Japan assesses damage from the quake and tsunami as officials battle the continued threat from destruction at nuclear plants, US. nuclear-energy interests ponder the ramifications for America, the Nikkei falls and the central bank of Japan promises liquidity to help the economy, and Japanese auto plants remain closed.

General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt also vows help for Japanese dealing with reactor woes, as GE designed 23 U.S. nuclear reactors similar to the troubled ones in Japan.

Amazon is pressured by states wanting it to collect sales taxes.

Apple chalks up strong sales for iPad 2, seeing 70% first-time buyers.

Bank of America is the latest WikiLeaks target.

BP dispute over Russian JV intensifies.Continue reading...

Here's the official Lady Gaga for MAC Cosmetics' Viva Glam commercial. More brandbitems this week:

• Toyota tweets from Japan. Open for business.

• Chrysler's Twitter feed got in hot water over tweeting that nobody in Motor City "knows how to (bleeped!) drive."Continue reading...

Not satisfied to set a Guinness World Record, Charlie Sheen clearly feels he needs to be even more "winning." The verbose actor today filed a $100 million lawsuit against Two and a Half Men producer Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. Television, which produces the hit series for CBS.

Who else is winning from Sheen’s public tirades and manic self-promotion? Consider brands like Zazzle, a Silicon Valley startup whose business — instant customization of 50 or so products — has catapulted overnight to feed a public eager to capture Sheen's catchphrases on t-shirts.

By popular demand on zazzle.com, they’ve been churning out t-shirts with variations on Sheen’s "winning," "tiger blood" and other bon mots at a steady clip, making up a healthy chunk of the 150,000 user-customized products it manufactures daily. Its instant response to the Sheen phenom also garnered it a CNN profile this week.Continue reading...

Aon plans to spend much of its big cash hoard to buy back shares.

Audi takes aim at toppling BMW.

Bank of America says home-loan business is recovering.

Barbie hits $3 billion in global annual sales as brand shutters China flagship.

Boeing gets a boost from China orders.

Cap’n Crunch gains guerrilla-fueled “success” in social media.

CBS, Warner Bros. and Charlie Sheen are at war, as Sheen apparently plans to sue post-firing.Continue reading...

Subway passes McDonald's as the world's largest restaurant chain.

Morgan Stanley may drop "Smith Barney" name.

YouTube acquires web video creators NextNewNetworks, making Google "officially" a media company.

AOL shares sink as Huffington Post deal closes.

Ben Affleck teams with Cindy McCain to raise awareness about the Congo.

Bing speeds up search results to keep pace with Google.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...

• CNN looks at advertising on airport bathroom mirrors (best read while listening to above).

• We missed Charlie Sheen's Ustream debut Saturday night (which was panned) be see that he was skewered on SNL (with Lindsay Lohan), planning branded merchandise and being wooed by the producer of AMC's hit Walking Dead series.

• We also see that ... AmEx is teaming up with Foursquare ... Angry Birds will integrate with Facebook next month ... CBS and Turner feature Kings of Leon in March Madness campaign ... and some classic ad icons are getting a makeover.

More weekend headlines:Continue reading...

Yes, we know this is a tongue-in-cheek promo for SXSW and Charlie Sheen is still all over the news, but still, a note to HP and other brand marketers — #winning was soooo last week.