NBC bids adieu to Steve Carell on The Office.

Office boosts Microsoft profits, though Windows sales slip — blame the iPad, with Apple now more profitable than Microsoft.

BlackBerry-maker RIM cuts Q1 earnings and revenue forecast. 

Apple's White iPhone 4 - a PR coup?

Bank of America to hike interest rates for late payments. 

Deutsche Bank announces record first-quarter profits. 

Hulu Plus comes to Xbox Live.Continue reading...

What makes one brand survive a reputation crisis better than others?

While it would take a PR and branding genius to help, for instance, BP restore its tarnished image, how about less extreme examples? Consider the recent New York Times expose on General Electric that revealed how the corporate behemoth paid no taxes in 2010.

GE made $14 billion in profits in 2010, $5 billion of that in the US — but its US tax bill is negative $3.5 billion. And yet, GE's reputation has not suffered as much as BP, Toyota or Goldman Sachs, at least so far, according to YouGov BrandIndex, the consumer perception brand research service.Continue reading...

Apple and Google are pressed on tracking and privacy by House committee.

Barnes & Noble target book lovers with new campaign for Nook reader.

Coca-Cola misses profit forecasts because of Japan quake aftermath.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros find their music all over adland (incl. MINI Wanderlust campaign).

Electronic Arts selects a different Madden to lead digital push.

Facebook introduces Deals service to rival Groupon and LivingSocial.Continue reading...

Carl's Jr. taps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Olivia Munn for a cameo, above.

Below, new spots from Newcastle Ale, Lady Gaga, ING Direct, MSNBC and more.Continue reading...

Amazon, Costco and Kohls top US brand-loyalty ranking as Amazon’s Kindle expands to offer e-books from libraries.

BP includes Halliburton in round of lawsuits on one-year anniversary of Gulf disaster.

Boeing to fight order to move some 787 production.

Chesapeake Energy suffers blowout on anniversary of BP oil spill.

DirecTV plan for early viewing of new movies at home draws criticism from filmmakers.

Fiat moves to raise Chrysler ownership to near half.Continue reading...

AES to buy DPL in utility-industry consolidation.

AT&T’s first quarter is lifted by wireless growth, even after Verizon gets iPhone.

Aston Martin to sell $4.5-million car in India.

Bank of America to spin off buyout arm.

Burberry gains in China expansion.

Catalina Marketing joins the online boom in discout offers.

Deutsche Bank internal emails reveal extent of bankrolling toxic mortgages.

eBay acquires location-based ad startup WHERE.Continue reading...

Move over Ashton Kutcher. The Yes Men are punking brands, as shown in the above trailer for The Yes Men Fix the World movie about Bhopal in 2009.

After it emerged that GE paid no federal taxes last year, a website popped up last week with a URL similar to GE’s press domain, (genewscenter.com) posted a fake press release titled, "GE Responds to Public Outcry – Will Donate Entire $3.2 Billion Tax Refund to Help Offset Cuts and Save American Jobs." The AP fell for it, and reported the story as news.Continue reading...

Banks probed over possible rate manipulation, while NYT looks at dearth of prosecutions in financial crisis.

Bing and Google gain search engine market share as Yahoo fades.

BlackBerry's Playbook tablet critiqued by WSJ, NYT and USAT.

BP and Rosneft extend deadline for a deal.

BRICS demand global monetary shake-up, greater influence. 

GE, Coca-Cola and IBM see promise in water business.Continue reading...