China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: VW gets nostalgic... Luxury brands suffer... Starbucks canbalizes itself... Apple "ruins" family life... Translating cat app... Tencent profits... BYD... Let Li... Dutch infant formula... What Taobao can tell you about breast size... McDonald's McCafe absurdity... Face toothpaste... What a poorly made $30 hamburger reveals about China's middle class... and more.Continue reading...

YouTube close to launching paid subscription channels, reports say. 

Amazon launches first Android app-store in China, ahead of Google. 

Pfizer lets bashful buyers get Viagra online.

Al Jazeera America plans to open Detroit bureau.

Asustek plans to make small Windows 8 tablets.

Audi considers doubling production at Mexico factory under construction.

Berkshire Hathaway provides peek at era after Buffett.

BuzzFeed takes steps to expand foreign news.Continue reading...

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Iron Man 3 inaccuracies... BMW... Casino frugality... Wanglaoji trademarks... Heinz baby food... Hugo Boss mini-movies... Sunning manga... China's first lady for Pehchaolin... Ashley Furniture... L’Oreal... Ad spends... Iron Man 3 product placement... and more.Continue reading...

Apple dodges $9 billion in US taxes with bond deal.

Google named Advertiser of the Year. 

Volkswagen makes $10 million donation to the National Mall.

Adidas sales drop on weakening Reebok brand.

Barnes & Noble begins support of Google apps on Nook.

Beam sales rise because of "formula run" on Maker's Mark.

Diet Coke slims down its vending machines.

Ford adds jobs and raises capacity to make pick-up trucks.

Geritol seeks new life with younger consumers.

Huffington Post brings rapid-response "native" ads to its home page.Continue reading...

DreamWorks acquires Awesomeness TV, a YouTube teen network.

Walmart retools e-commerce and mobile.

Facebook says 30 percent of revenue now comes from mobile ads.

Boeing moves to upgrade popular 777 passenger jet.

Bud Light launches Music First initiative.

CBS scores big from Super Bowl ad revenues.

Cablevision adds Glenn Beck's network.

Del Taco emphasizes freshness of its food in campaign.

Disney rethinks role in Bangladesh supply after building collapse and deaths.Continue reading...

The box-office launch for Iron Man 3 is about as promising as Tony Stark's next invention. The three-quel in Disney and Marvel's series about the tech-happy superhero and his industrialist alter ego blitzed competitors with its overseas opening last weekend, taking a $195-million bow while soaring past last year's $185-million overseas debut of The Avengers.

As the movie starring Robert Downey Jr. in the returning title role prepares for its US opening this weekend, the hearty franchise is getting an assist from another returning member of the "cast": the Audi R8 sports car. The German luxury brand placed a version of its R8 in the first and second Iron Man films; this time around Stark's main drive is the all-electric R8 e-tron which has gone into only limited actual production.

"Stark and his passion for innovative technology, his sophisticated wit and his character overall are great representatives for our brand," Drew Elliott, social-media specialist for Audi of America, told brandchannel.Continue reading...

Apple loses throne to Exxon as world's biggest company as its slowdown threatens a $30-billion global supplier web.

Twitter launches music app for iOs devices today.

Burberry sales rise as China growth recovers.

BlackBerry says Alicia Keyes delivers its PowerPoint presentations.

CNN deals with aftermath of erroneous reporting in Boston Marathon investigation.

Carnival plans to spend up to $700 million to upgrade fleet.

Chevrolet says its new Cruze diesel outdoes Volkswagen Jetta diesel in mileage.Continue reading...

Behind Robert Downey Jr. were three product logos during a recent junket to Beijing to promote Iron Man 3. One was Audi, one was FAW-Volkswagen and the other was TCL.

Iron Man 3 re-upped its deal with Audi, a deal we said complicates the product placement continuity across Marvel's Avengers property. One other Iron Man 3 partnership that could also cause future continuity issues is the film's big tie-in with China's tech brand TCL.

But this is not TCL's first dance with a US blockbuster. Once again, the brand is hoping to use its position as a Hollywood sidekick to springboard its way into foreign living rooms. It appears to be working and TCL might soon be one of those select few Chinese brands that have cracked foreign markets, even if those foreign markets don't know TCL is Chinese.Continue reading...