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EDITOR'S CHOICE -- SCOTT SUTTELL Sherwin-Williams' loss is Akzo Nobel's gain in Wal-Mart deal Blog entry: September 1, 2010, 9:57 am     |     Author: SCOTT SUTTELL A few thoughts and links for the day: Here's a case where what's good for Akzo Nobel, which operates ICI Paints North America in Strongsville, is not so good for Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams Co. Forbes.com reports that the Dutch paint maker has agreed to become Wal-Mart Stores' main supplier of interior and exterior paints at more than 3,500 outlets in the United States. Akzo, which makes the Dulux and Glidden paint brands, said the deal would "significantly boost" its market share. Akzo will replace Wal-Mart's current primary paint supplier, Sherwin-Williams, which sells about $250 million of paint to Wal-Mart, Forbes.com says. Nomura analyst Jennifer Barker “estimates Wal-Mart sells around 22 million gallons of paint a year, split evenly between Sherwin-Williams' brand, Dutch Boy (set to be replaced by Azko's Glidden brand) and Wal-Mart's own brand, Color Place,” according to the web site. Ms. Barker tells Forbes.com that Wal-Mart is swapping Sherwin for Akzo for three reasons: “Akzo is probably supplying at a lower cost and Wal-Mart generally prefers more global suppliers — Sherwin has only 15% of its sales outside North America while Akzo has about 80%. Finally, Akzo's ‘value' range within the Glidden brand would fit well in Wal-Mart.” A Slate.com column by Daniel Gross does an excellent job of cutting through all the whining from corporate America about the Obama administration to make a key point: big companies these days are doing very well. (Smaller companies are another matter entirely.) “Corporate profits, which stood at $1.5 trillion in 2007, fell sharply to $1.26 trillion (in 2008) and essentially stagnated in 2009,” Mr. Gross writes. “But since the Obama presidency started, the trajectory in quarterly profits has reversed. Quarterly profits (reported at an annualized rate) rose from $1.18 trillion in the 2009 second quarter to $1.42 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $1.64 trillion in the second quarter of 2010. In the second quarter of 2010, corporate profits were up 39.2% from the year-before quarter.” CEOs “deserve most of the credit for this turnaround,” Mr. Gross writes, as they “slashed costs, restructured, made cold and swift decisions, and relentlessly pursued productivity and efficiency” in the recession. They've also continued — and intensified — “their long-standing practice of beating the living daylights out of America's labor force,” according to Mr. Gross. “Despite Democratic control of Washington, labor has never been weaker. Organized labor continues its long decline. Union membership fell again in 2009 as percentage of work force, to 12.3%, down from 13.4% in 2000.” He concludes, “To review: Corporate profits have largely recovered to pre-crisis levels. A disproportionate share of economic growth is finding its way into the coffers of corporate America. CEOs are in an extremely strong negotiating position vis-à-vis their employees. And yet America's bosses think they are members of an oppressed minority.” A Commerce Department decision on aluminum exports from China sets the state for a fight on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers — with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown prominent among them — have been pushing to penalize China for not moving quickly enough to revalue its currency. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Commerce Department on Tuesday “found that the Chinese government unfairly subsidized $514 million of aluminum exports to the U.S. last year. But the U.S. said it wouldn't investigate allegations that China's currency policies function as export subsidies for Chinese manufacturers of aluminum and coated paper.” The currency allegations, made in connection with two trade cases, “didn't meet the legal standards for initiating an investigation, according to the Commerce Department, which has taken a similar stance in a string of similar trade cases in recent years,” The Journal reports. Sen. Brown and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., are “pushing for legislation that would force Commerce to investigate currency policies as potential export subsidies when well-documented allegations are presented,” according to the newspaper. There's a Northeast Ohio connection to a new PBS show created by a Duquesne University biology professor that aims to show how fun and accessible science can be. The live-action show, “Scientastic!,” stars 13-year-old Lili Reinhart of Bay Village. The first episode, “Sticks and Stones,” teaches views about the anatomy and physiology of bones, according to John Pollock of Duquesne. Future "Scientastic!" episodes subjects could include vaccines, and diet, nutrition, exercise and obesity, Prof. Pollock tells the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review>. The pilot episode is airing this week, but only in Pittsburgh, the newspaper reports. However, American Public Television “is looking at picking the show up and distributing it nationally, depending on the response,” according to the Tribune-Review. Ms. Reinhart's character would return as the lead in every episode, says Prof. Pollock, who designed "Scientastic!" to reinforce girls' capabilities in science. Mo Williams' Twitter feed is making me kind of sad. I know Mo recently lost a friend, but some of his recent posts just make it seem like the Cavaliers' guard is, well, lonely. (And this guy has more than 70,000 followers.) Among his posts in the last few days: “who wants to play me in tiger woods?,” “whats poppn this wkend cleve. i might step out somewhere,” “i want to play fantasy football this yr. i never done it. somebody help....” and “whats on tv 2nite.” (TV is a common theme for Mr. Williams. He seems especially to like shows on HBO.) So if you're on Twitter tonight, set aside some time to communicate with Mr. Williams. It seems like he'd enjoy the digital company. You also can follow me on Twitter for more news about Northeast Ohio.  Subscribe          Print          E-mail