New logo for Biman Bangladesh Airlines

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is expected to rebrand itself, bringing changes to its livery and logo. In sync with promises to improve services both in air and on the ground, Biman plans to come up with a new look in the third week of January. Four leased aircraft, now being painted with the new logo, will join the Biman fleet this month. "We want to infuse new life into Biman so it can be a truly commercially viable airline," Biman's Managing Director and Chief Executive Muhammad Zakiul Islam told The Daily Star. "We want to bring a feeling of change." He said Biman wants to launch the 38- year-old state-owned carrier with new livery and promises. Balaka, the logo of Biman, will be there but in a modified shape. "The logo will be more dynamic, lively and forward-looking," the Biman MD said. But artists differed on the move to modify the logo designed by the late painter Quamrul Hassan. "No-one should have the right to tamper with other's works. Why is it necessary to change the logo when it has become popular, both at home and abroad?" said Prof Hashem Khan, a noted painter. But Kazi Wahidul Alam, editor of aviation and tourism fortnightly The Bangladesh Monitor, said any logo has an impact. "There should be an element of motion in the Biman logo." "It will bring fresh vigour to Biman. Different airlines, like British Airways, have undertaken rebranding to begin anew. The changes in livery and logo may bring benefits, given improvements in services." Biman appears to have moved to revive its image dented by various factors, including flight delays. Insiders said Biman took the initiative during the caretaker government's rule to change passengers' perception about the carrier by infusing dynamism in its services. Ten new aircraft purchase deals with US plane- maker Boeing also persuaded the Biman management to consider massive rebranding, as a gradual induction of the new planes is expected to help the carrier ensure on-time departures. "Hospitality will be one of the main pillars of our promise," said Zakiul Islam of Biman. The theme line of Biman -- Your home in the sky -- is expected to remain. "We want to ensure travellers comfort, both in air and on the ground. " Insiders said Biman selected its new livery and reviewed the logo out of about 100 designs, while a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) was also done to select its future outlook. With the help of on-board customer surveys, Biman is investigating complaints to rectify and fulfil customer needs. Efforts are also on to create a service-oriented mentality and culture among all Biman staff. "We are sincerely trying to make it happen. You will be able to see results soon," said Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Shafique Alam Mehedi. Biman posted a gross profit of Tk 34.45 crore in the July-September period of fiscal 2009-10. The rebranding initiative comes as the airline expects to strengthen its beleaguered fleet by leased aircraft -- one Boeing 777-200 ER, two Boeing 737-800 NG and one A-310 this month. These aircraft will be used to resume flights to three destinations, including New York, and open as many new routes this year.

Chinese electricity use rising

Electricity consumption in China rose nearly six percent in 2009 , the government said Wednesday, as the economic recovery gathered pace and unusually early cold weather struck parts of the country. Overall consumption rose 5.96 percent to 3.6 billion megawatt hours from a year earlier, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency, said in a statement on its website. That compares with an increase of 5.49 percent in 2008 , according to figures in the statement. Consumption by primary industries such as agriculture and forestry jumped 7.9 percent on- year, while the amount of electricity used by secondary industries such as mining and manufacturing rose 4.2 percent, it said. Household consumption surged 11.9 percent on- year, the statement said, reflecting rising living standards and a sudden drop in temperatures in northern and central provinces late last year. A strong rebound in the Chinese economy last year was driven by massive public spending and record government lending.

Asian car market in USA

Asian automakers dethroned Detroit as the biggest sellers in the United States in 2009 after General Motors and Chrysler succumbed to the economic crisis, industry data has shown. Total industry sales fell 21.2 percent to 10.43 million vehicles in 2009 , according to Autodata figures released Tuesday. That is the lowest level since the 1983 recession and drastically below the 15 to 17 million-vehicle range posted each of the previous 15 years. GM and Chrysler saw their sales suffer more than most after seeking billions of dollars in government aid and restructuring under bankruptcy protection. While Ford managed to both stay afloat and increase its piece of the shrunken market, the Detroit Three's overall share fell to 44.2 percent of their home market from 47.5 percent in 2008. Asian brands captured a 47.4- percent share in 2009 , up from 44.6 percent in 2008 , Autodata said. It was the first time they gained a bigger piece than GM, Chrysler and Ford combined, which held a 60- percent share as recently as 2004 and a 70 percent share a decade ago. European automakers saw their piece of the pie rise to 8.4 percent from 7.8 percent in 2008. "It was a challenging and very volatile year," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president for US marketing sales and service. "We had to deal with a near-depression economy, there were bankruptcies, bailouts, discontinued brands, distressed pricing, a government stimulus program... that resulted in huge shifts in demand from one month to the next." Ford managed to increase its share to 15.5 percent in 2009 from 14.4 percent a year earlier -- the first time the second-largest US automaker posted a full-year share gain since 1995. Ford capped the year with a 33- percent gain in December sales, even as the year's total fell 15.4 percent to 1.7 million vehicles. "For 2010 , I'm leaving my seatbelt on, because I think that volatility is still an element of the new norm," Czubay said in a conference call discussing Ford's December sales results. Ford said it expects global vehicle sales to resume growth this year. Other major automakers also predicted smoother roads ahead as total December sales rose 15.1 percent from a year earlier. "Emerging from the rollercoaster of 2009 , the industry has gained positive momentum for a gradual recovery," said Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Toyota -- which managed to hold onto the number two spot in US sales -- posted a 32- percent sales gain in December. It also managed to increase its share of the US market by 0.3 points to 17 percent, although sales ended the year down 20.2 percent at 1.78 million vehicles. "Despite a tough market, TMS performed solidly, reaching its goal to grow market share," Esmond said. General Motors posted a six-percent drop in December US sales and saw its share shrink to 19.8 percent in 2009 from 22.2 percent in 2008 as annual sales fell 30 percent to 2.93 million vehicles. "We're looking forward to 2010 as a year when the economy continues a modest recovery, industry sales begin to improve and our outstanding new products build additional sales momentum," said Susan Docherty, GM vice president of US sales. Chrysler also expressed optimism even after its share fell to 8.9 percent in 2009 from 11 percent in 2008 and its ranking slid to 5 th place as annual sales dropped 36 percent to 1.45 million vehicles. "As we kick off the new year, Chrysler Group continues to build momentum with some of the best products in the marketplace, and we are enthusiastic about the new products coming this year," Chrysler's top sales executive Fred Diaz said in a statement. Korean automakers were among the big winners of 2009 , with Kia and Hyundai the only brands besides Japan's Subaru to post both market share and net sales gains.

Google & Apple's tech market

The once-cuddly relationship between Google Inc and Apple Inc is morphing into a prickly power struggle as the ambitions and ideas of the technology trendsetters increasingly collide. The growing use of high-powered phones for Web surfing has become a flash point in the brewing battle because both Google and Apple view the mobile market as a key to their continued success in the next decade. The rivalry also in spilling into other products, including Web browsers, computer operating systems and digital music. The tensions rose further Tuesday when Google unveiled its plans to sell its own cell phone in its latest bid to upstage Apple's hottest gadget, the iPhone. Google is billing its phone, called the Nexus One, as a "super" phone -- a device designed for people looking for something more advanced than the iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and other devices that serve as pocket-sized computers. The Nexus One "is the closest thing to an iPhone challenger that I have seen so far," said Gartner Inc. analyst Ken Dulaney. "It's a very good piece of hardware." Meanwhile, Apple is taking a stab at Google's heart by expanding into advertising sales. Apple let it be known that it had bought a mobile advertising service, Quattro Wireless, just before Google held a news conference at its Mountain View headquarters to announce the Nexus One. Quattro gives Apple its own platform for distributing ads on the iPhone, and conceivably could serve as a marketing vehicle for a computing tablet that Apple is expected to be introduced near the end of the month. The acquisition also serves as a counterpunch to Google's proposed $750 million acquisition of Quattro rival AdMob, a deal that may be tied up in a regulatory review for several more months. Apple didn't disclose Quattro's sales price, but the technology blog All Things Digital pegged it at $275 million. Google hopes AdMob can help it become as dominant selling ads for mobile phones as it has been in placing ads on Internet-connected computer screens during the past six years. Most of Google's ads are tied to search requests on personal computers, a system that has propelled Google's annual revenue from $1.5 billion in 2003 to more than $22 billion in 2009. Meanwhile, the iPhone has turned into a gold mine for Apple, with more than 30 million of the handsets sold in the past two and a half years and demand still growing. It has helped boost Apple's annual revenue from $24 billion in its fiscal year 2007 to $36.5 billion in its most recent year ending last Sept. 26. The iPhone's success also has spawned the development of more than 100 ,000 applications that make it easier to play games, read news, check the weather, get directions and shop on the handset. Google acknowledges it also has benefited from the additional traffic that the iPhone has brought to its search engine and other services. But the revenue that Google gets from the iPhone may diminish as the array of applications that consumers put on their handsets decrease the need to use search engines to find popular services, Broadpoint.AmTech analyst Benjamin Schachter said in a recent research note. By designing and selling its own phone, Google will have another way to ensure its services remain within easy reach of people on the go. Besides their technical prowess, Google and Apple are packing plenty of financial artillery. They are Silicon Valley's two most prized companies, with each of their market values hovering near $200 billion. In another reflection of their power and influence, neither Google nor Apple are joining the high-tech herd at consumer electronics show in Las Vegas this week. They don't have to because the media flocks to them whenever they want to show off a new product. A looming showdown between Google and Apple seemed improbable just a few years ago when they had a common disdain -- and fear -- of software maker Microsoft Corp. "Now I think Google might be more focused on Apple than Microsoft," said technology analyst Rob Enderle. Google and Apple also publicly fawned over each other's elegantly designed products. The companies even shared personal ties, with Apple board members Bill Campbell and Al Gore, the former US vice president, serving as advisers to Google in its early days. The companies' kinship culminated in Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, joining Apple's board in 2006. Schmidt resigned as an Apple director five months ago, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs citing Google's expansion into "Apple's core businesses" as the main reason for the departure. The Federal Trade Commission had been looking into whether Schmidt's dual roles on the boards of Google and Apple might stifle competition between the two companies. That now appears to be a dead issue.