Apple reports China as its second-largest market by sales after US. Apple stores will close for a few hours today for an employees-only memorial webcast celebrating Steve Jobs' life.

Amazon's IMDb sued for disclosing actress' real age, while digital deal with DC Comics irks rivals.

Audi-Ford price gap is widest since 1999.

Bank of America is no longer America's largest bank.

Deezer to launch music streaming service in more than 100 countries.

Diageo triumphs in alcohol brand battle.

Disney battles environmentalists at parks, while fans crash website in search of princess dolls.Continue reading...

Just when you thought you had your online privacy settings all figured out, along comes Take This Lollipop.

Give this Facebook app permission to connect to your profile and up comes a video of a jittery, sweaty man sitting at a computer in a dark room scratching around on a Facebook user profile… on your Facebook user profile, to be exact.Continue reading...

Air France replaces CEO, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO is ousted in Daimler exec shuffle, and Olympus shares plunge as its CEO is fired.

Apple sells 4 million iPhone 4S units in first weekend, as Samsung sues to block the device in Japan and Australia and HTC loses Apple patent case in US. Steve Jobs' Silicon Valley memorial service reportedly filled with humor and music, as company prepares to honor late co-founder and report earnings on Tuesday. Starbucks and Apple are also partnering in the UK on free music downloads.

Mattel eyes UK's HIT Entertainment, home to Thomas the Tank Engine and other kids' properties.

Bank of America posts $6.2 billion quarterly profit, while Goldman Sachs reports $428 million loss.

BlackBerry customers receive free apps and tech support to make amends for outages.Continue reading...

It's no longer a shock that bad-boy media brand Vice would partner with Intel in The Creators Project, a global tech arts and music festival that touched base in New York this past weekend for the second straight year. Following an equally unexpected partnership with CNN, Vice is quickly becoming as known for its establishment allies as for its still-edgy editorial content (its infamous "Dos and Don'ts"; photo sets of undressed models smoking marijuana, etc.) featured in print and online (it recently relaunched at the newly acquired Vice.com domain).

Though brandchannel's Abe Sauer dismissed the Vice-Intel partnership last year as evidence the brand had become (borrowing co-founder Shane Smith's words) an "old, fat man," it was clear from the lines of attractive, upscale hipsters waiting patiently for wristbands that Vice still has more than enough credibility to curate a crowd. And as Sauer then noted, the high-profile alliance is part of a conscious strategy to demonstrate Vice can transfer its "edge" onto an established brand like Intel. Continue reading...

As Apple gets ready to reveal the iPhone 5 today, the brand that Steve Jobs built has broken into the Top 10 of Interbrand's Best Global Brands ranking for the first time. With a brand value that increased a whopping 58%, Apple is now ranked at #8, up from #17 on last year's list, making it the biggest-rising brand this year.

Part of the rationale for Apple's leap: "great branding meeting great technology to deliver a unique overall experience," according to Interbrand's 2011 report. Looking ahead, "Steve Jobs’ recent resignation has the world curious about the impact on this innovative company as it is unclear how much of the brand’s success was due directly to Jobs’ own vision and control, and how much was due to his team—including new CEO, Tim Cook."

Technology brands dominate this year's list, accounting for seven of the top ten brands (besides Apple, there's IBM, Microsoft, Google, GE, Intel, and HP) and four of the five biggest risers. New entrant HTC, the Taiwanese mobile device-maker that recently shifted from B2B to B2C, makes its debut on the list at #98.

Check out the new 2011 report at BestGlobalBrands.com, and watch Interbrand CEO Jez Frampton's 2011 overview below.Continue reading...

From sneakers to sustainability, Nike has been promoting its "Better World" platform to focus its eco-conscious, people- and planet-improving goals. Now, it's putting its money where its mouth is.

The apparel giant last year established a VC arm focused on alternative energies and more efficient manufacturing, called the Sustainable Business and Innovation Lab. And as you might expect by the name, it's combing Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley and beyond, looking for a few good start-ups promoting healthy/green lifestyles, technology and eco-friendly practices.Continue reading...

Amazon wins British top brand survey; and expands deal with FOX to stream TV shows and movies as the News Corp.-owned network gambles $50 million on Terra Nova series.

Apple dips on the back of JPMorgan's back-and-forth reports on iPad output.

Barnes & Noble will receive Borders customer list by end of October.

Berkshire Hathaway moves toward massive repurchase of its own shares, underscoring dilemma for companies – and investors like its chief, Warren Buffett —about what to do with their cash.

China's ‘Facebook’ (RenRen) buys Chinese YouTube (56.com).

Coca-Cola CEO sees U.S. becoming less business-friendly than China.Continue reading...

Yahoo’s not the only company wishing it had a fission-powered DeLorean (a la Nike this week) to facilitate a return to better times.

It wasn’t long ago – all right, maybe an eon in the cellphone era – when more pockets were stuffed with Nokia phones than ears plugged with trendy white headphones. Those iPod buds were annoying if you weren’t an early adopter, but at least they didn’t disturb you in a movie theater, unlike that Nokia earworm (known as the Nokia Tune) that burrowed into my brain to keep company with the latest derivative party anthem by the Black Eyed Peas.

Think you can come up with a new Nokia Tune? Now's your chance!Continue reading...