Apple loses iPad Mini trademark, and finds a fan in Kim Jong-un as North Korea rattles saber and tensions rise with U.S., while increased China headaches include hacking threat and iPad regulation.

Discovery Communications expands global channel reach and launches scripted programming.

Novartis loses cancer drug patent battle in India.

Amazon buys Goodreads community-driven user reviews website.

AMC reveals new tagline and logo.

Armani hires Cate Blanchett for $10M campaign.

AT&T scores with March Madness Twitter campaign.Continue reading...

Amazon teases new Kindle Fire devices during NFL kick-off while Kobo unveils new range of "e-readers for everyone."

Albertsons scales back retail operation with store closures.

Andy Roddick retires after U.S. Open loss, as Roger Federer is knocked out and loses world #1 title.

Ben & Jerry's sues over x-rated Ben & Cherry's.

Bentley moves US management team to VW HQ.

Bill Clinton helps seal Barack Obama nomination at DNC convention.

Billabong attracts $700 million bid from Bain Capital.

BP unveils new technology to boost oil production.Continue reading...

Folks who fly regularly have had this experience: a nearby kid is screaming at the top of his or her lungs. Or running up and down the aisle. Or kicking the back of your seat. Even the most dedicated parent isn’t pleased when someone else’s kid is making the flight a horror show for everybody else.

Folks who truly detest such flights might want to schedule a trip to Malaysia. The word from CNN is that Malaysia Airlines is planning to ban kids form the top deck of its A380 aircraft.  Continue reading...

Airlines have taken to sponsoring teams in England’s Premier League recently. Etihad Airlines signed on with Manchester City in July. Emirates Airlines has its name on Arsenal’s stadium. And Turkish Airlines has a deal with Manchester United.

Great promotion for the airlines, right? Well, there are a few that get turned off when a brand sign on with a team: the fans of that team’s rivals.Continue reading...

FIFA, the organizing body of world soccer, dug itself a massive PR hole this past spring when a cash-for-votes scandal was unearthed. It left Asia’s former soccer head Mohamed bin Hammam banned for life “after being accused of bribery during his failed attempt to become FIFA president,” according to Reuters.

Though bin Hammam has always denied the allegations, it doesn’t change that FIFA sponsor Emirates Airlines felt “overlooked” during the whole scandal and now is considering leaving when its contract runs out in 2014, Reuters reports.

"We are seriously thinking about not renewing our partnership with FIFA beyond 2014," said Boutros Boutros, the divisional senior vice president of corporate communications for Emirates, told Australia’s B&T Media. The comment took FIFA by surprise, according to Bloomberg.Continue reading...

Johnson & Johnson used to be a top-tier sponsor of the International Olympic Committee. When renewal time came up in 2008, though, the health-care corporation didn’t sign on. Now it appears those dollars are going to a different international sporting event.

The world governing body of soccer, FIFA, has announced that Johnson & Johnson has filled its final sponsorship slot for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, according to the Associated Press. J&J is now the eighth second-tier worldwide sponsor of the next World Cup.

J&J joins Budweiser, Castrol, Continental, McDonald's, OI, Seara, and Yingli Solar as the global sponsors of the next Cup, according to SportBusiness.com. The top-tier partners are Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai-Kia, Emirates, Sony and Visa.Continue reading...

Airbus says it’s ahead of rival Boeing on new-plane orders.

AOL bets on hyperlocal news with Patch.com.

BP deal with Russian oil giant Rosneft criticized on U.S. national-security grounds.

Campbell Soup targets China.

Fiat wins a crucial union vote agreeing to changes in a plant in Turin and plans product changes for Chrysler.

Hyundai ponders a second U.S. manufacturing plant despite UAW lobbying.

Johnson & Johnson looks to get its act together in drug aisle.Continue reading...

Universal opens its new Harry Potter attraction in Orlando today.

Airbus A380, the world's biggest aircraft, is a hot ticket for Air France, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and other airlines.

BP CEO Tony Hayward's performance on the hot seat yesterday drew mixed reviews at home in the U.K. as Moody's cuts its rating again.

Marlboro's color-coded cigarette packs investigated by FDA.Continue reading...