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...

It was a bad week for Martha Stewart, and we don't mean the damaged-by-Sandy trees at her Bedford, NY farm.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia laid off 65 to 70 employees and announced it's restructuring its media portfolio. It's reducing the frequency by half of its Everyday Food magazine (from 10 to 5 editions, and moving from print to digital). MSLO also plans to sell its Whole Living title or fold the content into its flagship Martha Stewart Living magazine, moves that could save the company between $33 and $35 million a year. 

Reports of clashes between Martha Stewart, founder and non-executive chairman and Lisa Gersh, president and CEO, are escalating, as the latest restructuring shrinks the brand’s print footprint in hopes that digital deals with partners like Hulu and AOL as well as television deals like PBS show, Martha Stewart’s Cooking School, will prove lucrative for the flailing company.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch and Major League Baseball extend partnership.

Best Buy lavishes compensation on new CEO.

Delhaize bets big on retailing in Greece despite economic turmoil.

Dell and HP struggle to sell PCs.

Denver bans outdoor advertising for medical marijuana outlets.

Larry Ellison buys Hawaiian island and everyone wonders what Oracle founder will do with it.

Exelon benefits from ties to Obama administration, New York Times says.

Fox and Ad Council use Glee to target texting while driving.

General Mills, McDonald's and other marketers are accused by feds of collecting data about kids. Continue reading...

Apple, now worth more than Google and Microsoft combined, is hit with stores protest over Foxconn treatment of workers in China, while fans anticipate new iPad and iPhone models.

Barclays caps bonuses as profit falls.

Beyonce and Jay-Z move to trademark daughter's name.

Bing and Viggle partner for second-screen Grammy effort.

Citibank bill-pay app charged some users twice, bank concedes.

Continental pushes past Southwest in customer loyalty.Continue reading...

Abbott Laboratories pulls diet drug Meridia over concerns about heart risks.

Beverly Hills expands brand into the perfume and beauty business.

Cnooc, the oil giant based in China, invests in Texas.

CVS Caremark is bullish about business prospects from U.S. health-care reform.

Disney faces marketing and ethics scrutiny over disappointing opening-weekend box-office for Secretariat.

Focus Brands acquires soft-pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s.

Gawker Media chief Nick Denton is profiled in the New Yorker.

Glee beats Beatles singles record.Continue reading...

Airstream pitches younger, creative affluents on RV-ing.

Apple is wooing publishers to develop iPad versions of their titles.

ARM, a British semiconductor firm, holds a command position in the crucial technology of low-power chips.

Barnes & Noble’s takeover struggle centers on e-books.

BP finally seals the well in the Gulf of Mexico, but the effects of the disaster will linger for years.

California Pizza Kitchen tests technology that allows patrons to pay their tabs from their tables.Continue reading...

* RIM falls to 17-month low as India's BlackBerry ban looms; suggests forum to resolve standoff.

* HP tops Dell's bid for 3Par again, this time offering $1.8 billion.

* Toyota and GM are recalling 1.3 million vehicles, impacting GM's Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Corolla and Matrix models.

* Google is testing real-time search - here's the link.

* All Nippon Airways is now Japan's top carrier, knocking JAL to #1.Continue reading...

General Motors filed for an IPO today. The move, billed as "historic" by the Washington Post, will allow GM to become a public company again and let the U.S. government begin selling its stake.

BlackBerry users in the UAE and other RIM hotspots are scrambling for alternatives.

American Airlines is adding a $19-$39 surcharge for front-row seats, now called "Express Seats."

BHP, the world's largest mining company, stepped up its aggressive bid for Potash.

BMW's new Megacity concept car is called a "decidely ugly" entry in the eco-car race.

BP faces a "long road" to restoring consumer confidence in its brand, writes the Washington Post.Continue reading...