As part of CEO Jeffrey Immelt's strategy of shedding slower-growing industrial businesses, General Electric has hired Goldman Sachs to run an auction for its century-old appliances business, one of the best-known American consumer brands. GE entered the business in 1907 and boasts of milestones such as introducing the refrigerator, room air-conditioner and toaster oven. In any deal, it is possible GE could have a continuing stake in the business. As with other transactions involving strong consumer brands, any buyer could continue to use the GE appliance brand names. The auction may provide an opportunity for foreign buyers to take advantage …

A television commercial for a heart stent made by Cordis, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, ignores potential dangers to patients, according to an article published yesterday in The New England Journal of Medicine. Stents are metal mesh devices that are used to prop open arteries after they have been cleared of blockages. The ad uses the tag line "life wide open." The article suggests that the Food and Drug Administration review the campaign to determine if it "meets the basic regulatory requirements for non-deceptive advertising." Cordis says its content was reviewed by the FDA before it began running …

A new positioning for Heineken-owned Amstel Light plays up its brewed-in-Amsterdam roots, with scenes from that city's legendary, lawless party scene over the tagline "Dam good bier." The campaign from Richards Group represents an abrupt shift from former agency Publicis' final effort on the brand, which tried to position Amstel as an upscale brew ideal for on-yacht consumption. "This is [a positioning] that we can own," says Kheri Holland Tillman, vp-Amstel Light for Heineken USA. Just being a light import is hardly a distinction these days. In addition to Heineken Premium Light, which gets far more ad dollars than …

Dealers across the nation report brisk sales for fuel-stingy motor scooters and smaller motorcycles, particularly for those that get from 75-120 miles per gallon. Sales of name-brand scooters such as Honda, Yamaha, Vespa and Suzuki rose 24% in the first quarter of the year, says Mike Mount, spokesman for the Motorcycle Industry Council--noting that it's not exactly a hot sales period because of cool weather in much of the nation. Many lesser-known scooters from China, Taiwan and South Korea also are sold in the U.S., but Mount says those sales figures are not readily available. The boom in sales …

Zoots, a high-concept dry-cleaning chain launched by Staples founder Tom Stemberg in 1998, has collapsed, closing nine stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and shuttering a plant in Connecticut. Designed to be at the cutting edge of all things dry cleaning--24/7 service and a Web site where customers could check the status of orders and schedule home deliveries--the concept reportedly cost investors more than $150 million. At its height early last year, Zoots had about 75 stores and roughly 115 delivery routes across eight states, serving more than 300,000 customers. Now, the $65 million company is in pieces, with …

Wal-Mart Stores has set tough new limits, effective this fall, on the amount of lead and other metals and chemicals allowed in children's products. The requirements go far beyond existing government regulations, and could become the industry standard. The initiative also encourages suppliers to mark children's products with "traceability information," including the factory in which the goods were made. About 80% of the toys sold in the U.S.--including those marketed by U.S.-based toy makers--are manufactured in China. Melissa O'Brien, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, says the new standards are part of an effort to restore consumer confidence. Industry-wide, toy sales fell …

Taco Bell is unveiling a 2008 product game plan today that could nudge folks to forget the past and instead drive into Taco Bell in droves: cheap eats. The image-challenged chain--which has slowly but methodically regained its footing following an E. coli outbreak in late 2006 and a rat infestation at a New York City unit in 2007--will roll out a "Why Pay More?" value menu with 10 products. Four of them are new--priced at 79, 89 and 99 cents. The chain's image of cheap eats will be all over the tube as it unleashes TV spots this weekend …