New York mayor Michael Bloomberg unveils $12 million ad campaign (above) for Mayors Against Illegal Guns that lobbies for background checks to reduce gun violence, while NYC's municipal data geek squad makes headlines.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz defends same-sex marriage support to shareholders as brand expands loyalty rewards to other retailers.

PepsiCo shares jump on Mondelez merger speculation sparked by Telegraph story which Pepsi "downplays."

Apple acquires indoor GPS startup WiFiSLAM for mapping, patents iPhone drop protection technology and faces EU scrutiny following iPhone and iPad distribution complaints — and may report first quarterly dip since 2003.

FTC "pay for delay" generic drug case, set to go before US Supreme Court on Monday, will be closely watched by pharmaceutical industry and economists.

Below: BlackBerry, Blockbuster, Dell, Diageo and other brands in the news —Continue reading...

Coca-Cola announces Global Fund donation at Clinton Global Initiative meeting, teams up with Segway creator on clean water project and launches corporate blog.

GE's Jeff Immelt joins the few brave CEOs on Twitter.

IBM targets Amazon in the cloud.

AirAsia creates child-free quiet zones on flights.

Arby's sees gains under new owners.

Barnes & Noble plans to launch Nook video service.

Chase Bank tops customer-satisfaction study.Continue reading...

Microsoft will announce Monday a plan to sell tablets under its own brand, in a challenge to Apple's iPad, while Amazon reportedly plans to launch cloud music service in July to rival iTunes.

Kirin Holdings agreed to pay $200.9 million Australian dollars (US$203.4 million) for the shares it doesn't already own in Australian boutique brewer Little World Beverages, as Japanese companies expand offshore to combat flagging domestic demand.

Dr Martens owners seeks up to £200m from potential buyers.

AirAsia plans to follow Virgin model with brand extensions.

Android relaunches user interface.Continue reading...

Next time you need to get to Japan but don’t have too much cash in your pocket, you may be in luck.

AP reports that ANA (All Nippon Airways) and Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia are working together to launch a budget airline in 2012 that will serve Japanese domestic travelers as well as international travelers that are flying in and out of Japan.

ANA is Japan’s largest airline but “it has been seeking to strengthen its foothold in the low-cost market amid growing competition,” AP reports. The deal follows news last September that ANA planned to launch a new low-cost carrier in the region.Continue reading...

Apple announces Black Friday sale.

BP's $2 billion Gulf compensation fund fails to quell critics.

Citi launches "financial capability" site to educate consumers.

Coty is buying Philosophy, one of of Oprah's "Ultimate Favorite Things" brands.

Disney's video games chief steps down.

Gawker forced to remove Sarah Palin book excerpts.

GM plans 100-dealer network for Baojun in China.Continue reading...

Any brand owner looking to learn a lesson about getting noticed should just watch Richard Branson.

The iconoclastic head of Virgin has a penchant for publicity that keeps his name popping up in the press with uncanny regularity.  

His latest gambit is silly but it's still making headlines. Branson bet AirAsia owner Tony Fernandes that his Virgin Racing Formula One team would finish higher than Fernandes' Lotus Racing team. The loser of the bet agreed that he would dress up as a woman flight attendant for the winner's airline.

Well, Sir Richard lost, and Tony is playing out the bet for all it's worth.Continue reading...