In his address at the International AIDS Conference that wrapped in Washington, D.C., on July 27th, Sir Elton John told the audience that "I should be dead" for having not taken precautions against HIV in the past.

AIDS 2012, as it's better known, was the most attended global HIV/AIDS conference to date. It made headlines this year not only for its return to the U.S. for the first time in 22 years, but for companies including Levi Strauss and MAC who continue to support the fight against the disease and prejudice that surrounds it.

The MAC AIDS Fund (MAF), the philanthropic arm of MAC Cosmetics, announced two major initiatives at AIDS 2012, continuing its leadership position as the largest corporate non-pharmaceutical funder in the HIV/AIDS arena.Continue reading...

Amazon ships Kindle Fire and Kindle Touch early.

Apple searches for next retailing genius, recalls first-generation iPod Nano devices.

Audi A7 wins car of the year nod.

Barbie links with Stardoll for premium collection.

BMW promotes sustainability with China roadshow.

Boeing cements wide-body lead over Airbus with biggest ever deal, with Emirates.

Borders demise parsed by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launch smashes records.

China 'ready' to allow foreign companies to issue stock.

Chevrolet woos Sonic buyers with perks program, while GM slows Chevrolet Cruze production.

Citrus Australia introduces new seal of authenticity.

Crowne Plaza tilts makeover toward young travelers.

Deutsche Boerse defends NYSE Euronext deal.

Disney buys Babble.com for $40M to reach 'hipster parents.'

Estee Lauder co-founder Evelyn Lauder dies, lauded for launching Pink Ribbon campaign for breast cancer research.

Facebook nears U.S. privacy settlement that would make public sharing opt-in, not opt-out.Continue reading...

Apple could lure customers with pricing despite lack of iPhone 5, even as its new iPhone 4S fails to wow. AT&T, meanwhile, claims its iPhone 4S will be the fastest, while Samsung moves to ban the device in France and Italy.

Amazon Kindle Fire pre-orders top 2,000 per hour.

BNY Mellon gets sued by feds, state of New York.

Coca-Cola Amatil eyes Foster's assets in Australia.

Diageo to open "Happy Hour" on ESPN in two languages.

Disney gets 3-D fever.

Estee Lauder launches breast cancer awareness Facebook app.

Friendly's files for bankruptcy.Continue reading...

Chipotle soft-launches ShopHouse Kitchen, a Southeast Asian fast casual restaurant concept, in Washington, D.C. (prompting Seattle's Shophouse eatery to rebrand to Little Uncle).

Yahoo and AOL may be planning an ad sales partnership.

Kenmore may be next brand 'farmed out' by Sears.

Bing introduces "adaptive search" to personalize results.

Eterniti teases luxury 'supercar' at Frankfurt Auto Show.

Facebook expands social ads push, delays IPO to late 2012.

Google buys more than 1,000 patents from IBM.

Louis Vuitton names next CEO, opens first airport store.

Marni and Estee Lauder partner on perfume collection.

Solyndra bankruptcy and loan become a bigger embarrassment for the Obama administration.

Toyota steps up research to make driving safer.

& Advertisers and retailers move up Halloween promotions earlier this year (on both sides of the pond).

Andre Agassi expands commitment to charter schools.

Apple signs deal with Universal Music Group and other publishers for iCloud.

AT&T Wireless CEO "not happy" with US network.

Benetton refreshes visual branding.

Citigroup shuts down $400M hedge fund in wake of new regulations.

Denny's all-you-can-eat pancakes inspires teen marathon.

Disney, looking up at the cloud, relaunches Disney.com to offer TV and film titles.Continue reading...

AOL chief vows that the brand will stage a comeback.

AT&T will attempt to sway regulators over its T-Mobile deal.

Apple tops brand charts in new Millward Brown study.

Best Buy considers offering electric vehicles.

Caribou Coffee explores lunch products.

Estee Lauder looks to China.

Hertz makes new offer to buy Dollar Thrifty.  Continue reading...

In the wake of cracks being found in three Southwest planes, FAA calls for cross-airline inspections of Boeing 737s.

Texas Instruments acquires National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion.

Wachovia, now part of Wells Fargo, accused of drug cartel money-laundering.

American Airlines ends spat with Expedia.

Apple goes after Color and Instagram with iPhone's social photo stream, looks to become media gatekeeper.

CBS News anchor Katie Couric is negotiating her exit, and eyeing a syndicated talkshow with Jeff Zucker.Continue reading...

AT&T explained why it's shelling out $39 billion for T-Mobile to create America's biggest wireless carrier in a conference call this morning (WSJ.com has more) while Sprint is "left scrambling" and JPMorgan trumps Goldman Sachs with deal.

Japan food brands face consumer fears of contamination as Tepco nuclear plant situation continues. Sony and Nissan are also resuming operations, while YouTube promotes a video people-finder to aid search and rescue efforts. Swiss Re estimates Japan claims at $1.2 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway seeks more big acquisitions — but not technology. 

Boeing launches newest 747 on its maiden flight.

Diageo is reportedly weighing a $2 billion bid for Jose Cuervo.Continue reading...