Is JCPenney doing a dead-cat bounce, or is there real life remaining in the venerable retail brand in the post-Ron Johnson era?

George Soros is betting the latter. The famous (or infamous) investor has taken a 7.9 percent stake in JCPenney, a development that immediately sent the stock up by nearly 7 percent late last week. Soros's stake is still less than half that of hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, who recruited Johnson as JCPenney CEO, and then helped sack him earlier this month. But at least, arguably, Soros is buying low.

Goldman Sachs has placed a bet as well on the possibility that new JCPenney CEO Myron Ullman (who also was CEO before Johnson's tenure of little more than a year) will be able to restore JCPenney if not to greatness, at least to long-term viability. The financier gave the company a five-year, $1.75 billion loan secured by JCPenney's real estate across middle America.Continue reading...

Billed as the first chapter in a new global campaign from Bombay Sapphire, the brand's new Infused with Imagination cinema and TV ad, above, features a captivating installation featuring 75,000-plus hand-applied crystals (Swarovski, presumably) that took more than 2,500 hours over nine months to create.

The specially commissioned three-dimensional artwork (designed by illustrator Yehrin Tong and photographed by Richard Foster, who has worked with De Beers, Gucci, Rolls-Royce and other luxury brands) aims to capture the essence, character, "timeless elegance, luxury and craftsmanship" of the alcohol brand.Continue reading...

Tablets, tablets everywhere: BlackBerry is rumored to be developing one, Sony is eyeing one and Dell is prepping a small one.

Heinz ketchup lowers sodium in response to America's war on salt ... while language in advertising is getting saltier.

British clothiers go global: Asos is expanding to US, Superdry expands thanks to David Beckham.

P&G is "in a bind" over online campaigning by moms over Pampers DryMax claims.

BP CEO Tony Hayward says company was ill prepared for Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

South Korea’s Posco is set to buy Daewoo for $3 billion.Continue reading...