Amazon ships Kindle Fire and Kindle Touch early.

Apple searches for next retailing genius, recalls first-generation iPod Nano devices.

Audi A7 wins car of the year nod.

Barbie links with Stardoll for premium collection.

BMW promotes sustainability with China roadshow.

Boeing cements wide-body lead over Airbus with biggest ever deal, with Emirates.

Borders demise parsed by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launch smashes records.

China 'ready' to allow foreign companies to issue stock.

Chevrolet woos Sonic buyers with perks program, while GM slows Chevrolet Cruze production.

Citrus Australia introduces new seal of authenticity.

Crowne Plaza tilts makeover toward young travelers.

Deutsche Boerse defends NYSE Euronext deal.

Disney buys Babble.com for $40M to reach 'hipster parents.'

Estee Lauder co-founder Evelyn Lauder dies, lauded for launching Pink Ribbon campaign for breast cancer research.

Facebook nears U.S. privacy settlement that would make public sharing opt-in, not opt-out.Continue reading...

Converse finally opens its Brooklyn "Rubber Tracks" studio where local artists can record for free.

Lady Gaga no longer banned in China, while Rihanna and Gaga fight for Facebook supremacy when Google+ really needs them. And maybe it will get them. Rihanna, meanwhile, also bumped Megan Fox as the new face (and derriere) of Armani.

BMW is now making bikes... for the Olympics. 

China's ad industry worth $28 billion this year, and over $33 billion next year.

Below: Burger King, McDonald's, Kenny Powers and more.Continue reading...

Among the most-shared videos on YouTube this week — a cooking demo by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse's attorney, Mark Stein, for Philadelphia Cooking Creme. Looks like Kraft's "huge marketing campaign" to support the Philly Creme Cheese spin-off's launch has paid off.

After the jump: some deliberately slow-loading viral videos, and the trending Megan Fox for Armani spot.Continue reading...

Apple, hot on the heels of iPad 2 launch, tops Fortune's Most Admired Companies list for fourth year in a row.

Best Buy and other big box retailers rethink as they shrink.

Budweiser posts first global increase in two decades thanks to World Cup.

Charlie Sheen hits 1 million Twitter followers in less than a day.

Facebook growth slows in the US.

Ford issues recall, plans to harness its design gurus to relaunch the Mustang.

GM leads incentive spending as "Old GM" expected to be liquidated today.Continue reading...

American Airlines increases check-in baggage fees starting Feb. 1. [Consumerist]

Bag embargo imposed on American Airlines flights to Domincan Republic and Haiti. [Trading Markets]

Harper Collins and Apple in talks to collaborate on upcoming Tablet. [WSJ]

Strike vote against British Airways planned over unacceptable working conditions. [NY Times]

Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti charity is fiscally questioned. [Washington Post]

Walgreens will sell fresh food and prepared meals. [Consumerist]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...

Sorry, paparazzi. You may be chasing brands instead of stars from now on.

Hollywood studios are investing heavily in toy and game brands, in an effort to capitalize on the power of nostalgia and instant brand-name recognition. The Los Angeles Times reports movie moguls are reallocating money usually spent on big-name stars toward the purchase of established brands such as Asteroids, Stretch Armstrong, Monopoly and Barbie.

Creating movies based on popular toys and games doesn't reflect much originality or creative depth, but the practice is sound business—particularly in an economy where consumers are reluctant to spend money on the unknown. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," the summer's top hit movie, was based on action figures from the 1980s. Yes, the toy created Megan Fox, not the other way around.Continue reading...

This week, we offered detailed coverage of our publisher Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009. The past week's ten most viewed posts, in order, are after the jump.Continue reading...