Apple suspends iPhone 4S sales in China after riot breaks out at Beijing launch.

Delta eyes bid for American Airlines, AFP says, and so do others.

MetLife cuts 4,300 jobs as company exits mortgage business.

BMW and Daimler plan to raise U.S. output.

Bank of America ponders retreat from some regions of U.S.

Best Buy sees fallout from holiday delivery foul-up.

CBS talks with David Letterman about a new contract.

CVS Caremark settles deceptive-pricing charges.

Chipotle plans to open second ShopHouse Asian restaurant.

Coca-Cola expands social marketing to Tumblr.Continue reading...

With the Academy Awards looming, AT&T today released its first app for tracking film award nominees. The app is now available in the iTunes store and as an interactive channel to its Uverse TV subscribers.

In addition to seeing unofficial biopic The Social Network sweep the Golden Globes on Sunday night, it's been a busy week for Facebook-related news:

• A Texas District Attorney plans to use Facebook to screen potential jurors.

• Facebook Voice Updates on India's Aircel wireless network now let people connect with family and friends in their own voice via mobile, with or without internet access. Users dial a short code to record a VM, post it as a status update, and friends can reply with their voice updates. More than 15 million active FB users are in India, where mobile is ubiquitous. 

• Advertising spending on Facebook is projected to more than double in 2011 over 2010, projected to reach $4.05 billion this year, according to eMarketer. FB accounted for 4.7% of last year’s $25.8 billion U.S. online ad market; that percentage is expected to increase to 7.8% for 2011.

• Windows Live Messenger bumps CityVille as fastest growing Facebook app.Continue reading...

Apple's Tim Cook steps into the spotlight as Steve Jobs goes on his second cancer-related medical leave.

Blockbuster seeks more cash from creditors.

Cheezburger Network raises $30M from investors.

Citigroup appears to have turned the corner.

Discovery resurrects former health channel that made way for the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Facebook suspends phone and address-sharing feature, spurs ad spending to est. $3B this year.Continue reading...

Microsoft used the Golden Globes to unveil its new tagline while Kraft ran a new mac'n'cheese spot that marked its second commercial featuring the golden voice of Ted Williams — a big show of support with the "homeless to Hollywood" insta-star now in rehab. The bigger surprise, perhaps, is the girl's use of the word "piehole" in the spot, above — salty language that echoes the "Dad really screwed this up" in the brand's first spot featuring Williams, which debuted last week.

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...

As part of its billion-dollar global marketing push, Microsoft unveils a new tagline — "Be What's Next" — in commercials tailored to tonight's Golden Globes broadcast on NBC.

The spots "pre-congratulate" aspiring actors as the Golden Globe winners of tomorrow, while promoting the brand's Bing search engine (above) and Windows Phone, below.Continue reading...

Bing and Kinect will be in the spotlight as part of Microsoft's ad buy during the Golden Globes.

Charlie Chaplin copyright issue affects 10-year-old's fundraiser.

Republican party chairman contender Michael Steele drops out as Reince Priebus is named.

BP boosts holdings in Russia, swapping $7.8 billion in stock for a 9.5% stake in state-owned Rosneft firm.

Facebook pitches UK advertisers with first summit.

First Direct claims its iPhone app is first transactional banking app.Continue reading...