A&P prepares to emerge from bankruptcy.

ABC plans to screen new TV show in theaters.

Amazon backs Hollywood film-streaming format.

Apple's Tim Cook is America's highest-paid CEO.

Daimler still trying to fix Smart brand.

Fiat will begin to emphasize product marketing over brand in U.S.

Ford cites Thai flood impact on bottom line, while U.S. car-buyers are lukewarm to hybrids.

Fox Sports settles legal dispute with Los Angeles Dodgers.

Friendly Ice Cream exits Chapter 11.Continue reading...

News Corp. titans, Rupert and James Murdoch, face three-hour Parliamentary questioning today in spreading phone-hacking scandal.

Walmart reportedly eyes Rite Aid.

AMD stalls in CEO search, which might overshadow earnings improvements.

American Airlines leans toward Airbus over Boeing in fleet decision, Journal says, while Bloomberg hears that the airline may split the order.

American Family Insurance promotes “the American dream.”

Baidu reaches deal with major record labels.Continue reading...

According to recently released research, Amazon.com is the top-performing brand in the US based on key branding metrics – trust and recommendations. Close behind are FedEx, Downey, Huggies and Tide. WebMD is the only other Internet-only US brand in the top 10.

The study, by Millward Brown, entitled, "Beyond Trust: Engaging Consumers in the Post-Recession World," used the new metric "TrustR" to determine top-performing brands.  Consumer response to the questions "how trustworthy is this brand?" and "would you recommend this brand?" were indexed, combined, and a TrustR score attributed.

In addition to actual ranking, the research reveals that consumers spend less or no money on brands they don’t trust in a tight economy. "In fact, we found that the number one "TrustR" brand in each of the 22 countries we researched was nearly seven times more likely to be purchased and consumers were 10 times more likely to have formed a strong bond with these brands," said Millward Brown's Eileen Campbell.Continue reading...