BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion saw its shares slump today after warning Wall Street that it's forecasting an operating loss for the first quarter. With the company hiring bankers at JPMorgan and RBC to explore a sale, investors worried and layoffs looming, the Canadian government dismissed rumors of a possible takeover.

Other brand news:

Best Buy store closures spur Walmart ads.

NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg bans sale of large sodas and sugary drinks.

GM is shifting Chevrolet ad budget from Super Bowl to sponsoring the popular Manchester United soccer team.

Disney Channel joins the TV Everywhere brigade.

Exxon Mobil shareholders approve executive pay.Continue reading...

Facebook faces doubts by advertisers as it gears up for IPO roadshow.

Lifetime unveils new logo and tagline.

BlackBerry launches "Touch Awesomeness" campaign, test keyboardless version to challenge Apple.

Apple files for touch-based music-sharing patent.

CNN delivers lowest monthly ratings in a decade.

CVS succeeds in grabbing drugstore customers from Walgreens.

Chesapeake Energy board crimps CEO's power.Continue reading...

AP is reporting that Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's leading breast-cancer organization, has accepted the resignation of Karen Handel, its SVP for public policy since April who was at the center of a firestorm after the Dallas-based non-profit pulled funding for breast-cancer screening to Planned Parenthood centers.

Handel, who's reportedly declining a severance package, was behind the pink-ribboned organization's recent policy to not give grants to any group under government investigation, a move that singled out Planned Parenthood — which is undergoing a Congressional inquiry into whether federal funds intended for reproductive education were being used for abortions. Komen last week reversed its decision and retinstated funding to Planned Parenthood, but still faced a backlash from breast cancer activists and others outraged at the politicizing of its brand.

Below, read Handel's resignation letter to Nancy Brinker, the founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is named after her sister, in which she accepts responsibility for the defunding — but adds that it was in the works long before she joined Komen. Handel writes that "the decision to update our granting model was made before I joined Komen, and the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization."Continue reading...

The Super Bowl of women's health happened last week. The winner? The Democratic Party-aligned Planned Parenthood, provider of numerous women's (and men's!) health services, including, yes, abortions. The loser? The heretofore unassailable Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest anti-breast cancer organization.

On Tuesday, January 31, the Komen organization rather quietly announced that due to new grant policies, it would cease funding to Planned Parenthood. By Wednesday, Feb. 1, the backlash was on. Even author Judy Blume was slamming Komen as it stood its ground and attempted to weather the storm. That night its website was hacked. By the morning of Thur. Feb 2, Planned Parenthood was reporting donations in excess of what Komen had cut off, Komen executives were quitting in protest and local chapters of the national organization were in outright rebellion. Then a tweet, at top, that showed just how desperate the billion-dollar brand was to stop the hemorrhaging.

It did not stop. It still has not really. And maybe it never will.Continue reading...

AMR CEO defends job cuts at American Airlines.

AOL doubles down with investment in Huffington Post streaming TV network.

Apple dealt legal setback against Motorola, expands patent fight with Samsung.

Amazon could burn through its cash.

AstraZeneca plans to cut another 7,300 jobs.

Banana Republic brings back Mad Men collection with AMC.

Chipotle holds the line on pricing.

Chrysler re-launches in U.K. with Super Bowl spot on Sky.

Coca-Cola ties effort encouraging teens to Black History Month.Continue reading...

Komen for the Cure founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker addressed the organization's controversial decision to cut funding to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in a six-minute interview with NBC's Andrea Mitchell, a breast cancer survivor and friend, in one of her first public statements beyond a video statement released on Wednesday. Brinker says the Komen board's decision to make "grant excellence" a measure for funding led to Planned Parenthood being dropped and denied it was singled out or that Komen's brand has been damaged.

New York-based radiologist Dr. Kathy Plesser threatened to quit Komen's medical advisory board unless the decision was reversed. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg also announced that he is giving a $250,000 matching gift to Planned Parenthood to help make up for the loss of funding by the Komen Foundation. "Politics have no place in health care," the mayor stated. "Breast cancer screening saves lives, and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care. We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way."

The Atlantic this morning reports that the top health executive at the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Mollie Williams, resigned to protest the organization's decision to sever ties and funding for Planned Parenthood.

The world's leading breast cancer research advocacy organization and brand is in crisis mode this week to repair the damage to its reputation since the news broke. The Atlantic calls the controversy "avoidable" and "regrettable":

An entirely avoidable, and deeply regrettable, controversy has been raging this week over the decision by the (formerly highly esteemed) Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation, the world's leading breast-cancer research advocacy group, to cut its support for Planned Parenthood, which used Komen dollars (about $600,000 annually) to pay for breast-screening exams for poor people.

Did one of the greatest heavyweight nonprofits in the world just shoot its own brand in the foot — a foot it so desperately needs in the race to cure breast cancer?

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, America's most recognized and funded breast-cancer charity, announced that it will cease its work with Planned Parenthood, a major provider of breast cancer screening. A day after the move, a massive outpouring of outrage has the charity on its heels trying to defend itself.Continue reading...