Facebook details ding Zynga shares as partnership ends.

CNN needs more vibrancy in programming, incoming CEO Jeff Zucker says.

Lipitor generic cholesterol pill production halted by Ranbaxy following glass contamination.

Amazon tops Walmart with wealthy Americans, study says.

AT&T named best 4G network in Consumer Reports annual ranking, but places last for voice/text quality to #1 Verizon.

Chevrolet partners with Dailybreak for holiday push.

Chuck E. Cheese sees revamped mascot lose consumer appeal.

Cool Whip breaks new ground with frosting.

Duke Energy forces out CEO in settlement.Continue reading...

A major part of the logic behind the split-up of Kraft into snacks go-getter (and naming-challenged) Mondelēz International and its more tired North American grocery business is to create a "global snacking powerhouse" — and spur growth in the latter enterprise.

As Forbes noted, Kraft is moving from the New York Stock Exchange to NASDAQ with the move to spin off its North American business and rebrand its corporate parent: "Kraft is keeping its faster-growing global snacks business into a new company named Mondelēz International, ticker MDLZ, while its spun-off North American grocery business will keep the Kraft Foods name but trade under ticker KRFT. Both stocks will list on the Nasdaq when the breakup is complete, and the KFT symbol will be retired."

Now that Kraft Foods Group can begin selling shares with its own listing as an independent company after the market's close on Oct. 1st, it's time for Kraft to fulfill investor expectations as Mondelēz (which will debut on Oct. 3rd, with a defiant macron over its final 'ē') is considered to be the higher growth stock.Continue reading...

Cool Whip wasn't the only brand that popped up during Sunday night's Mad Men — a different kind of cool brand, one that whipped fans into a frenzy back in episode 508's day, was also very much in evidence: the Beatles.

It’s been more than four decades since the Fab Four last performed together. Since then, of course, John Lennon was assassinated and George Harrison died of lung cancer. While time has passed and much has changed, the Beatles remain one of the world’s powerhouse brands. One reason why is because those who protect it are still doing so extremely diligently. The band’s songs rarely are heard in any kind of situation other than on the radio or on whatever form of music player consumers prefer.

That changed this past Sunday night when AMC’s Mad Men used the “Tomorrow Never Knows” in an episode that partially chronicled protagonist Don Draper’s attempt to understand the youth culture. As part of his efforts, Draper puts “Revolver” on the stereo and listens to the tune, the last track on the album. Released in 1966, the song marks a bit of turning point musically for the band and era as it showcase the band’s experiments with psychedelia. Lennon used Timothy Leary’s The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead as inspiration for the lyrics.

Draper is befuddled by the song, but Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner wasn’t confused one bit.Continue reading...