Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing files for bankruptcy.

Chipotle faces federal probe.

Facebook deals with aftermath of less-than-stellar IPO showing, as NASDAQ admits some fault and site faces pressure to perform for advertisers. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, surprises with post-IPO wedding to his longtime girlfriend.

Alibaba and Yahoo strike a $7 bullion stock deal.

AT&T sings praises of Facebook fans.

Apple and Samsung talk today about ending smartphone-patent war.

Barclays to sell $6.1 billion BlackRock stake.

BMW Guggenheim Lab prepares Berlin debut.

Carl's Jr. seeks $100-million IPO.Continue reading...

Facebook heads into IPO today with record pricing and a strategy to raise money, not hype, WSJ says — but also with persistent questions among brand marketers about the value of advertising, among other challenges. Meanwhile, average investors face long odds on a big Facebook payday, which will make Bono the richest rock star and Mark Zuckerberg richer than Google's co-founders.

Yahoo names new executive team as Alibaba deal apparently looms.

HP plans to slash workforce by up to 30,000, WSJ says.

Bud Light is drawing online buzz from Millennials.

Amazon to sell ads on Kindle Fire welcome screen.

Barneys New York relaunches website.

Coca-Cola bests Pom Wonderful in court in latest round of long-running labeling dispute.Continue reading...

Alibaba holding company may privatize Alibaba.com.

Amazon plans to swell Seattle office market with new towers.

Apple's iPhone loses China market share and faces U.S. repercussions over iPad trademark dispute; and makes over Macintosh for mobile features and gives developers access to new operating system, Mountain Lion.

Chrysler drops request for green-car loans from U.S.

Facebook finds that retailers are shutting storefronts hosted by it.

Google tracked unwitting iPhone owners.Continue reading...

On January 5th Yahoo! surprised Silicon Alley and Wall Street by PayPal president Scott Thompson as its new CEO. Today, the website's co-founder (and "Chief Yahoo!") Jerry Yang resigned from the company. Yang, who co-founded the search portal in 1995 with David Filo, immediately no longer serves on its Board of Directors or holds any other positions with the company, and also resigned from the Boards of Yahoo Japan Corporation and China's Alibaba Group Holding Limited.

In a letter to the Yahoo! Board Chairman Roy Bostock, Yang — who taped the video above for his alma mater, Stanford University, two months ago — wrote, 

“My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo! As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future.”Continue reading...

AOL defends strategy.

BMW drivers can now Yelp in their cars.

British Airways parent IAG beats Virgin in BMI airline-takeover battle, as Lufthansa sells troubled airline.

Facebook (which aims to be a blue chip) is the most-searched term in the U.S. for third year running.

Geico partners with Major League Fishing and Outdoor Channel.

Hyundai launches racing game on Times Square billboard.

NBC gets sports-programming commitment from Red Bull.

Nike counts on social media.Continue reading...

Amazon leads Klout list of most influential retailers.

Avon ousted CEO Andrea Jung's two-year exit deal criticized by former CEOs.

Bank of America settles fair-lending case for record $335 million.

Beats by Dre pumps up headphone sales.

Diddy plans to launch tequila brand.

Facebook tests private messaging between users and brand pages.

FedEx disciplines delivery man who tossed computer monitor.

Frito-Lay sued over "all natural" claims.Continue reading...

Apple's rumored virtual assistant feature could outshine Tuesday's iPhone 5 announcement (and rumor mill). Sprint, meanwhile, is reportedly buying 30.5 million iPhones from Apple.

Australia looks beyond cigarettes for plain packaging rules.

Bank of America shares fall on European fears.

Boeing ramps up commercial airline production.

Carnival Cruise Lines signs brand partners.

Daily Mail posts wrong Amanda Knox verdict.

ESPN pulls Hank Williams Jr. signature tune following Hitler remark.Continue reading...

Apple loses to RIM in smartphone market in India and eyes worldwide iCloud rights as CEO Tim Cook gets ready to unveil iPhone 5.

Alibaba casts eye on Yahoo, as Yahoo signs content-sharing deal with ABC News.

Angry Birds owner Rovio loses top branding exec.

Citibank raises fees and customer hackles.

Daimler signals optimism on truck sales.

Disney's 3D version of The Lion King shoots onto top-grossers list.

England bans cigarette-vending machines ahead of UK-wide ban.

Facebook looks to increase engagement and help brands communicate better with users via new Insights analytics tool, as changes and security issues touch privacy nerve.Continue reading...