Fortune magazine's annual ranking of the world's most admired companies is also a shorthand for most admired brands.

Its just-released 14th annual ranking, a collaboration between the Time Inc.-owned business title with research conducted by the Hay Group, is worth checking out to see who's up, who's down, and why.

As ever, this year's list is based on a survey of business executives and the criteria includes quality of management, social responsibility (community and environment), quality of products and services, allocation of corporate resources, recruitment and retention of talent.

This year's top ten:Continue reading...

Apple frustrates rivals who are trying to beat iPad’s price.

BBC announces agencies for branding and creative duties.

Disney's ABC Family channel spins gold in dramas.

Baby Gaga makers face possible legal action by Lady Gaga over breast-milk ice cream.  

Bank of America looks forward to “normal” performance. 

Barclays CEO gets huge bonus.

CBS hopes to conclude Charlie Sheen saga as Mark Cuban approaches him for HDNet project.Continue reading...

When it comes to product placement, the thriller Unknown has nowhere near as much to recommend it as I Am Number Four, which we looked at earlier.

Where I am Number Four was filled with Apple product placement, Unknown is a BlackBerry film.

Unknown does include one noteworthy product placement, however — and it's a fairly risky one for the brand.Continue reading...

• Smart. Funny. Perfectly on-brand. This Australian Slurpee commercial, above, is inspiring.

• MAC launches Wonder Woman makeup collection.

• The Onion: "Iams Executives Scrambling To Figure Out Why Brand Is Losing 2- To 4-Year-Old Chocolate Labs"Continue reading...

The Black Beetle — "it's coming." Got it. Motorola also released its Super Bowl teaser spot today — one that tweaks Apple's iconic 1984 Super Bowl spot introducing the Macintosh.Continue reading...

Alpha Natural Resources creates world’s third-largest coal producer. 

BP is expected to post a sharp jump in profits.

Chrysler reports $199 million quarterly loss.

ConAgra launches online cooking school to connect brands with blogging moms.

Cutting Edge Group's deal for The King’s Speech (which topped last night's SAG Awards) creates new model for film music.

Egypt swears in new government as first Americans evacuated.

Exxon posts 53% rise in quarterly earnings.Continue reading...

On the heels of announcing it's giving officials India the right (and means) to intercept BlackBerry Messenger users' data (a move that boosted its shares), Research in Motion has released a new campaign for the Indian market.

The description for its spot, above: "Sisters Divya & Dipika Israni followed their passion & took over their mom's boutique in South Mumbai right after college. They use the Sapphire BBM Group to network with their clientele, and to keep them updated with the latest offerings from their boutique!"

RIM also just agreed to Indonesia's request for BlackBerry devices to filter (and block) porn.

AOL strikes web-programming deal.

AT&T sees $2.7B charge in the fourth quarter from pension change.

Borders tries to win back publishers' trust.

FedEx takes on UPS with long-range China jets.

Ford wins coveted brand-loyalty award.

Gap to open first store for web-incubated Athleta brand.Continue reading...