Uniqlo kept out of Bangladesh safety pact by owner Fast Retailing.

Renault suffers blow from failure of Better Place EV startup.

ESPN layoffs underscore sports-network battle and soaring rights fees.

Acura eyes emerging markets.

BMW hints at bringing out super-luxury coupe with a Pininfarina touch.

BuzzFeed, CNN and YouTube plan online-video channel.

Club Med buyout sees large role for Chinese investors.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola promises to reduce marketing to kids as part of global anti-obesity commitment.

Levi Strauss buys naming rights to planned new stadium of San Francisco 49ers.

Lay's reveals chip-flavor contest winner.

Abercrombie & Fitch draws fire for stocking only "skinny" sizes for women.

Activision Blizzard warns "World of Warcraft" is losing subscribers.

AT&T severely slashes Facebook Home phone prices.

BT enters British-sports broadcasting.

Claire's IPO will test market for debt-laden companies.

Ford takes over as title sponsor of Detroit's annual fireworks.

Google Maps will reportedly unveil new interface.Continue reading...

A&P to make CEO its spokesman in new marketing campaign.

Bed Bath & Beyond sees novelty in buying Cost Plus.

Brad Pitt is the new face of Chanel No. 5.

Burger King spurs sales with turnaround efforts.

Cadillac to debut instrument console that functions like an iPad.

Cisco sees grim outlook for tech sector.

Coca-Cola redefines its marketing around Super Bowl, and signs Danica Patrick as ambassador.Continue reading...

Paramount Pictures is celebrating its centennial on May 8th with a new logo that debuted in December. If you caught Dr. Seuss' The Lorax you may have noticed Universal Pictures' new animated logo for its 100th anniversary, which is coming up on April 6th.

Created by Weta Digital, it features Brian Tyler's new arrangement of Jerry Goldsmith's classic score. The previous Universal logo premiered with The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997. The Universary is being celebrated throughout 2012 with a Universal100th website featuring such iconic films as To Kill a Mockingbird plus "new films, classic DVDs, essential Blu-Rays, events, online games, competitions, and money-can't-buy prizes." (The Toshiba-sponsored contest's top prize: $1 million paid out as an annuity over 40 years).

Below, watch Universal's new animated logo and trailer promoting its 100th anniversary, along with 100 years of the studio's logos (including the Jurassic Park-introduced logo at :40); a clip of Tyler discussing how he reworked Goldsmith's musical intro to evoke a century of movie moments; and a comparison with Paramount's 100th anniversary logo.Continue reading...

When you Google "Hasbro," the company is identified as “Hasbro Toys, Games, Action Figures and More.” While the first three have dominated the company’s business for most of its 89 years, it’s that last part that is getting a lot of the company’s attention these days.

The “and more” has taken the form of TV and film productions related to Hasbro products. Thanks to the success of the Transformers films, which have grossed $2.6 billion worldwide and are based on the toys that were strewn across the playrooms of little boys in the mid-’80s, Hasbro has begun delving deeper into the worlds of television and film production, according to the New York Times.

Helping to build Hasbro’s confidence in this area is the success of its G.I. Joe movie, which grossed $302 million worldwide. Now a sequel to that film is coming out this summer as well as an action-adventure film based on the Hasbro game Battleship, which was promoted with a Super Bowl commercial (at top).Continue reading...

Before 2012 got underway, Paramount Pictures announced that it was planning to redesign its logo in honor of its 100th birthday. Now Universal is doing the same. 

The studio's new logo — which features "A Comcast Company" (and not "An NBCUniversal Company") below the globe — will be unveiled on the big screen in the spring. That's when the studio releases "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax." The New York Times notes the new logo's "more realistic-looking globe, an effect that looks like an eclipse of the sun, and bigger letters."

As part of its year-long celebration, the studio will restore 13 of its classic films, including “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Out of Africa” while also releasing some repackaged films on Blu-ray, such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.” The studio will also host “revamped tours and themed experiences at Universal’s amusement parks,” and offer archival footage on an anniversary microsite.

“There is value to the entire industry when you can celebrate this kind of milestone,” commented Ron Meyer, Universal’s chairman, to the New York Times. And, in this case, to the parent company too.

At CES, Samsung announces content for each screen.

Apple CEO Tim Cook could end up being America's highest-paid CEO for 2011.

Coors Light blasts by Bud to become No. 2 brew.

Dr Pepper releases "I'm one of a kind" ad campaign.

Ford is on the cusp of a true financial comeback; makes 100% sustainable interior.

Myspace reinvents itself as an entertainment experience, brings Justin Timberlake to CES.

Olympus sues execs over scandal.

Suze Orman puts her name on pre-paid credit card.

Smoothie King launches campaign to help customers get fit.

Toyota and Honda plan to fight back with new product reveals at NAIAS, which saw 27 new vehicle unveilings yesterday.Continue reading...

Cover your ears, Jaws fans, because we have some news you may not like. Universal Studios is officially closing down the Jaws ride, Universal announced Friday. The 32-foot three ton steel and fiberglass shark, which was based on the 1975 movie, was one of the theme park's most popular attractions when it opened in 1990.

The area that surrounds it, which was named after the fictional resort island in the movie, will also be closed "to make room for what will be an exciting new attraction experience," Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said. Fans are biting back.Continue reading...