AOL sees revenue growth for first time in eight years

'In the fourth quarter, advertising revenue - a key measure for the company as it moves away from subscription-based dial-up services to focus on its media outlets such as the Huffington Post - rose 13% to $410.6m.'

Read the whole article at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21384583

RBS Sells Aviation Business to Sumitomo Mitsui for $7.3 Billion

This is a good example of how companies that struggle with their finance would develop their strategy as returning to their core competencies and main activities. This is an interesting example of a company that tried to create synergies between two largely unrelated business units. In theory, Banks/Financial Institutions with the large number of clients could create synergies in all sort of business, however this case shows that the lack of expertise (and probably the economic climate did not allow for the synergies to be developed); it is worth mentioning that aircraft leasing is a considerably larger business in N. America which has never really developed in Europe.


RBS Sells Aviation Business to Sumitomo Mitsui for $7.3 Billion

By Gavin Finch and Takahiko Hyuga

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc is selling its aviation leasing unit to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. for about $7.3 billion, the biggest disposal by the state-owned lender since its U.K.-government bailout in 2008

Read the whole article at: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-17/rbs-sells-aviation-business-to-sumitomo-mitsui-for-7-3-billion.html

Daimler to axe luxury cars subsidiary Maybach

This is a good example of a Corporate level strategy. Daimler deduced that the performance of the Mayback SBU was not at the expected level and decided to withdraw. The figures for this decision are very interesting, the sales were only 20% of the target set.
Another very interesting point is that Daimler is going to re-enter the luxury end of the market with a new strategy: 'the firm is expected to target the low-priced section of the luxury market' which could be linked to the price leadership generic strategy even at the luxury market.

Daimler to axe luxury cars subsidiary Maybach

German industrial group Daimler is preparing to disband its ultra-luxurious Maybach car marque.
The decision follows almost a decade of trying to make Maybach a profitable rival to Rolls Royce and Bentley.

Read the whole article at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15917550