ABC ratings dip without Bristol Palin, Dancing With the Stars.

Alberto-Culver settles Unilever suit.

Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us led e-commerce sales on Cyber Monday, boosted by Facebook.

BP suspends Alaska project over safety concerns.

Bank of America stock dips on news it's next on WikiLeaks' radar as Interpol targets site founder.

Clear Channel signs three-year, $60 million deal with Ryan Seacrest.Continue reading...

Apple is expected to unveil a new MacBook Air tomorrow.

Cars.com returns to the Super Bowl.

Disney's Tron-related licensed merchandise includes $800 shoes.

Fox and Cablevision chastised by FCC chief over transmission standoff.

GM has the capacity for 60,000 Chevy Volts in 2012.

Goldman Sachs reduces bankers pay pool.Continue reading...

The Goldman Sachs brand has gotten more attention in the last year than it's probably used to, or comfortable with.

At the start of this year, we asked "How do you solve a problem like Goldman Sachs?" At the time, Goldman's CFO insisted, "“We are not blind to the economic environment and the pain and suffering still going on around the world.”

In the ensuing months Goldman's desire to avoid the spotlight went unfulfilled. It made headlines for quarterly profits, eschewing politics this cycle, and an embarrassing memo about restricting obscenities in employee email. As the brand moved to buff its image, public opinion, in part because of SEC charges, worked against it.

The brand, and CEO Lloyd Blankfein, had hoped its charm offensive would restore the brand. Now, with a new image campaign, Goldman Sachs is going on the offensive — but the image-polishing is in danger of offending, instead.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola retains its lead in Interbrand's 2010 Best Global Brands (visit www.bestglobalbrands.com for the full report).

Abbott Laboratories receives split FDA decision on Meridia.

Boeing plans to fly tourists to space. Separately, the World Trade Organization says it received illegal assistance from the U.S. in its continuing battle with Airbus.

Carrefour sets a strategy to become the “IKEA of groceries.”

FedEx reports more than doubling of fiscal first-quarter profits, but trims outlook and announces job cuts.

Forest Laboratories settles claims that it marketed Celexa antidepressant drug to children.

Goldman Sachs faces a lawsuit alleging widespread sex bias.Continue reading...

Interbrand has released its 2010 ranking of the world's best global brands. The 11th annual assessment of the world's most successful brands for the first time doesn't include BP, which lost billions of dollars of value, and brand equity, due to the Gulf Oil spill.

"BP's environmental disaster and inability to make good on its brand promise of 'Beyond Petroleum' led to its falling off the list and helped competitor Shell emerge as an industry leader," Interbrand (the parent company of brandchannel) stated. As a result of BP's fall from grace, Shell is now ranked 81—up from 92 last year—in this year's standings.

Toyota, which also had a tough year in the wake of recall-related consumer mistrust, lost 16% of its brand value and fell out of the top 10, dropping from 8 to 11 as "its long-standing reputation for reliability, efficiency and innovation helped it weather the crisis better than expected.

Goldman Sachs, "once the envy of Wall Street," increased one position (from 38 to 37) and saw its brand valuation rise 1%. The financial services giant "faces the dichotomy of strong economic results and an angry public that will continue to lash out until the company begins to demonstrate that it is making sincere efforts to better align its ethics with its brand."

HP cracked into the top 10, making #10 "despite a challenging year" and for "smart additions to its product portfolio." Other tech brands, meanwhile, dominated the top five fastest gaining brands.Continue reading...

* AOL is introducing a bigger, splashier ad format.

* Bell Canada owner BCE Inc. is retaking control of the CTV network for $1.3 billion and re-entering the TV business.

* BP is back in the news as its landmark legal battle looms, an executive shuffle clears way for Tony Hayward's next role, more oil from the spill is found by researchers, and the smarta$$ behind @BPGlobalPR Twitter account steps forward.

* Chrysler dealers will get the chance to meet CEO Sergio Marchionne this week, while more than 450 execs including ex-chairman Lee Iacocca sued Daimler AG and Cerberus, claiming they lost 100 million dollars in pensions in the automaker's bankruptcy.

* Disney's ABC is pushing its TV brand anew after the arrival of Paul Lee at the helm.Continue reading...

* Amazon's Kindle is coming to Best Buy.

* Apple eases up on app store eligibility by releasing guidelines.

* BP CEO (until Oct. 1) Tony Hayward faces grilling by British politicians.

* Burger King's new owner needs to do more than just cut costs.

* Donald Trump steps into New York City's mosque brouhaha as Florida pastor calls off Koran burning.

* Ford is summoning its dealers to discuss plans for the Lincoln brand.

* Goldman Sachs was hit with a $27 million fine in the UK.Continue reading...

* 7-Eleven enters the bidding for smaller rival Casey’s.

* All Nippon Airways plans to launch the first low-cost air carrier in Japan.

* Anheuser-Busch InBev, L’Oreal and Unilever are among brands utilizing more online video to connect with consumers in China.

* Burberry aims to transform itself into an agile global retailer.

* CNN banks on new faces such as Piers Morgan to battle slumping ratings.

* General Motors needs to go into “attack” mode, new CEO Daniel Akerson tells employees.

* Goldman Sachs is fined $27 million by the U.K. government, but ranked #1 on Wall Street for employee satisfaction.Continue reading...