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...

Yahoo's former CEO Carol Bartz reportedly receives $10M severance package as issues that led to her firing emerge.

Weight Watchers outperforms rivals (and medically supervised diets) in new study.

Target takes New York Fashion Week by storm with 25-foot doll to promote Missoni collaboration.

Amazon cuts deal on California taxes, plans to bring click and collect service to UK.

AOL severs ties with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington.

Apple cries foul on Chinese logo (when it should be LG); gets nod for clean, green store design; and may need a third campus in Cupertino by 2015.Continue reading...

Peep this: Just in time for Easter, it's the recent protests in Madison, Wisconsin, done with Peeps. (via)

One in five UK men use their iPad 2 in the loo.

Charlie Sheen's "Tiger Blood?" Yeah, that product already exists.

Wells Fargo will rebrand all Wachovia branches this summer.

Other branding odds and sods this week: giraffes, Smutley, Peetniks and more.Continue reading...

Facebook Deals launched Nov. 3 in the US. Now the location-based is launching in the UK, with charter brands offering specials including Alton Towers Resort, Argos, Benetton, Debenhams, Mazda, Starbucks, and YO! Sushi, plus other parts of Europe — Germany, Italy, France, Spain — plus Canada.

Starbucks in the UK, according to InformationWeek, "is offering a free cup of coffee to anyone (the first 30,000, says the Guardian) who checks in to Places Deals Monday (while) Benetton will donate £2 or €2 to Architecture for Humanity for every person who checks in. Mazda is giving users the chance to earn a 20% discount — or more than £4,600 — off its MX-5 sports car."

Additionally, the first 1,000 Facebookers to check in at Debenhams will receive a free mascara and makeover, and the first four customers to upgrade their contracts and check in at O2 stores will win a free Xbox or Playstation.Continue reading...

O2 Media, the year-old mobile marketing arm of U.K. broadband and wireless service provider, has just launched a six-month geotargeted marketing trial that deserves attention beyond Great Britain.

With Starbucks and L'Oréal as launch partners, O2 Media is delivering location-based ads via SMS and MMS to over one million customers — making it the first mobile operator in the market to offer location-based marketing.

The large-scale marketing initiative uses so-called geo-fencing technology in a trial with Placecast. Ads are automatically sent to users' handsets when they enter one of 1,500 geographically restricted areas in which Starbucks and L’Oreal are delivering deals to nearby customers.

Privacy is not at issue as the service is opt-in only (via its O2 More service, explained above), and the incentive for participation is, not surprisingly, exclusive deals.Continue reading...

O2 just launched the UK’s first eco ratings for mobile phones.

The reason for divulging its internal ranking of "sustainability credentials": customers told the Telefonica-owned wireless service provider "that they want the whole story about the phones they choose. So as well as specifications on battery life, web-access and connectivity, they also want to know about carbon performance, how ethical our suppliers are, how free from complex chemicals the handsets are, and so on."

The only hiccup to the ratings, as Brand Republic notes — Apple refused to participate.Continue reading...

Tablets, tablets everywhere: BlackBerry is rumored to be developing one, Sony is eyeing one and Dell is prepping a small one.

Heinz ketchup lowers sodium in response to America's war on salt ... while language in advertising is getting saltier.

British clothiers go global: Asos is expanding to US, Superdry expands thanks to David Beckham.

P&G is "in a bind" over online campaigning by moms over Pampers DryMax claims.

BP CEO Tony Hayward says company was ill prepared for Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

South Korea’s Posco is set to buy Daewoo for $3 billion.Continue reading...

MetroPCS enlists investment bankers for acquisition advice. [WSJ]

Gawker Media makes its first purchase: "people directory" CityFile. [NY Times]

Qualcomm creates its own e-reader, but with color. [LA Times]

Presidents Day brings a boost in vehicle sales to dealerships. [Boston Herald]

New Tums campaign stresses its quick acting formula. [Brandweek]

Brands of all sorts seek coverage at New York Fashion Week. [Reuters]Continue reading...