China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's 10 reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Baby Formula is the new smuggled white powder... Nike... Luxury Cars... Yale... Japanese Putters... Ghost Malls... McDonald's goes to the mountaintop, and more.Continue reading...

Walmart philanthropic director Sylvia Mathews Burwell expected to be nominated Monday as Obama's budget chief.

India develops a taste for premium beer while officials approve $2 billion Diageo deal.

HSBC set for $23 billion profit as turnaround gains traction.

AB InBev takes to Twitter and newspaper ads to fight watered-down-beer charges.

AIDS drug breakthrough sees infant evidently cured through early use of virus-blocking drugs.

Alfa Romeo reboot marks tough road for Fiat.

American Airlines drops below 60,000 employees for the first time since 1987.

AOL's new Brand Group CEO Susan Lyne lays out her goals.

Asos joins brands using Twitter's Vine for short form social video marketing.Continue reading...

QVC is selling Titanic-branded merchandise for sinking centenary next month. "Legacy 1912 –Titanicä" perfume, anyone?

H&M is rumored to have a high-end luxury fashion line in the works, while its Conscious Collection lands on April 14th.

Converse Chuck Taylor Premium line recasts iconic high-top sneaker in luxe leather.

Move over, Ralph Lauren's Big Pony and Lacoste's Big Croc — Benetton is joining the big logo brigade:Continue reading...

Accenture introduces global brand campaign.

Alamo trademark flap resolved in Texas.

Anna's Thins cookies adopt a new look.

Apple's iPad tested as voting device in Oregon, continues "App Store" fight with Amazon.

Best Buy ups holiday spending and introduces "Game On, Santa" campaign.

Boeing wins its biggest-ever commercial-jet deal even as mechanism for deal is criticized.

Cannes adds Mobile Lions award.

Coach pushes for China to become its No. 1 market within three years.

Deutsche Borse and NYSE seek to appease European Union.

Fiat introduces another TV commercial featuring Jennifer Lopez and its Gucci edition.Continue reading...

The American Beverage Association is keeping busy these days as cities and states threaten to put extra taxes on sugary drinks and other entities try to reduce consumption of the organization members’ products.

The latest battle for ABA is to dispute a study that was released Monday by Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity that shows that “U.S. children and teenagers are seeing far more soda advertising than before, with blacks and Hispanics the major targets, as marketers have expanded online,” according to Reuters.

"This report is another attack by known critics in an ongoing attempt to single out one product as the cause of obesity when both common sense and widely accepted science have shown that the reality is far more complicated," said ABA CEO Susan Neely in a statement.

Neely’s main weapon in response to the Yale Rudd Center's Sugary Drink F.A.C.T.S. (short for Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score) report is opposing research by Georgetown Economic Services for the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Association of National Advertisers that “showed that between 2004 and 2010, advertisements for soft drinks decreased by 96 percent, while those for fruit and vegetable juices increased by 199 percent,” Reuters reports.Continue reading...

Analysts stick up for beleaguered Bank of America.

Lawsuit accuses ComScore of violating the privacy of consumers it tracks.

Facebook concedes to Foursquare in the location wars, phases out Facebook Places.

Google pays $500 million to settle Justice Department charges it advertised illegal pharmacies. Continue reading...

Accenture drives social business adoption through gamification.

Amazon battles U.S. states over taxes.

Bally expands to India.

Banco Popular expands rebranding to Popular Inc.

Canada sees online ad revenue exceed print for the first time.

Cargill recalls 36 million pounds of turkey products.

CNN finds host Piers Morgan coming under parliamentary pressure and accusations by Heather Mills over hacking.

Coca-Cola joins brands testing cloud-based in-text social advertising.

comScore acquires analytics firm AdXpose.

Dunkin' Donuts rolls out Keurig single-serve cups, with Starbucks to follow.Continue reading...

In a study that is making the rounds of outrage this week, it's revealed that American advertisers of "junk food" are using product placement to get around recent commitments by brands not to directly target children as regulators threaten to impose tougher guidelines on marketers. That the study comes out of Yale University is probably the reason it's being accepted with little to no scrutiny.

That's a shame, because while the study's bigger conclusion might still be true, with in-program product placement rising as commercial parameters get tougher, its methodology is questionable and proves only one thing about product placement: There isn't enough research.Continue reading...