American Airlines parent AMR bankruptcy could foist huge losses on key creditors.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs honored with exhibition highlighting his patents and trademarks.

AT&T blasts federal critique of T-Mobile deal, as AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile deal with Carrier IQ privacy concerns.

Barnes & Noble continues to struggle financially with digital transition.

Chili's drives menu changes and sales with retrofit.

Disney raises dividend to highest level in 20 years.

Fiat closes plant as European demand falls.

GM offers to buy back Volt from owners.Continue reading...

Here's one of those little stories that could easily float by, but which says a lot about the times we live in. Retail bookstores are becoming scarce, scarcer still since the February Borders bankruptcy. Call it the Amazon effect. More broadly, it's indicative of the transition to online shopping and e-Books, as the Kindle vs. Nook battle this holiday selling season demonstrates. The American Booksellers Association says its membership of independent bookstores has dropped to 1,900 this year, from 2,400 in 2002.

It's little comfort to downtown book browsers that Barnes & Noble, the largest retail chain, opens megastores in malls that draw customers away from the smaller indies. That's what was happening in Nashville, Tennessee. While there are two Barnes & Noble stores outside the city and another that seconds as Vanderbilt University's college bookstore, a downtown bookstore closed last December along with a branch of Borders. As Adam Ross, a Nashville novelist, commented to the New York Times, "It was a civic tragedy. The Nashville literary community went into a sort of Code Red situation." Community efforts to open a new bookstore —even the idea of a co-op was considered — fell apart.

That's when Ann Patchett came to the rescue. In a role reversal where the novelist becomes the hero of the story, the best-selling author, who grew up and owns a home in Nashville, put $300,000 of her own money into funding her own indie bookstore, Parnassus Books, which held its official opening on Saturday.Continue reading...

AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo forge advertising partnership.

Activision and Electronic Arts let bullets fly in video-game holiday-sales war.

Anheuser-Busch gets label approval for higher-alcohol version of Bud Light.

Barnes & Noble has sought U.S. antitrust probe of Microsoft over e-readers.

Facebook sees recommendations on advertisers' use of "like" by Better Business Bureau.

General Motors reports strong but lower profits.

HSBC raises U.S. bad-loan provisions.

Landry's acquires McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants. Continue reading...

If you've noticed that Barnes & Noble has been clearing away books to make room for the NOOK, get ready for more redecorating on the selling floor as the bookseller takes aim on Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire this holiday season with its just-revealed NOOK Tablet.

Also, of course, looking to nibble at the iPad's market share, NOOK Tablet is described by B&N as "Our fastest, lightest tablet with the best in HD entertainment & more!" (including more than 2.5 million books, magazines, newspapers and other titles), the NOOK Tablet is selling for slightly more, at $249.

"With the Nook Tablet we are delivering the best media device ever created in a portable form factor," said Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch at a launch event in New York today.Continue reading...

Best Buy stores to close in the U.K. as Carphone Warehouse sells its stake for $1.3 billion. In the U.S., BB will join post-Thanksgiving "Black Midnight" frenzy.

IAG, owner of British Airways & Iberia, pursues Portugal's TAP airline after agreeing to buy bmi (British Midland International) from Lufthansa.

Barnes & Noble expects to prod Amazon's Kindle with new Nook Color.

All Nippon Airways probes glitch in Dreamliner landing as Airbus tries to exploit longer-than-expected training time for the new Boeing plane.

Apple hit by piracy claim by leading computer scientist as brand rewards top executives to try to retain them for the post-Jobs era and threatens Google with new Siri "personal-assistant" search technology.Continue reading...

Major economies try to reassure investors with joint statement, but markets continue to swoon.

HP defends hasty hiring of Meg Whitman as CEO, as Whitman hits the ground running.

Chanel files sweeping Internet trademark suit in Nevada.

Boeing plans a celebration for long-delayed delivery of Dreamliner.

Alibaba gets major investment from abroad.

Apple opens fifth (and largest) China store, in Shanghai.

Borders name and IP sale to Barnes & Noble blocked by judge.Continue reading...

Adidas takes a nuanced approach to differentiate among national markets.

Air Koryo wants you to "friend" the North Korean state-run airline.

AOL is reportedly in talks with bankers to take the company private.

AT&T plans to bring back 5,000 U.S. jobs sent overseas.

Barnes & Noble gets lift from Nook reader.

BMW vows no power loss with four-cylinder sedan revival.

Boeing sets 2017 for debut of new version of 737.Continue reading...

U.S. stock markets braced for more losses today.

Audi cuts A6 price as lure for U.S. luxury buyers.

Bank of America is setting to slice thousands of jobs, Wall Street Journal says.

Barnes & Noble gets investment and ends acquisition talk.

Cadillac plans to market plug-in coupe similar to Chevrolet Volt.

Foster's shuns SABMiller acquisition idea.

Fox will return its American Idol judges for 2012 and signs deal with Ultimate Fighting as box office for Glee concert movie disappoints. Continue reading...