Bluetooth consortium creates consumer retail mark.

Bon Appetit sells branded culinary products on HSN.

Cigna is buying HealthSpring for $3.8 billion. 

Harley-Davidson recalls 308,000 motorcycles for brake issue.

Jeremy Scott unveils latest ObyO sneaker line for Adidas.

Jim Beam invites "biggest liquor takeover since 2005."

JPMorgan Chase and other financial firms test social marketing.

Mattel signs deal to acquire Thomas the Tank Engine parent HIT Entertainment for $680 million with backing from Apax Partners.

MTV plans Occupy Wall Street reality special, as American couple looks to cash in on Occupy Wall Street with trademark move.

Netflix subscriber losses are worse than expected.

NFL and American Idol duke it out for priciest US TV spot.

Oracle expands its cloud footprint with $1.43 billion RightNow acquisition.

Saab brand woes detailed in New York Times.

Yahoo attracts more potential suitors.

Super Bowl XLV will offer a match-up between classic franchises when the Green Bay Packers play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Arlington, Texas, on February 6. Mercedes-Benz hints at Super Bowl attack on Lexus with Serena Williams, while Papa John's, Intel, Monster, Dr Pepper, Denny's, Universal Orlando and text-answering service KGB take a pass on returning to this Super Bowl. Fox, meanwhile, rejects potentially controversial Super Bowl ad, creator says.

Air France to disclose safety criticisms of review panel.

The BBC is shedding about 25% of online staff, and moves away from celebrity coverage and in-depth financial analysis.

Conde Nast prepares “Bite me” campaign for Bon Appetit magazine.

Facebook reaches deal with German regulator over “friend-finder.”Continue reading...

Conde Nast Publications announced this morning that it is shuttering four magazines, following a widely publicized review by McKinsey and Company. Food bible Gourmet will shut down, Brides will increase to monthly publication but Modern Bride and Elegant Bride will close, as will family lifestyle magazine Cookie.

The changes show resolve by Conde Nast to eliminate redundant brands -- an opposite strategy than earlier in the decade, when the company was happy to boast food titles Gourmet and Bon Appetit, men's mags GQ, Details, Cargo, Vitals, and Men's Vogue, home titles House & Garden, Architectural Digest, Domino and occasionally Vogue Living, and numerous women's books including Vogue, Glamour, Self, Jane and Allure. In those days, the company's direction was to block competition and nail down every available ad dollar in a given category.

Now, the company has reversed course. Cargo, Vitals, and Domino (all clones, to some extent, of Conde's successful shopping magazine Lucky), Jane and House & Garden are gone, and Men's Vogue has been folded into Vogue as a twice-annual supplement.Continue reading...