Best Global Brands 2009 rankings by Interbrand

Interbrand has released their Best Global Brands 2009 report on 17 September 2009.

Food and fashion are the 2 main performers in 2009, while financial got the hardest hit.

There are 7 brands fell off the 2009 list:

• Merill Lynch
• AIG
• ING
• Hennessy
• Marriott
• Motorola
• FedEx

The 10 biggest winners are:

• Google (+25%)
• Amazon.com (+22%)
• Zara (+14%)
• Nestle (+13%)
• Apple (+12%)
• H&M (+11%)
• Ikea (+10%)
• Wrigley (+10%)
• Danone (+10%)
• Heinz (+9%)

The 10 biggest losers are:

• UBS (-50%)
• Citi (-49%)
• Harley-Davidson (-43%)
• American Express (-32%)
• Morgan Stanley (-26%)
• HSBC (-20%)
• Starbucks (-16%)
• Sony (-12%)
• Dell (-12%)
• Lexus (-12%)

The top 30 in 2009 brand value are:

• Coca-cola (68.734b)
• IBM (60.211b)
• Microsoft (56.647b)
• GE (47.777b)
• Nokia (34.864b)
• McDonald's (32.275b)
• Google (31.980b)
• Toyota (31.330b)
• Intel (30.636b)
• Disney (28.447b)
• HP (24.096b)
• Mercedes-Benz (23.867b)
• Gillette (22.841b)
• Cisco (22.030b)
• BMW (21.671b)
• Louis Vuitton (21.120b)
• Marlboro (19.010b)
• Honda (17.803b)
• Samsung (17.518b)
• Apple (15.433b)
• H&M (15.375b)
• American Express (14.971b)
• Pepsi (13.706b)
• Oracle (13.699b)
• Nescafe (13.317b)
• Nike (13.179b)
• SAP (12.106b)
• IKEA (12.004b)
• Sony (11.953b)
• Budweiser (11.833b)

Click here to read more about the Best Global Brands rankings by Interbrand

Online Customer Service (OCS) website of mobile operators (Digi / Maxis / Celcom / Yes)

Do you use a mobile phone? If yes, are you aware about the Online Customer Service (OCS) website of your mobile service provider?

In fact, all major mobile operators in Malaysia (Digi/Maxis/Celcom/Yes) have their free OCS website accessible by all their prepaid and postpaid customers.

Among the services available in the OCS website are:

• Manage account detail (such as contact info, etc.)
• View and print itemized bill statement (including prepaid account)
• Pay bill online using credit card
• Check for SIM card PUK code (required to unblock a SIM card with too many wrong password retries)
  
• Make change to account plan
• Subscribe/unsubscribe to certain value added services (VAS)
• Change IVR settings (PIN, language, etc.)
• ... and many more.
  

To access Digi OCS, go to https://www.digi.com.my/ocs/

To access Maxis OCS, go to https://www.maxis.com.my/ecs/

To access Celcom OCS, go to https://onlinecustomerservice.celcom.com.my/application/wss/

To access to Yes OCS, go to https://www.yes.my/myselfcare/

I notice that many people are unaware about the existence of their mobile operator's OCS website, or not making use of it. Perhaps this article can bring some awareness to such free service available on the web.

Auspicious dates for house warming, open house, party, gathering, etc. in 2010

Here is the list of auspicious dates in 2010 for organizing and hosting meet-up with friends and/or relatives (会友), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

The dates are applicable for house warming, open house, home party, gathering, and any other similar functions to meet up with friends and/or relatives.
 

 
Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2010
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2010
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2010
• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2010
• Auspicious dates for opening business in 2010
• Auspicious dates in 2010 for getting a baby
• Auspicious dates for renovation in 2010