BMW projected to beat Mercedes-Benz for US luxury crown.

PepsiCo reportedly mulls layoffs and salary freeze to appease Wall Street.

Kodak bankruptcy report in WSJ slams stock price.

Apple hires Adobe exec to oversee iAds, threatens to sue company behind Steve Jobs doll and rises at Foxconn's expense.

Australia's Commonwealth Bank crowdsources customer ideas.

Arm & Hammer ordered to pull TV commercial criticizing cat litter competitor.

Audi's China sales outstrip Germany.

Boeing closes premier factory in Wichita.

Burberry is now the most popular luxury brand on Facebook, as YouTube, MTV and Coca-Cola lead in FB engagement.Continue reading...

Move over, Mini Darth — Daddy's back (Chewbacca, too) for Currys PC World in the UK.

Lingerie brand Fig Leaves launches interesting London Tube interactive campaign.

Click through for more seasonal fun.Continue reading...

• CNN looks at advertising on airport bathroom mirrors (best read while listening to above).

• We missed Charlie Sheen's Ustream debut Saturday night (which was panned) be see that he was skewered on SNL (with Lindsay Lohan), planning branded merchandise and being wooed by the producer of AMC's hit Walking Dead series.

• We also see that ... AmEx is teaming up with Foursquare ... Angry Birds will integrate with Facebook next month ... CBS and Turner feature Kings of Leon in March Madness campaign ... and some classic ad icons are getting a makeover.

More weekend headlines:Continue reading...

Bits and bobs that caught our attention this week:

* Still think making consumers laugh is the way to connect? UK retailer John Lewis disagrees (above).

* Is that a Mini Coupe-r?

* T-Shirts for font snobs.

* "Luke, I'm your brand extension."Continue reading...

Apple to compete with Google by acquiring mobile ad network Quattro wireless. [Adage]

Kraft Foods sweetens its hostile takeover bid for Cadbury. [NYT]

Ten years later, ex Time Warner Chief apologizes for "worst deal of the century." [FT]

Nestle promotes new candy bar via social media. [BrandWeek]

Visa uses card fees and signatures to profit from purchases. [NYT]

Apple finally to ship "Tablet" in March after mounting speculation. [WSJ]Continue reading...

Bloomberg LP wants to be the "world's most influential news organization." [NY Times]

NBCU encounters slow ad sales for Winter Olympics. [BrandWeek]

Underdog Palm fights for market share. [NY Times]

GM to begin paying back US government loan by year's end. [WSJ]

Auto industry still has many brands to shed. [WSJ]

A bright spot for ailing GM: China. [WSJ]

Chrysler wants "brand salons" in showrooms. [Auto News]

Time Inc. "Selling Detroit" project enlists journalists and ad agencies. [NY Times]

H&M reports unexpected sales drop. [WSJ]

The bulls are running at UBS. [WSJ]

(More headlines: Asos, Crucell, Megan Fox.)Continue reading...

Android operating system woos major cellphone makers away from competition. [NY Times]

Can Verizon's Droid dethrone the iPhone? [Ad Age]

HTC smartphone launches big campaign in UK and US. [Brand Republic]

Ford rises above wounded competitors, gains 5% market share. [WSJ]

GM and Chrysler upend marketing strategies. [FT]

"Smart Choices" food label program has been suspended by the FDA. [Chicago Tribune]

Disney issues refunds for "Baby Einstein" products. [NY Times]

Movie studios begin to divulge plans for DVD alternatives. [NY Times]

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen launch juniors line available at JC Penney. [WWD]

(More headlines: Eisner's web studion, Heineken, VW.)Continue reading...

Burberry introduces lower-priced items to US department stores, including a $600 trench coat and $150 boots. [Bloomberg]

HSBC will move its chief executive to Hong Kong. [Times of London]

Bill Clinton praises Wal-Mart, "hardly a left-wing corporation," for green conversion that increased profits. [NPR]

Chinese automaker Geely's $2.5 billion bid to acquire Volvo from Ford moves ahead. [WSJ]

Barclays in talks to purchase retail banking assets in Portugal from Citigroup. [WSJ]

(More headlines: John Lewis sales up, Twitter marketing, Nokia's Brazil woes.) Continue reading...