T-Mobile kills off wireless contract, readies to launch LTE network.

Gordon Brothers Europe agrees to buy struggling Blockbuster UK, saving 2,000 jobs and brand. 

W Hotels plans to double Asia presence over the next five years.

AstraZeneca settles Crestor patent suit.

Apple, Microsoft defend pricing policies in Australia.

Britain's BAE Systems wins five-year, $780 million US military contract.

BMW looks to Mini Paceman to challenge growing Fiat market.

Bridgestone launches new tire line to reignite Firestone brand.Continue reading...

After this weekend, a whole slew of Major League Baseball’s biggest names will be heading to Kansas City for next week’s All-Star Game. And when you’ve got a bunch of big names together, marketers can’t be far behind.

While the July 10th game itself will have plenty of Your Brand Here Moments for the FOX cameras, some advertisers aren’t waiting for Tuesday’s game to attach their name to the 2012 event.

State Farm is sponsoring the HomeRun Derby on July 9th on ESPN. Firestone sponsored the final fan Twitter vote that will get the last few players onto the team. All-Star voting is a bit more of a popularity contest than anything else and the final hours of fan support can be frenetic. What better time for a marketer to get its name in front of a massive amount of eyeballs?

Chevrolet, which is not coincidentally the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, is also getting itself out into the public eye early by bringing a fleet of its 2013 cars, trucks, and crossovers out to K.C. to showcase to baseball fans (and whoever else wants to take a gander).

"We're looking forward to introducing our family of Chevrolet vehicles to current and new customers in Kansas City, and celebrating our shared love of baseball," stated Phil Caruso, Chevrolet national promotions manager. "We will have product displays, ride and drives and other activities around Kansas City to enhance the fan and customer experience."

You might recall how we reported that Justin Timberlake's fashion brand, William Rast, had won the Indianapolis 500. We were mistaken. As with all things American, Ronald Reagan won the Indy 500.Continue reading...

In one of the most dramatic Indianapolis 500 race finishes in recent memory, "part time" driver Dan Wheldon zipped by rookie JR Hildebrand when the latter, leading the race, crashed in the final turn.

Wheldon commemorated his win by going above and beyond for his car's sponsors, especially William Rast, the brand co-owned by Justin Timberlake and sold at Target. But Wheldon wasn't the only race car driver throwing around the Wiliam Rast brand name on Memorial Day weekend, even if he was the only winning one.Continue reading...

RIM posts strong sales, Palm's figures dip. [WSJ]

Firestone tires rekindles its relationship with Major League Baseball. [NY Times]

Infant deaths are linked to Simplicity brand cribs. [NY Times]

Buoyed by a stronger brand and efficiency, Coke raises 2009 earnings estimate. [WaPo]

Chrysler expects brand image makeover to take two years. [WSJ]

The PGA Tour estimates Tigergate will cost the association $220M. [Warc]Continue reading...