones are sold by one provider on an exclusive basis in a territory. Like the phone, you’re stuck with the provider.

Interested in the dynamics of today’s music industry? Rolling Stone has a solid article for you. While this article is not exactly chock full of new pieces of information, it is thorough.

Mattel Inc. is in the midst of its trial MGA Entertainment Inc. based on ownership of copyright in the girl’s toy franchise ‘Bratz’. The underlying claim is that the designer who conceived of the Bratz developed the toys while an employee of Mattel. If Mattel is successful in its claim, it will reap hundreds of millions in damages and hundreds of millions each year in licensing and other revenues.

Bloomberg reports that recent economic changes in China, the rising yuan and increasing labour costs, are leading to textile and other manufacturing jobs moving to cheaper areas like India and Vietnam.

Vietnam’s laborers earn an average of 1.669 million dong ($104) a month, 41 percent less than China’s lowest-paid workers in the central province of Jiangxi, according to World Bank data.

India’s wages are lower than Vietnam’s, averaging 3,843 rupees ($87) a month, according to CEIC. India is copying China’s special economic zones, building more than 400 that will provide low-cost land and rents, five- to 10-year tax breaks and duty-free imports.

Volvo takes automobile safety seriously. So seriously that it has set a goal to eliminate in-car deaths and injuries by 2020.

via autoblog

The entire Chrysler company – plant workers and salary workers – will be going on vacation for 2 weeks this summer. Where do you think Chrysler should go on vacation?

The world’s largest investment bank, Goldman Sachs Group, is launching a $100 million (US) global initiative to teach business and management skills to 10,000 women.

The initiative specifically plans to target women in the Middle East, Asia and Africa who might have little or no opportunity to pursue such an education. The program links major U.S. and foreign universities together to teach the curriculum — which can span five weeks to nine months.

source: Associated Press

In an effort to reconnect with an older market, Luis Vuitton is using Keith Richards in billboards and magazine ads. Why Keith Richards? People tell Bloomberg that “Keith Richards is timeless and ageless,” said Rita Clifton, who heads the U.K. division of brand consultant Interbrand. “He’s lived his life on the edge, but he’s not a sleaze bag. He’s lean and mean and he’s still current.”

Could it be that Korean auto executives at both Hyundai and Kia are putting too much pressure on and have little patience for U.S. division executives? This Detroit News commentary makes it seem as such.

Although the South Koreans started out emulating the leading Japanese automakers, and hope to beat them, they lack some of the qualities that have helped the Japanese to succeed: their patience, their conservative goals and demand-driven approach to the auto market.

The South Koreans also clash with U.S.-based sales executives over how to position the brands, with Hyundai trying to push its nameplate upmarket faster than some of its U.S. dealers think it should.

The Asian automakers all experience strains between the managers at headquarters and those at the lucrative U.S. operations. But the turnover of U.S.-based executives at Hyundai and Kia has been exceptionally high, and the changes occur without any warning.

Very interesting clash of cultures.

Last week Martha Stewart’s company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. has purchased the rights to Emeril Lagase’s cookbooks, television programs and kitchen products for $50 million in cash and stock. That seems like a hefty sum considering Emeril no longer has a show on the Food Network.

Apple, you know those ipod folks, has become the lead sponsor of American Idol. The implications of this venture include:

- “Idol” downloads will now only be available on Apple’s iTunes store
- iTunes will sponsor online streaming of performances on the American Idol website
- Apple brands will also be integrated into the show — just wait for the judges to be seen using iPhones.

Additional information can be found via this Variety article.