Adidas dumped by university over labor concerns.

American Airlines expects thousands of job cuts and faces rash of late, canceled flights..

Anschutz plans to sell its entertainment group, part-owner of Los Angeles Lakers, in AEG sale to include LA's Staples Center.

Barry Diller and Scott Rudin enter e-publishing of books.

Caesars to rebrand Imperial Palace as The Quad.

Campbell Soup Co. boosts digital marketing.

Canon slashes prices in India.

Coca-Cola heirs lose $37M in foreclosure crisis.Continue reading...

Apple shares reach $700 as iPhone 5 shatters sales record.

Belvedere owes Bruce Willis for years of representing Sobieski vodka.

Burberry says strategy won't change as brand brings capes to London Fashion Week.

Chrysler and GM will get a chance at deal similar to new labor accord between Ford and Canadian Auto Workers.

Conde Nast plans French Vanity Fair.

Dole Food to sell businesses to Itochu.

Dos Equis finds some fans unimpressed with Obama endorsement by its "most interesting man" actor.Continue reading...

Apple iPhone 5 launch today could reheat European carriers' price war, as other tech companies weigh the implications.

Acer to introduce smartphone using operating system by Alibaba.

Amazon cuts shipping times by building more warehouses.

Chesapeake Energy sells $6.9 billion in assets.

Digital Domain, Hollywood's hologram maker, files for bankruptcy.

Dish Network returns Glenn Beck to US TV.

Ford seems likely to pick North American chief Mark Fields to succeed CEO Alan Mulally.Continue reading...

Mark J. Miller, who wrote about Ikea's new European foray into the hotel business yesterday, discussed this and other best and worst brand extensions on CNBC's Street Signs yesterday.

Europe’s financial difficulties continue and consumers are counting their Euros. Such a situation doesn’t bode well for the travel industry, which is why budget hotels have started popping up all over the continent and consumers that are actually traveling are using them more than they used to.

Budget hotel sales figures in 2011 were up 10 percent, Reuters notes, which means it was eating up 41 percent of the $162.5 billion European hotel market.

That kind of cash has enticed some folks to get into the budget-hotel biz or spread their brand. Germany’s Motel One is moving into the UK, Belgium, and Austria. Travelodge, which already has more than 500 hotels in Europe, opened four in London in July and is planning to open nine more in Europe before year’s end. Continue reading...

IKEA's standing as one of the world's most valuable brands is a hot topic this week after the company was compelled to disclose its internal brand valuation. The privately held furnishings company has been historically secret about its business metrics — but it finally revealed its internal valuation of its brand because of some changes in corporate structure that came to light.

According to SAPA/AFP, "Swedish furniture giant Ikea said Thursday it had sold its trademark to one of its own subsidiaries for nine billion euros (11 billion dollars), the first time the company has put a book value on the brand. Ikea, which has a complex ownership structure, said its Liechtenstein-based Interogo Foundation had sold the brand name to subsidiary Inter Ikea Systems on January 1, 2012. The transaction was aimed at 'consolidating and simplifying the group's structure,' Inter Ikea Group's head of communications Anders Bylund told AFP."

"Complex ownership structure" is putting it lightly — Ikea's Interogo Foundation only came to light last year following an investigation by Swedish journalists.Continue reading...

Coursera roars into BRIC countries with online classes.

ESPN introduces campaign that focuses on value of Monday Night Football.

Facebook HQ gets a Main Street.

Goldman Sachs escapes U.S. charges in mortgage crisis.

Ikea values its brand at $11 billion.

JCPenney reports loss, raising more questions about strategy.

JPMorgan Chase outlines damages from "London Whale" trading blunder.Continue reading...

Google goes back to the drawing board for Nexus Q black ball.

HP writes down $8 billion.

Ikea name sold to Dutch company.

Lane Bryant reveals new campaign and tagline.

Macy's raises outlook as profits surge.

NBC gets high marks from viewers for Olympics coverage.

Nestle warns of slowdown in U.S. market.

Nokia sells app-development unit.Continue reading...