Good brands can survive bad governments, it appears. When the German Democratic Republic collapsed in 1990, many of its companies were closed (about 14,000) or privatized. But some have survived or been rejuvenated and have a rabid following, Brett Neely reports from the former East Berlin. Zeha Shoes was known as "the Adidas of the East," for example. A few years ago, Torsten Heine bought the trademarks. He and a partner have reinvented the brand, opening several stores in trendy Berlin neighborhoods that cater to well-heeled hipsters willing to shell out upwards of $150 for a pair of …

Our corporate do-good story of the week features an initiative by Ralphs supermarkets to help a nonprofit agency that helps steer young people away from running with gangs. The supermarket will sell two varieties of salsa made by youth in Homeboy Industries' Homegirl Cafe & Catering job training program. The grocer was looking for a distinctive product made near downtown L.A. and approached Homeboy Industries with the idea. "Ralphs is committed to supporting community organizations in California, and we believe this is a different approach to doing just that," says president Mike Donnelly. Homeboy Industries, which …

While buying Huggies for his newborn the other day and spying a coupon for infant formula on the back, columnist Scott Duke Harris stumbled upon the story of Causata, a startup with venture funding from Accel Partners that aims to "push customer-intelligence technology to an unprecedented level." Causata is developing a "multichannel customer interaction platform" that can be deployed by big retailers and financial services firms. It constantly updates its profiles of customers -- "learning" from each purchase or query and adding the database. Whatever you say about it, don't call it "artificial intelligence," as Harris …

A Barnes & Noble digital-book reader that is expected to feature a 6-inch screen from E-Ink, touch input, a virtual keyboard and a wireless connection to download books from B&N's e-book store will hit the market next month in time to compete with Amazon and Sony for holiday e-reader dollars, sources tell Geoffrey A. Fowler. A company spokeswoman says it has no announcement to make at present and that it "believes that readers should have access to the books in their digital library from any device, anywhere, at anytime." That may be so, but a B&N …

A high-altitude hill-climb showdown between a Lincoln MKS sedan with a twin-turbocharged six-cylinder engine against four V8-powered European luxury cars is the subject of five webisodes, and a half-hour special that will run at 9:30 p.m. Monday on the Speed channel, reports columnist Tom Walsh. Jean Jennings, editor-in-chief of Automobile, came up with the idea and car testing experts from Automobile and Motor Trend magazines conducted the event, lending it credibility. Although MKS didn't win -- finishing second -- it did perform admirably against a Jaguar XF, Mercedes-Benz E550, BMW 550i and …

What do Wendy's, Procter & Gamble, Kraft and Campbell have in common? They are among the big names participating in a "Buffalo stampede," Bruce Horovitz writes. A record 47 new products with the term "Buffalo" in their names showed last year, according to Datamonitor, and 28 more have appeared through mid-September this year. Besides giving otherwise bland products a kick, the spicy, hot pepper-laden flavoring has almost no nutritional negatives -- it's not high in fat, sodium or calories. "It's good for taking consumers' minds and taste buds off the fact that some products …