New York mayor Michael Bloomberg unveils $12 million ad campaign (above) for Mayors Against Illegal Guns that lobbies for background checks to reduce gun violence, while NYC's municipal data geek squad makes headlines.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz defends same-sex marriage support to shareholders as brand expands loyalty rewards to other retailers.

PepsiCo shares jump on Mondelez merger speculation sparked by Telegraph story which Pepsi "downplays."

Apple acquires indoor GPS startup WiFiSLAM for mapping, patents iPhone drop protection technology and faces EU scrutiny following iPhone and iPad distribution complaints — and may report first quarterly dip since 2003.

FTC "pay for delay" generic drug case, set to go before US Supreme Court on Monday, will be closely watched by pharmaceutical industry and economists.

Below: BlackBerry, Blockbuster, Dell, Diageo and other brands in the news —Continue reading...

The U.S. federal government’s grounding of all Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets worldwide affects only six planes being operated by a U.S. carrier, all of them by United Airlines. So the abrupt and drastic action by the Federal Aviation Administration – the first time in four decades that regulators effectively have grounded a major airliner – isn’t going to have much effect on U.S. air travel.

Yet the short- and long-term damage to Boeing’s brand could be profound. And it is far from clear that the Chicago-based company is doing enough to address that sort of damage even while it works quickly and closely with airlines and government safety authorities to figure out temporary fixes that will get Dreamliners back in the air. Continue reading...

Passengers stuck inside the plane trapped in the melting tarmac at Washington’s National Airport last July or who happened to be nearby the gent who stripped naked at the Portland International Airport last April to protest the TSA screening process, you might not think that air travel has gotten better recently. 

But the Wall Street Journal’s annual Middle Seat airline scorecard wrapping up airlines' 2012 performance is now out and it showed some improvements industrywide. The percentage of planes pulling in within 15 minutes of when they were supposed to went up to 79 from 76 the year before. Flights cancelled went down to 1.4% from 2.1% in 2011. Fewer bags were lost. Of course, it helped that fewer planes were flying last year, which eased congestion at the gate.

One airline in particular was likely doing the most celebrating: Delta. It had been the worst-ranked airline in 2010 but took a few measures in the past two years to get back to the top. “Careful study of when and where cancellations are most likely, and adjusting spare aircraft availability to keep flights moving if there is a breakdown helped, as did a rebuilt baggage system at its Atlanta hub to reduce lost luggage,” the Journal reports.Continue reading...

Hostess is in talks to sell off bread brands, as makers of Thomas' English muffins and Tastykake snacks emerge as two of the bidders for Wonder Bread according to the Wall Street Journal.

Hulu CEO resigns as web TV startup faces impasse.

NHL resolves labor dispute, faces shortened season.

Apple envy one of Fast Company's suggested New Year's Resolutions for brands.

Bank of America settles with Fannie Mae for $10 billion.

BMW is paring back car discounts in Germany.

CES lures brands and marketers to Las Vegas.Continue reading...

Loews Hotels found its name in the news in recent days because the fire-alarm system of its Nashville hotel was set off by a drunken two-time Olympic gold medalist, snowboarder Shaun White. His schoolboy antics led to the whole place being evacuated and a contrite apology from the snowboarder. Not exactly the kind of security Loews wants to be known for.

Now the hotel chain is the first hospitality brand to participate in a first-of-its-kind security partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. U.S. citizens who sign on to Loews’ loyalty-rewards program, YouFirst Platinum, gain complimentary enrollment into the DHS’s Global Entry program and allows guests to expedite airport screening with TSA PreCheck.

"Partnerships are integral to the way we do business as a brand," stated Loews Chairman Jonathan Tisch. "Our collaboration highlights the importance of the public and private sectors working together to improve hospitality for all our guests, whether that be at our hotels or traveling through an airport."Continue reading...

TiVo settles patent lawsuit vs Verizon for $250.4M; Verizon will license TiVo technology.

McDonald's brings back annual Monopoly game contest for 20th edition across U.S.

Yahoo's Mayer will lay out vision at all-hands company meeting this week.

Kroger rolls out Simple Truth™ and Simple Truth Organic® private label in-store brands.

Lay's Potato Chips issues last call for consumers to submit next great potato chip flavor idea for a shot at $1 million payout.

Madame Tussauds Hollywood launches first-ever social media contest for 2013 figure.

Neiman Marcus reaches out to fashion bloggers.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch and Major League Baseball extend partnership.

Best Buy lavishes compensation on new CEO.

Delhaize bets big on retailing in Greece despite economic turmoil.

Dell and HP struggle to sell PCs.

Denver bans outdoor advertising for medical marijuana outlets.

Larry Ellison buys Hawaiian island and everyone wonders what Oracle founder will do with it.

Exelon benefits from ties to Obama administration, New York Times says.

Fox and Ad Council use Glee to target texting while driving.

General Mills, McDonald's and other marketers are accused by feds of collecting data about kids. Continue reading...

Warner Bros. issues statement as The Dark Knight Rises opens somberly as Denver gunman kills 14 at screening, while movie opens strongly at box office.

Heineken offers $4.1 billion to buy out JV partner for Asia Pacific Breweries stake as Kirin's next move pondered.

Chick-fil-A homophobia shamed by actor Ed Helms.

Apple's original iPad prototype revealed as new iPad launch in China today fails to cause a fuss.

BlackBerry woes broken down to five mistakes by nymag.com.

Comcast prepares ultra high-speed broadband.Continue reading...