A weekly scrap collection from off the business beat:
Homeland is not where the heart is, name expert cautions@ TORONTO (CP)
_ If you're trying to create a corporate name that connotes trust, reliability
and friendliness, you might want to avoid any reference to "homeland."
And if that word is already associated with your company you should change
it, advises corporate naming consultant
Naseem Javed."Keep away from
using this soon-to-become-forbidden word Homeland in a day-to-day business
name and everyday lingo," says Javed, head of
ABC Namebank.
He warns of "confusion and even backlash" following the creation of America's massive new Department of Homeland Security. "In time, this new word will acquire the secondary meaning and the connotation of a high-security government agency, the likes of CIA, FBI and KGB." An ABC Namebank survey found about 2,000 corporations in Canada, the United States, Britain and Australia using the word Homeland. For these companies, in lines of business including agriculture, house construction, hospitality and medical services, "it's better to fix the names, as confusion with security and intelligence is inevitable," Javed says.
As for the Department of Homeland Security _ consolidating 22 units from
12 U.S. government departments into a monster bureau with 169,000 employees
and a budget of $37 billion US _ "it's a great name for a great agency."
Income trust investors place chips on casinos@ TORONTO (CP) _ The income
trust concept remains on a roll with the initial public offering of the
Gateway Casinos Income Fund.Investors seeking income through trusts _
already presented with business options ranging from oil and gas and real
estate to peat moss, cold storage and canned sardines _ now can take a
stake in the cash flow of the Burnaby Casino in Burnaby, B.C., the Palace
Casino in Edmonton and four Lake City casinos in the British Columbia
Interior. The public issue of units (TSX:GCI.UN), priced at $10 each,
raised $105.7 million. A concurrent private placement produced almost
$159 million. The first monthly distribution from Gateway Casinos is estimated
at 11 cents per unit, which if sustained would represent an annual return
of 13.2 per cent on the issue price.
More and clearer D&A to be added to MD&A, accounts say@ TORONTO
(CP) _ The Management's Discussion and Analysis section of corporate reports
will become more discursive and analytical if the Canadian Institute of
Chartered Accountants has its way. The CICA performance reporting board
has issued new guidance on MD&A preparation and disclosure, aiming
to enhance the credibility of reporting. "At one time the importance
of MD&A was somewhat overlooked," says board chairman Jim Goodfellow.
"But since Enron and similar corporate situations in the United States,
renewed attention has been focused on the potential of MD&A to communicate
what financial statements alone cannot." The financial statements
and MD&A need to be scrutinized together, Goodfellow says, to provide
"an integrated and forward-looking understanding of the company's
performance and prospects." The 50-page CICA document advances six
disclosure principles on the aims of MD&A:
@ Enabling readers to view the company through the eyes of management.
@ Complementing as well as supplementing financial statements.
@ Completeness and materiality, as well as fairness, balance and reliability,
@ A forward-looking orientation.
@ A focus on strategy for generating value for shareholders over time.
@ Usefulness, including comparability and consistency over reporting periods,
and the use of plain language.
This CD stinks! How JLO can you go for sweet smell of success?@ TORONTO
(CP) _ Sniffing out an innovative marketing opportunity, a perfume maker
is adding a new sensual dimension to the latest Jennifer Lopez CD. A peel-and-sniff
label and an advertising insert for the Glow by JLO fragrance collection
are being included in 300,000 copies in Canada of the CD, This is me .ñ.ñ.
Then. Glow by JLO was developed by the Lancaster Group, a Coty Inc. unit
whose other brands include Isabella Rossellini's Manifesto, Esprit, JOOP!
and Vivienne Westwood. Coty also signed a deal last summer with Canadian
singer Celine Dion to develop a perfume that "will capture the talent,
style, femininity and confidence of which she has become a symbol."
It's to go on sale early next year.
The JLO scent was released in September, at $59 for 50 millilitres of
eau de toilette spray. "Part of the Jennifer Lopez phenomena is that
she appeals to such a broad market," states Aliki Mahshy, director
of public relations for Lancaster Canada. "We felt that including
a fragrance sample in her CD was a unique way to bring the fragrance to
Jennifer Lopez fans." Lancaster, along with j.LO by Jennifer Lopez
fashions and MuchMusic, is also offering a chance to "live the Jennifer
Lopez lifestyle." The contest prize is a trip to Los Angeles to "stay
at her favourite hotel, eat at her favourite restaurant and hang at her
favourite spa."
Soy what? Yves exports veggie sausages to Japan@ VANCOUVER (CP) _ The
Japanese may be en route to dominating the Canadian car market, but Canada
is moving in on the Japanese soy-salami market. Yves Veggie Cuisine "is
taking Canadian-style healthy eating to the Japanese consumer," according
to an announcement from the maker of soy-based "fresh meat alternatives."
In a joint venture with Shin-Shin, a Japanese food maker, Yves Veggie
Cuisine products will be sold at 100 large Tokyo grocery stores under
the name Shin-Shin Yves.
"Soy and soy-based products have long been a staple in the Japanese
diet," observes Kurtis Hooley, managing director of Yves Veggie Cuisine.
"With this partnership, we will be able to provide a new, innovative
portfolio of products." Eighteen products, from soy salami and cheese
to veggie burgers, are being made for the Japanese market. The most popular
is expected to be soy-based mini cocktail sausages. Yves predicts production
from its suburban Vancouver plant on Annacis Island will grow next year
by 20 per cent to meet demand from the Japanese venture and the launch
of the Yves-produced McDonald's McVeggie burger.