Mattel bouncing around

Shares of the El Segundo-based company are down 1.5 percent in early trading, another zig in a choppy trading pattern since Mattel's Fisher-Price division recalled 967,000 Chinese-made toys because they may have contained excessive levels of lead paint. Of course, the entire market has been zig-zagging, so it's hard to know how concerned investors are about sales ramifications (most of the toys were pulled before they reached shelves). Meanwhile, Lee Der Industrial Company in Guangdong Province was finally identified as the Chinese factory that made the recalled toys. As is often the way in China, however, the news is not that cut-and-dried. The AP reports that a man at a Lee Der Industrial Company in Guangdong Province said it made cardboard boxes, not toys. A woman who answered the phone at another number listed under the name said the company had gone bankrupt several years ago. It's possible that workers are fearful that the disclosure could result in layoffs (that happens a lot). Here's more from the WSJ:

Under current U.S. law, when companies bargain with the government before agreeing to a voluntary recall, they don't have to disclose the identities of the manufacturers involved. Mattel had argued that it didn't want to name the factory before completing an investigation. Late yesterday, Mattel said its investigation is continuing, but added that the company is no longer accepting shipments from the factory. The lack of public information, however, created a guessing game for others that may have a stake in the factory's identity, including other manufacturers, consumers and Chinese workers.