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...

There’s one in Denmark, and there’s one in England. And now there will be one in Carlsbad, California: a Legoland Hotel. Don’t worry, the place won’t be built out of Legos – at least not the whole thing.

The hotel – complete with a dragon-guarded entrance -- is slated to open in early April of next year right outside the Legoland theme park and will feature “interactive Lego features, themed play areas, family pool and kid's entertainment,” according to Lego's website. The 250 rooms at California's Legoland Hotel will all have a theme: Pirate, Kingdom, or Adventure.  

Since the hotel is aimed at housing families who are in town to visit the Legoland theme park (and not to those harboring pirate fantasies of one sort or another), each room has two sleeping areas, one with a queen-sized bed and the other with sleeping spaces for up to three kids. After all, it's hard to beat a brand extension you can sleep in.

No wonder Lego is rolling in dough right now.Continue reading...

Toyota sets to reclaim world sales crown as GMand Volkswagen vie for No. 2 and hints at elimination of Matrix model.

Domino's Pizza founder sues over Obamacare contraception coverage mandate.

McDonald's tries to get franchisees to stay open on Christmas.

Akamai taps co-founder as new CEO.

Burger King works with franchisee to expand in Mexico.

Chobani nears openingof huge new factory in Idaho.

Cosi uses pop-up unit in Chicago to test growth ideas.

Cox cable TV guide offers personalized recommendations in U.S. first.

Discover Communications makes key European deals.

Facebook counts on big deal with Walmart.Continue reading...

Hostess brands reportedly attract bids from Walmart and Kroger.

LinkedIn gains job-recruiting edge over Monster, reveals most-liked brands of 2012.

Nissan begins turning out Leaf batteries at new U.S. plant.

Apple dominates tablet-purchase intent, survey says, but loses patent case to licensing firm.

Build-A-Bear considers change at top.

Fox News leads cable segment while CNN dips.

GM revamps MyLink system.

Jaguar drops plan to build supercar.Continue reading...

CNN seen naming Jeff Zucker, former head of NBCUniversal, as its chief.

Groupon sees board meet on new CEO.

LinkedIn wants to solve world's skills gap.

Aldi stretches brand promise for hunger challenge.

Angry Birds sparks export boom from Finland.

Apple continues shakeup over iOS 6 maps app mishap as brand hit with patent suit over headphones.Continue reading...

Oprah Winfrey devoted two hours last Sunday night on her OWN cable network to Favorite Things, with the items given to ‘deserving military spouses.’ The franchise, an annual brandstravaganza on her former daytime talkshow, this year reverted to the talk show host's personal picks, with one in particular causing a kerfuffle. 

"The Surface, Microsoft's first tablet, feels like a Mercedes-Benz to me, people!" Oprah wrote on her website. "The full-size keyboard built right into the cover makes work easy, the very smart kickstand makes watching a movie or Skyping a friend a delight, the less than a pound-and-a-half weight makes a great alternative to a laptop, and the many other features make it fun for work and play. Now, that's a wowser!"

Unfortunately, it was a follow-up tweet professing her love for the Surface tablet to her 14.8 million followers on Twitter that got her in trouble, as she wrote "Gotta say love that SURFACE! Have bought 12 already for Christmas gifts. #FavoriteThings" from an iPad.

We can only hope that Gandalf won't tout his love for the new Windows Phone from an iPhone. Microsoft is partnering with Warner Bros, the studio behind the highly-anticipated The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first installment of a trilogy to be released (in the UK) on December 13, starring Sir Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman as Gandalf and Bilbo respectively.Continue reading...

Air New Zealand in-flight video promotes Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" in latest marketing tie-in for the movie.

ABC News files motion to dismiss "pink slime" suit.

Apple signals Tim Cook era with management shakeup, reports R&D spending up 40% in 2012 (although it was still outspent by Microsoft), plans to open up to 35 stores next year, confirms iPad mini built-in speakers.

Honda targets Japanese women with pink "She's" car.

Barclays faces two new U.S. probes.

Caesars packs up casino in Macau.

Campbell hires new CMO to reach Millennials.Continue reading...

Denny's has partnered with the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for a Hobbit-themed line of menu items. Insert your "second breakfast" joke of choice here.

The partnership has been the source of some jokes. But Denny's has approached the tie-in with some unique, even brave strategies. One of which could easily have blown up in its face.Continue reading...