NFL settlement with referees clears the way for marketers.

Tempur-Pedic goes to the mattresses to buy Sealy for $228.6 million.

American Greetings hears buyout offer from founding family and CEO.

Amazon rejects false advertising claim in Apple app store suit.

Apple-Google maps talks failed on voice navigation.

BAE proposed merger with Airbus parent EADS hits snag in Germany.

Bayer partners with feline vets.

BlackBerry 10 will determine RIM's fate as company courts app developers.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch InBev tries to get customers to return to its brands.

Annie's IPO surges.

BMW begins delivering fleet for use in London Summer Olympics.

Bertelsmann considers IPO.

BlackBerry-maker RIM plans to report turnaround progress today.

Bojangles unleashes "Chicken Cops" campaign.

Chevron and Merck disclose funding of attack-ad groups.

Depend campaign features non-incontinent celebrities.Continue reading...

The Los Angeles Dodgers brand has seen better days. Last April, a controversy exploded over the team's ownership. Not since the legendary baseball team picked up and left its beloved Brooklyn fans in the dust had the Dodgers been so battered by bad press.

It seems then-owner Frank McCourt had run afoul of Major League Baseball (MLB), who was questioning McCourt's management of the team and its finances. In fact, McCourt had a very public dispute with his wife Jamie, whom he fired in 2009 as CEO of the Dodgers. A week later, Jamie filed for divorce. A California court told the McCourts they would have to work out their Dodger dealings outside of divorce court. The whole mess went into extra innings when it was later learned that the IRS was investigating the odd couple for money they took from the team without paying taxes.

Through it all, Frank McCourt remained a Dodger stalwart. On April 27, 2011, he proclaimed, "I took my life savings and invested it into the Los Angeles Dodgers. No one handed me the Dodgers and no one is going to take it away. I'm not going anywhere." A nice sentiment, perhaps, but it didn't stop the team from entering bankruptcy in June. The MLB promptly put a monitor in place to keep a watchful eye on the Dodgers, which McCourt claimed was tantamount to a "hostile takeover."

Well, Frank, as the umpire famously screams, "Yer OUT!" On April 27, 2012, exactly a year after his infamous "I'm not going anywhere" speech, McCourt agreed to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.15 billion to another ball player, none other than LA Lakers basketball superstar Magic Johnson, heading his own team of buyers. In addition to Magic Johnson, the Dodgers' new owners will include financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, Peter Guber, head of film company Mandalay Entertainment, and Stan Kasten, former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals. A judge needs to approve the deal, but if it goes through, the Dodgers will be sold for more money than any other professional sports team.Continue reading...

Vows review after captain goes berserk in mid-air (and a New York Post punning cover).

Los Angeles Dodgers sell for record $2 billion to group including Magic Johnson.

Foxconn banks on Apple future with Sharp investment. And in other news:

Airbus faces more woes as A380s abandon flights.

BATS chairman plans to give up post.

Bank of America turns focus to overseas markets.

Budweiser snags naming rights at Texas Rangers' center field.

EBay targets growth in India.

Fox pulls trailer for Ben Stiller movie Neighborhood Watch in wake of Trayvon Martin death.

GM consolidates global Chevrolet ad account with Omnicom and Interpublic.Continue reading...

AMR reassures employees on pensions.

Amazon builds Fire tablet on Android without Google apps.

Anheuser-Busch president steps down.

Apple aims to shore up financial results.

Callaway tries to lure young golfers with Justin Timberlake involvement.

Chesapeake Energy pulls back on gas drilling amid glut.

Conde Nast may be cooking up another "shelter" magazine.

GM deals with Volt mini-mutiny as some Chevy dealers spurn allocations of the car.Continue reading...

A&P prepares to emerge from bankruptcy.

ABC plans to screen new TV show in theaters.

Amazon backs Hollywood film-streaming format.

Apple's Tim Cook is America's highest-paid CEO.

Daimler still trying to fix Smart brand.

Fiat will begin to emphasize product marketing over brand in U.S.

Ford cites Thai flood impact on bottom line, while U.S. car-buyers are lukewarm to hybrids.

Fox Sports settles legal dispute with Los Angeles Dodgers.

Friendly Ice Cream exits Chapter 11.Continue reading...

Occupy Wall Street should be happy with news that Wall Street bonuses will be way down this year and some success for Bank Transfer Day, while protesters in New York will be serenaded by Crosby & Nash in free concert today.

American and Alaska airlines complete world's first commercial biofuel flights.

American Express lures digital commerce startups with $100M funds.

Australia passes carbon tax.

Best Buy refocuses global expansion plans in new strategy.

Carlos Slim draws protests in Mexico by offering free TV on the web.Continue reading...

Amazon opens Black Friday deals site early, while Walmart offers sneak peak at Black Friday specials on Facebook and its Sams Club unit enhances the holiday-shopping experience.

Apple acknowledges iPhone battery problem.

Sony predicts $1-billion loss.

AOL posts loss despite ad gains.

Diamond Foods punished by investors for accounting delay in purchase of Pringle's from P&G.

Ford launches licensed-products website.

GlaxoSmithKline settles with U.S. over investigations.Continue reading...