AB InBev reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its disputed $20.1 billion acquisition of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, which faces inquiry over Mexico worker deaths.

GE to buy Lufkin for $3 billion in oil-and-gas-industry play.

PepsiCo seeks to patent novel high-protein nutrition beverages.

Adidas stops controversial sale of t-shirts around injured Louisville player Kevin Ware.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong to be honored for pro-women Makers series.

Apple's former advisor to Steve Jobs admits brand screwed up iPhone naming system.Continue reading...

Gun Company Fires Back at Tommy Guns Vodka

Chicago mobsters back in the days of Al Capone favored a submachine gun known as the Tommy gun, which was then glorified in plenty of films and books about the era. But Tommy guns aren’t some relic of history. Saeilo Enterprises still makes them, and the owners aren’t very happy with Alphonse Capone Enterprises and its Tommy Guns Vodka, which is sold in a bottle shaped like the famous gun.

In fact, they are so annoyed that a lawsuit has been filed, the Chicago Tribune reports. Saeilo wants all of the Tommy Guns Vodka that is left to be turned over so it can all be destroyed. (Consumption counts as destroying, right?)Continue reading...

AB InBev sees U.S. government sue to block acquisition of Grupo Modelo.

Best Buy Canada blames Walmart and Target for closure of 15 stores as Sears Canada downsizes.

P&G launches dual Old Spice Men in new campaign.

BlackBerry touts deal with NHL and begins selling new BlackBerry 10 in U.K. as investors retreat.

AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers deepen diabetes-marketing alliance.

Chrysler reports 16-percent increase in January sales, strongest in five years.

GM promotion with Costco proves its worth.

Google submits proposal to resolve antitrust concerns in Europe.Continue reading...

For more than a century, there’s been a bar fight going on between the world’s biggest brewer, AB InBev (and all its predecessors) and Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar NP. Both claim they should have the rights to the name “Bud” in Europe. 

The most recent winner is AB InBev after the EU General Court in Luxembourg “rejected Budvar’s appeal of AB InBev’s right to the EU trademark because the Czech company presented insufficient proof of the existing use of the name in some European countries,” Bloomberg reports.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV claims to have been using the Bud name since 1876. Budvar did not exist until 19 years later. AB InBev put in an application for the trademark in July 1996 and, according to the court, Budvar couldn’t show that it had used the term across Europe before then.Continue reading...

Apple pays $60M to end iPad trademark dispute in China, looks to secure ipad3.com domain.

Barclays scandal forces out chairman, saying "the buck stops with me."

Bristol-Myers agrees to buy Amylin Pharmaceuticals for $5B in cash, expands diabetes alliance.

Rupert Murdoch will rebrand the Wall Street Journal as WSJ as part of News Corp. split.

AMC parent ends AT&T U-verse TV dispute with long-term agreement, as Dish feud continues.

Applebee's rolls out fresh menu, look and campaign.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch InBev already owned half of Mexican Grupo Modelo but the world’s biggest brewer apparently needs to keep consuming all in its sight. InBev shelled out $20.1 billion to grab the other half of the brewer of such beers as Corona and Modelo and stake its claim to the growing Mexican market. The name of the website it set up to announce the deal says it all: GlobalBeerLeader.com.

It's a huge purchase, to be sure, but AB InBev sees the upside in the company as a whole and its Corona brand specifically. Modelo “is Mexico's biggest brewer with a 50 percent-plus market share in a virtual duopoly with Heineken's FEMSA Cerveza in the world's fourth most-profitable beer market,” Reuters reports. “Corona is the biggest imported beer in the lucrative U.S. market.” InBev shelled out so much dough partly because Modelo stakeholders had no real incentive to sell.Continue reading...

Toyota tops Interbrand's 2012 Best Global Green Brands report.

News Corp. considers splitting company in two, spinning off publishing assets, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft acquires Yammer for $1.2 billion to take on Oracle and Salesforce with new cloud-based services.

Nissan rises on fast recovery from disasters and plans $1B China auto plant as CEO Ghosn remains Japan's highest paid exec and automaker turns to Facebook to launch five new models.

Facebook names first woman to board — COO Sheryl Sandberg — and pulls so-called stalker app while creating uproar by changing all users' email addresses to facebook.com.

Google I/O news on Wednesday expected to reveal Google and Sony taking on cable and satellite operators with voice-controlled YouTube TV box, as Google prepares to battle Apple with discount tablet.Continue reading...

AB InBev closes in on buying remainder of Mexico's Grupo Modelo for more than $12 billion.

Apple adds Yelp check-ins to iPhone maps app, sees Motorola Mobility patent case shut down by federal judge and retail workers described by NYT as "loyal but short on pay."

Best Buy tries to regain edge before back-to-school season.

BlackBerry owner RIM reportedly considers a plan to split its company in two.

Cadillac surprises with integration of Apple's Siri voice.

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's set Spider-Man movie tie-in.

Dewar's announces three-year partnership with TED.

Dairy Queen gripes about New York menu restrictions as it enters the city.Continue reading...