In recognition of World Malaria Day and the more than 660,000 people that still die from the deadly but preventable disease, Novartis and Malaria No More have partnered for a unique campaign that will provide malaria treatments to those infected in Africa.

Over the next three years, Novartis, joined by diagnostic testing company Alere Inc., will donate up to three million courses of pediatric antimalarial drug, matching the number of treatments donated by the public through the Power of One campaign.

“We believe that this innovative campaign will help speed malaria elimination,” said Joseph Jimenez, Novartis CEO in a press release. “Novartis has been striving towards this goal for more than a decade, and we just reached the milestone of providing 600 million treatments without profit to patients in malaria-endemic countries. No one should die from malaria today.”Continue reading...

Time Warner is spinning off Time Inc., turning the 90-year-old publisher of Time, People and Sports Illustrated into a separate, publicly held company worth as much as $3.2 billion. 

"A complete spin-off of Time Inc. provides strategic clarity for Time Warner Inc., enabling us to focus entirely on our television networks and film and TV production businesses," said CEO Jeff Bewkes. "Time Inc. will also benefit from the flexibility and focus of being a stand-alone public company and will now be able to attract a more natural stockholder base."Continue reading...

Facebook plans to announce facelift of its News Feed.

Taco Bell officially releases its Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos today. 

Time Warner to spin off Time Inc. as CEO Laura Lang exits.

Adidas posts weaker earnings on Reebok.

Baskin-Robbins plans to triple franchise size in Australia with new partnership.

Birds Eye commended for healthy eating campaign.

Boeing needs to provide more answers on Dreamliner firest to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Costco backs minimum-wage increase.

Cracker Barrel adds lower-calorie items.

Dell sees buyout deal threatened by activist investor Carl Icahn.

DirecTV bemoans rising program costs.

Google expands Street View in Europe.

Jamba Juice looks to fresh juice to boost sales.

Lego eyes tie-up with "The Simpsons" on Fox.

Moe's Southwest Grill readies first national ad campaign. Continue reading...

Apple value dips as Google soars.

Facebook sued over bungled IPO.

HSBC, now Europe's biggest bank, sheds personal loan assets.

Carmakers at Geneva Auto Show express fears on European recovery.

AARP ramps up YouTube marketing.

Ally Financial says U.S. is probing its retail-financing practices.

Amazon launches first TV effort, for fashion unit; leads mobile retail sales.

American Suzuki gets OK of bankruptcy plan by U.S. court.

Baileys slims down its bottle.

BBC Worldwide reportedly in talks to sell Lonely Planet stake.

Best Buy and Facebook focus on next-generation mobile marketing.

Boeing expects to move fast to get Dreamliner back into the air after FAA approval of fixes.Continue reading...

ICANN has been moving full-steam ahead under new CEO Fadi Cherhade, announcing that April 23rd will be the approval date for the first TLDs for delegation.

Once recommended for delegation, an applicant must pass a technical test and sign a Registry agreement with ICANN, which takes between five to six months, before a registry launch—which can take up to a year after they have been approved for delegation. 

There is no “sunrise” period for branded TLDs (Top Level Domains), but generic terms or open registries require a sunrise period of 30 days for trademark holders, followed by a 60-day landrush period, after which public domain sales could start. 

About 1,900 applications for new gTLDs are currently pending; 40 percent are for brand names and another slice is for “generic” words like .app, .insurance, .search and .book. “If allowed to register as closed domains, a single player could control the entire domain string related to a “generic” word – and prevent others from registering within it,” notes an article by InfoLawGroup.

Many have already voiced concern about “closed generic” domains and ICANN has asked the public for comment by March 7, 2013. 

Meanwhile, the American Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has asked ICANN to slow the process down “to set up a defensive mechanism so trademark holders can prevent registration of their exact trademarks across all the registries for a single reasonable fee.”Continue reading...

BlackBerry shows new signs of life as co-founder sells stake.

Apple challenges iPhone trademark loss in Brazil.

Carnival tries to cruise away from brand disaster as passengers mull legal options.

ABC, NFL and Call of Duty get top marks for consumer engagement.

Airbus drops lithium-ion batteries from latest jet.

Applebee's expands test of Express Lunch service.

Best Western focuses on its people, not perks, in new campaign.Continue reading...

American Airlines and US Airways to create the world's biggest airline with $11 billion union.

AB InBev will sell Corona unit to salvage Modelo takeover, as Pernod Ricard is open to Jose Cuervo talks.

H.J. Heinz Company enters agreement to be acquired by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Time Warner rumored to eye Time Inc. split and talking to Meredith about buying magazine brands.

Adidas unveils new global brand strategy with Boost product push.

American Express and Yahoo accused of stealing travel service idea.

Angry Birds parent Rovio slings into advertising.

Apple promises to fix iOS Exchange bug, fights activist shareholder Einhorn.

Barclays agrees to stop speculating on food prices.

Barnes & Noble warns of lower 2012 sales and Nook concerns.

Boeing looks at interim 787 fixes.

BT sticks by Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius (charged with murdering his girlfriend), for now.Continue reading...

AIG considers suing U.S. government despite federal bailout aid.

J&J sells Roloaids brand to Sanofi.

Samsung caps best year ever.

ABC spurs questions for marketers with move of Jimmy Kimmel's show.

Apple sees CEO Tim Cook make second visit  to China as mainland footprint doubles.

Bacardi snaps up St-Germain liqueur brand.

Bank of America extends retreat from mortgages.Continue reading...