Yum! Brands third quarter earnings report is being closely watched.

Barclays to buy ING online assets.

Yahoo's Marissa Mayer urged to repurchase stock, profiled in New York magazine.

AT&T shares network with IBM to lure more customers to the cloud.

Amazon veers more into advertising.

American Airlines loses traffic over operational issues.

Apple asked by Taiwan to blur satellite image as Samsung spat dings brand perception.Continue reading...

BP suffered a major PR disaster and image hit back in 2010 when its Deepwater oil well dumped nearly five million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and wreaked havoc on the ecosystem.

While the birds and fish and other living things in the ecosystem that were killed and affected in all sorts of negative ways don’t have lawyers, many of the humans impacted do, such as a number of BP fuel dealers who claimed that the spill hurt their brand and business in general, aren’t winning the love of one particular judge.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, a U.S. District judge ruled Tuesday that the dealers don’t have a case against the oil giant. The same judge also ruled that Gulf Coast homeowners “who claim the spill hurt their property values even though no oil physically touched their property and they haven't sold their homes” don’t have a case, either, the Sun reports.

Another group that doesn’t want BP’s money but would rather use any fines paid by the British company to help rebuild and protect the Gulf ecosystem are sportsmen and women, the Sun Herald reports. In a poll by Chesapeake Beach Consulting, 81 percent of the sportsmen and women living in the region interviewed “believe BP should be held accountable and fined the maximum amount allowed for the 2010 Gulf oil disaster and that those funds should be used exclusively to restore the fish and wildlife habitat of the Gulf of Mexico and its hunting and fishing heritage,” the paper notes.Continue reading...

BP sells Gulf of Mexico oil fields for $5.5 billion to help pay for spill settlement while Petrobras seeks partner for development of its Gulf sites.

HP expands workforce reduction to 29,000 positions.

AIG will see U.S. slash its stake to become minority shareholder with $18 billion sell-off.

Apple cuts reliance on Samsung for iPhone chips as iPhone 5 mania and rumor mill heat up.

Audi threatens BMW's seven-year luxury auto crown.

Google charges retailers in growing competition with Amazon, as Google Fiber launch site takes off and Google Glasses hit the runway at New York Fashion Week.

NBC faces Paralympic TV deal scrutiny while the UK celebrates the end of the summer of the Olympics with London 2012 parade.Continue reading...

Amazon teases new Kindle Fire devices during NFL kick-off while Kobo unveils new range of "e-readers for everyone."

Albertsons scales back retail operation with store closures.

Andy Roddick retires after U.S. Open loss, as Roger Federer is knocked out and loses world #1 title.

Ben & Jerry's sues over x-rated Ben & Cherry's.

Bentley moves US management team to VW HQ.

Bill Clinton helps seal Barack Obama nomination at DNC convention.

Billabong attracts $700 million bid from Bain Capital.

BP unveils new technology to boost oil production.Continue reading...

Nokia faces key test under new CEO, launches mobile streaming music in US and expanded app library as part of today's reveal of Windows Phone 8 Lumia devices. HTC's Windows Phone series will also be branded under 8 series following Samsung's mobile rebranding move.

Audi to build plant in Mexico as automaker markets S series with NFL tie-in.

Method sold to European green-cleaning rival Ecover.

3M drops planned acquisition of Avery Dennison under U.S. antitrust threat.

Amazon adds movies to streaming service in new challenge to Netflix.

American Airlines can reject pacts with pilots, judge says.

Apple is embarrassed by data leak ahead of iPhone 5 reveal on Sept. 12.

AT&T and Texas to test text-to-911 safety initiative.

Best Buy's new CEO hits the store floor in first week.

BP dinged as U.S. reiterates gross negligence charge in oil spill.Continue reading...

It's Labor Day in the U.S., a public holiday which has become America's biggest retail sales day of the year.

Apple takes aim at Samsung's Galaxy S III in amended patent complaint, as Samsung stock takes a beating and company's culture, strategy, labor practices and PR tactics come under fire in wake of California ruling. Samsung and other Apple mobile rivals including Nokia are rushing new smartphone announcements ahead of expected Sept. 12th new iPhone reveal.

Abercrombie & Fitch brand cools, prompting store closures.

Allstate plans addressable TV campaign in U.S.

Apple offer to Amazon revealed in European e-books price-fixing inquiry.

Barack Obama plans to focus on issues at Democratic National Convention this week as jobs debate heats up this Labor Day.

BP's former CEO Tony Hayward returns to the spotlight.Continue reading...

About a year ago, Volkswagen announced its new "People's Car Project" (自造车) in China. The idea was to crowd source unique concepts from Chinese Internet users. About 120,000 ideas later, VW chose three and displayed them at the Beijing Auto Show in May. One of those three ideas was a VW "Hover Car" (磁悬球形车).

That car is now here. Kind of… It's just one more piece of VW's massive push. 

VW Beetle, meet the VW "Moth."

In a promotional video shot in the Chinese city of Chengdu, VW introduces the Hover Car and allows the parents of "Dark520" to take a spin. Dark520 is the handle of the People's Car Project user who suggested the hover project. Continue reading...

It takes money to make money. A few oil companies are throwing their cash around in Alaska in the hopes of swaying voters to their side in an Aug. 28 election that will decide a ballot measure that “supporters claim would restore Alaskans’ voice in federal coastal decisions,” according to the Alaska Dispatch.

Royal Dutch Shell has shelled out $150,000 against the effort, while Exxon and Conoco put in around $150,000 each and BP contributed $100,000 to “Vote No on 2.” Overall, the group has raised more than $1,450,000 and more than $690,000 of that came in the last two weeks. Two big mining companies have also contributed cash. In fact, only eight individuals have given money to “Vote No on 2,” Alaska Dispatch reports. 

That is in stark contrast to the group that is pushing for Ballot Measure 2 to pass, the Alaska Sea Party. They have raised about $205,000 this year, almost all from individuals. The largest gift by far came from a guy who is against one of the mining companies developing in the area; he put in $25,000. Continue reading...