The 110th American International Toy Fair has kicked off in New York, which means that it is time for toy freaks to opine on everything from Superman’s underwear to the merits of creating toys based on "Breaking Bad" — a TV show about a dying chemistry teacher who turns to cooking up methamphetamines in a desperate cash-raising scheme for his family.

Warm and cuddly? Not exactly. But the fair has that elsewhere in droves, including a new line of Fisher-Price plush toys (and other items) relating to the launch of Saban's forthcoming "Julius Jr." show for preschoolers on Nickolodeon's sister network, Nick Jr. — a spinoff of Paul Frank's omnipresent monkey character. ("Julius Jr. is a funky monkey with a penchant for invention," according to a press release.)

Saban, which also owns the Power Rangers brand, is also debuting a bevvy of new action figures, plush toys, board games, consumer electronics and more as the Rangers celebrate their 20th anniversary. The brand has a new show on Nickelodeon as well — "Power Rangers Megaforce" — which has some new products attached to it.Continue reading...

AT&T slashes price of Lumia smartphone.

Aereo online-TV service expands in U.S.

Bank of England chief denies New York Fed chief gave warning on rate-rigging.

Richard Branson considers bid for Virgin Records.

Coca-Cola beats estimates with international sales up 5%.

Famous Dave's expands beyond U.S..

GM likely to retain Opel brand despite brand's woes.

Gap eyes Lululemon's Athletica stores with its own Athleta store openings.Continue reading...

AMC, Matthew Weiner and Lionsgate reach agreement to keep Mad Men on the air for three more seasons.

Sbarro restaurant chain to file Chapter 11.

American Apparel nears bankruptcy filing.

American Airlines and Japan Airlines launch trans-Pacific airline alliance.

Budweiser runs responsible drinking campaign on "China's Twitter," Sina Weibo.

Disney rolls out Disneymedia+ to integrate brand marketing in Europe.

Panasonic reports on impact of Japan disaster on operations.Continue reading...

For those who are huge fans of both Halloween and branded consumer products, Halloween costumes are a double pay-off. Sure, you can totally throw away that homemade Iron Man costume your mom made with her sweat and love in exchange for one from Target made by the sweat and low labor standards of a Chinese teenager. But you can also communicate your brand loyalty to the world by dressing yourself, or your child, as your favorite brand. Check out part one in our two-part look after the jump.Continue reading...

* Space-time continuum suffers massive tear as preposterous memes from two different decades collide (above).

* Calling the child in all art directors and the art director in all children: Name that Crayola color.

* Evil Emperor George Lucas sues Jedis for trademark infringement.

* Zynga promotes its social games, upsets everyone.Continue reading...

YouTube, which just turned 5, is now serving 2 billion views. Daily. It's celebrating its first five years with a user-generated tribute channel and launches 3D features in July.

Christian Louboutin launched a website, stopfakelouboutin.com, in a bid to stop counterfeiters.

OSI Pharmaceuticals is being acquired by Japan's Astellas Pharma for $4 billion in cash.

Facebook, says Fortune, is "growing like mad."

Google and Intel partner to bring the Web to Sony TVs.

Marks & Spencer seeks to be more chic, less High Street.

NBC Universal steps up branded entertainment opportunities for marketers.Continue reading...