When there are more than a billion people already using your products, it doesn’t seem like a natural time for a rebrand. But Microsoft is apparently sick of being portrayed as an old fuddy duddy to Apple’s hip, young counterpart. 

After all, “the consensus among analysts seems to be that Microsoft is a company in transition, experiencing growing pains and pockets of great promise as it moves from dominance in a world centered on Windows and PCs to becoming a company that delivers services and devices,” the Seattle Times reports.

That transition means some big changes for the way the company presents itself. According to Windows Phone design studio general manager Albert Shum and Wolff Olins creative director Todd Simmons, Microsoft is planning to rebrand Bing, Skype, Yammer and Xbox, Gizbot reports.

After all, Microsoft refreshed the visual identity for Windows and Office last year, and the company in the midst of a big plan to align all of its products across design and marketing.Continue reading...

Burberry introduces lower-priced items to US department stores, including a $600 trench coat and $150 boots. [Bloomberg]

HSBC will move its chief executive to Hong Kong. [Times of London]

Bill Clinton praises Wal-Mart, "hardly a left-wing corporation," for green conversion that increased profits. [NPR]

Chinese automaker Geely's $2.5 billion bid to acquire Volvo from Ford moves ahead. [WSJ]

Barclays in talks to purchase retail banking assets in Portugal from Citigroup. [WSJ]

(More headlines: John Lewis sales up, Twitter marketing, Nokia's Brazil woes.) Continue reading...