The Indian subsidiary of Coca-Cola may have to close some bottling plants if the government passes a law putting a special “sin” tax on fizzy drinks. Such beverages would get slammed with a 40% bill, as part of a broader fiscal overhaul. The company has 57 factories and bottling plants across India.

Whither Faraday. Faraday Future is a mysterious company that has a factory in Arizona and a strategy to build electric cars, maybe. The latest news is that FF is owned by a Chinese media firm, LeTV; it has hundreds of employees and tons of cash; and it appears to have found a $1 billion manufacturing facility in the U.S. Faraday Future also says it will start delivering...something by 2017. There are rumors that it is a front for Apple car plan.

Stephen Quinn, Walmart's CMO for the U.S., and a 10-year veteran of the company, plans to step down in January. Walmart will hire former Target chief marketer Michael Francis as a consultant and possibly to work with an ultimate successor. Quinn will retire as of Jan. 31 and Francis will join the company as a consultant starting the first of next year. Francis was Target's CMO for 26 years until 2011, when he took the top job at JCPenney. Most recently, he was CMO of Dreamworks Animation.

KFC is doing holiday packaging , which means it is joining a mistletoe parade that includes the contentious non-sectarian Starbucks cup and Dunkin' Donuts. The KFC Holiday Bucket is a limited-time serving container for the $20 Family Fill special, which the company says will serve a family of four. Dunkin' offered a cursive "Joy" on the brand's holiday cups as well as incentivized social-media shares of the container.

Verizon Wireless, Hyundai, Pepsi and DirecTV are among brands working to build their marketing footprint in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, which will host the parties, events and other activations associated with Super Bowl 50 in February. Verizon, already in place as the official wireless service provider for the NFL and Super Bowl 50, will be presenting sponsor for Super Bowl City, the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee's free fan-fest village.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is getting hit with a $70 million fine for failing to report claims of death and injury to U.S. regulators, per legal requirements. The fine comes after FCA told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in September that it had discovered "significant" under-reporting of crash deaths and injuries possibly linked to vehicle defects.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. are up over 5% after the chain's founder apologized to patrons who fell ill after eating at the company's restaurants and pledged that strict new food-safety practices would prevent future outbreaks. As of Thursday, the Boston Public Health Commission reported that 91 people had been sickened by norovirus linked to a Chipotle restaurant there.

Pepsi will re-release its clear cola from the 1990s, Crystal Pepsi. To be one of the consumers who get one of the limited releases, one has to sign up for a sweepstakes through the brand's loyalty program, Pepsi Pass. Pepsi is giving 13,000 winners a complimentary six-pack of the transparent soda. The brand released a two-minute, 30-second, '90s-themed spot from The Barbarian Group.

Coca-Cola is making significant changes to its North American leadership team in the wake of the departure of Wendy Clark, a highly respected marketer who is leaving to become president and CEO of North America for DDB Worldwide. Rather than replacing her, Coke will launch a new division, USA Operations, to oversee sales and marketing for all U.S. beverages. Hendrik Steckhan, a former president of Coke's German business, will lead it.

Facebook has started showing advertisers how Oculus Rift virtual reality, 360-degree goggles will fit into their marketing. They are touting it as a way to experiment with immersive experiences, per sources. Oculus, which Facebook acquired last year for $2 billion, is expected to start hitting shelves early next year, and Facebook admits it will take time to become a hit. The play for brands is around content and virtual reality product placement.