We have talked before about Apple's woefully poor record regarding its environmental and labour practices in China. At long last, the company is bowing to pressure from a coalition of NGOs, and will commence a comprehensive audit of its Chinese supply chain. As the FT points out, "the unprecedented dialogue comes as Apple tries to find a new balance between the secrecy with which it guards its processes and the potential public relations fallout from being targeted by activists on the environment, labour policy or other areas." An interesting post from Adam Parker explores share prices at the major holding groups, following last week's dramatic sell-off at Huntsworth Group. Parker's gloomy prognosis does find one silver lining for the PR community: Next Fifteen is outperforming the market this year. This marks something of a turnaround for a group that was, in mid-2009, presumed ripe for a takeover. Hong Kong is about to elect (in the loosest sense of the word) a new chief executive, and each contender is assembling PR teams to help make their case. Most appear to be ex-journalists, although the contention in this article that they are attracted by "being in the center of the action when history is made," seems a tad hyperbolic. In his own inimitable manner, Wieden & Kennedy planner Rob Campbell explains why companies should be more authentic and confront negative issues head on. Although, in this case, I can't help but wonder if Aero's ability to charge more for less is evidence of an intention to hoodwink consumers?