Walmart posts mixed results, expects "challenging" quarter; earnings report also discloses $73M expenses related to foreign bribery probes.

Microsoft to Google: We need APIs to fix YouTube app.

Abercrombie & Fitch signs Bangladesh safety agreement as deadline passes for Gap deal.

Apple defends brand (but not Steve Jobs) in US book price-fixing suit.

Boeing and GE hunt for engine defect in 777s.

Campbell Soup uses digital marketing to target Millennials.

Capri-Sun targeted by German ad watchdog for misleading marketing.

Cisco profit is boosted by services.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola promises to reduce marketing to kids as part of global anti-obesity commitment.

Levi Strauss buys naming rights to planned new stadium of San Francisco 49ers.

Lay's reveals chip-flavor contest winner.

Abercrombie & Fitch draws fire for stocking only "skinny" sizes for women.

Activision Blizzard warns "World of Warcraft" is losing subscribers.

AT&T severely slashes Facebook Home phone prices.

BT enters British-sports broadcasting.

Claire's IPO will test market for debt-laden companies.

Ford takes over as title sponsor of Detroit's annual fireworks.

Google Maps will reportedly unveil new interface.Continue reading...

Starbucks met with investors last Wednesday to filled them in on the farm its buying in Costa Rica—a company first—as well as the expansion of its three-year-old My Starbucks Rewards program, now allowing folks who buy SBUX products in grocery stores as well as in other Starbucks-owned brands such as Teavana to earn points that they can redeem over in Starbucks cafes. The hope is to double the loyalty program to nine million folks by the end of fiscal year 2013.

But the biggest moment of the meeting was likely when CEO Howard Schultz proved he was worthy of being made to look heroic in a comic book by responding forcefully to a shareholder that questioned the company’s support of Washington state’s same-sex referendum last year: “We want to embrace diversity,” he said. “The lens in which we are making that decision is through the lens of our people. We employ over 200,000 people in this company, and we want to embrace diversity.” He went on to suggest that the shareholder was more than welcome to sell his shares and take his money elsewhere. “This is not an economic decision,” he said. And then was applauded by other shareholders.Continue reading...

Taco Bell makes new Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos available a day early.

Fox reveals details of new planned national sports network to compete with ESPN.

Best Buy ends work-at-home program for corporate employees as Yahoo! policy continues to be debated.

Alfa Romeo says its performance numbers make 4C an ideal car for U.S. market.

Doritos launches first global campaign.

Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne presses full merger with Chrysler.

Groupon CFO says company's business model will stay.

JCPenney board's patience said to be wearing thin with CEO Ron Johnson, as Martha Stewart dished from the witness stand and rehashes her testimony on NBC's Today Show.Continue reading...

Apple value dips as Google soars.

Facebook sued over bungled IPO.

HSBC, now Europe's biggest bank, sheds personal loan assets.

Carmakers at Geneva Auto Show express fears on European recovery.

AARP ramps up YouTube marketing.

Ally Financial says U.S. is probing its retail-financing practices.

Amazon launches first TV effort, for fashion unit; leads mobile retail sales.

American Suzuki gets OK of bankruptcy plan by U.S. court.

Baileys slims down its bottle.

BBC Worldwide reportedly in talks to sell Lonely Planet stake.

Best Buy and Facebook focus on next-generation mobile marketing.

Boeing expects to move fast to get Dreamliner back into the air after FAA approval of fixes.Continue reading...

Walmart philanthropic director Sylvia Mathews Burwell expected to be nominated Monday as Obama's budget chief.

India develops a taste for premium beer while officials approve $2 billion Diageo deal.

HSBC set for $23 billion profit as turnaround gains traction.

AB InBev takes to Twitter and newspaper ads to fight watered-down-beer charges.

AIDS drug breakthrough sees infant evidently cured through early use of virus-blocking drugs.

Alfa Romeo reboot marks tough road for Fiat.

American Airlines drops below 60,000 employees for the first time since 1987.

AOL's new Brand Group CEO Susan Lyne lays out her goals.

Asos joins brands using Twitter's Vine for short form social video marketing.Continue reading...

Groupon sacks founder Andrew Mason as CEO.

Gap reports strong sales on increased marketing spending.

Barnes & Noble falls behind in tablet wars.

Ahold plans to roll out more pickup points for Peapod.

Annie's looks to "spread good."

Apple flip-flopped on rule about officers' stock holdings.

Best Buy and founder end talks on ownership deal.

Boeing pares workforce for grounded Dreamliner.

Diageo prepares to buy majority stake in United Spirits.

Disney finds CEO Robert Iger under fire over power and pay.

Domino's Pizza plans to increase national ad spending. Continue reading...

LinkedIn is locked in to a successful if lackluster business model, as far as Wall Street—and the online social network's 40 to 43 million reguar unique visitors—are concerned. That puts it in contrast to many of the sexier brands in the social media-sphere.

While the market capitalizations of darlings such as Facebook, Zynga and Groupon have fallen by 25 percent to 60 percent since their recent public offerings, LinkedIn is now valued at more than $18 billion versus just $4 billion when it went public nearly two years ago. With that, its stock closed at all-time highs this week.

That's because the Mountain View, Calif.-based brand has managed to create and then dominate social media networking focused around jobs, careers and business identities. LinkedIn also has been able to monetize its site by selling services such as job ads, career pages and a recruiter talent finder that helps companies find, attract and manage their talent.

In turn, LinkedIn's utility has helped make it gradually more attractive to the most career-challenged generation—Milennials—in addition to Generation Xers and boomers who tended to become the initial members of LinkedIn as established professionals. Meanwhile, Facebook, for instance, has lost its identity as the place where young social-networkers gather. Continue reading...