Plenty of businesses were unhappy when President Obama suggested raising the minimum wage, but Costco CEO Craig Jelinek recently let the world know that he’s all for raising it to $10.10 an hour—and the news isn’t hurting business, either.

Last quarter, Costco's revenue ballooned to $537 million, which is up from $394 million in the same period one year ago, The Huffington Post reports.

“At Costco, we know that paying employees good wages makes good sense for business,” Jelinik said last week. “Instead of minimizing wages, we know it's a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment and loyalty. We support efforts to increase the federal minimum wage.”Continue reading...

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...

Smartphones can do plenty of things. Now retailers are going to put them to work for them. Don’t feel like waiting in line at Walmart? Get yourself an iPhone.

The retail and technology giants have partnered up to create an app that is now being tested, one that will allow consumers to scan goods onto their iPhones and pay for them in a self checkout line, Reuters reports.

Walmart already offers a mobile app (at right) that can scan barcodes and check prices, along with a shopping list and basket, so self-checkouts are a natural extension as the mobile wallet business takes off, along with its @WalmartLabs R&D team exploring social and mobile commerce products and digital innovations such as semantic search.

The retailer promised earlier this year that it would put in more self checkout lanes into its stores as well as Sam’s Clubs, the wire service notes. If the test works out, the test will likely expand beyond Apple devices to Android and other mobile platforms. Apple's former retail chief is also bringing mobile self-checkouts to his new employer, JCPenney.Continue reading...

It turns out Walmart and Tom Cruise have something in common. They both turned 50 this week. And the odd pairing share something else: Both quinquagenarians have set a lot of tongues wagging.

Cruise, of course, set the gossip world aflame in the summer heat for the announced split with his wife of five and a half years, Katie Holmes. Walmart, on the other hand, had a problem that affected a lot more people: some very unhappy folks who want the retailing powerhouse to treat their workers better and be more considerate to small businesses and not steamroll into new neighborhoods.Continue reading...

Dish Network runs into resistance for placing its ad about its ad-skipping DVR.

Pinterest valued at $1.5 billion.

Unilever tests interactive TV concept with NBCU.

Angry Birds footwear? Check.

Apple awarded U.S. patent for soft keyboard as Retina Display patent application for OSX revealed.

Boyd Gaming to buy Peninsula Gaming.

Bristol-Myers Squibb set to lose patent protection for Plavix.

Buca di Beppo has aggressive growth in sight, new CEO says.

CNN hits 15-year low with prime-time ratings.

Comcast's NBC Sports Network will break cable record for Olympics coverage.

Facebook confronts skepticism about its advertising in wake of GM pullout.Continue reading...

Amazon sees stock soar on rapid sales growth.

Anheuser-Busch InBev sees global CMO depart.

Apple ads for Siri are questioned for using celebrities.

Betsey Johnson files for Chapter 11.

Cheesecake Factory explores overseas growth.

Ford sees earnings drop on strains from Europe and Asia.

Jamba Juice splits with Nestle and takes control of joint line of energy drinks.Continue reading...

AOL sells patents to Microsoft.

AT&T spends big to support launch of Numia smartphone by Nokia as it staves off a walkout by its workers.

Augusta National leaves unsettled the question of membership of IBM CEO Virginia Rometty; Bubba Watson wins its Masters tournament in dramatic fashion.

Avon names new CEO from Johnson & Johnson.

CDC says anti-smoking ads prompt lots more "quit attempts."

Cotton launches new look.

Google plots web-domain buying spree.

Great Wolf Resorts sees sweetened offer to buy company.

Kia keeps brand humming in non-launch year. Continue reading...

Frank Zappa once told his fans not to eat the yellow snow. Now a whole lot of folks are deciding not to eat another colorful item: pink slime.

It's a substance that many Americans (well, the few who watched) Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution last April would have seen in the series' premiere episode on ABC. That's when the British chef, accompanied by a bovine companion, demonstrated what goes into the 70% of America's ground beef that contains leftover cow parts (a.k.a. "pink slime"), meaning meat that has been treated with ammonia to banish bacteria such as e.coli and salmonella. It's also used to convert the fatty beef offcuts into a beef filler for burgers.

Ammonia-treated meat can be found in virtually all U.S. grocery stores, fast food restaurants, many national restaurant chains, and school cafeterias, but a backlash has been forming over fears that it is unsafe — and now the company that produces 'pink slime beef' has suspended operations at three of its four plants.Continue reading...