Apple still sees consumer demand for iPhone 3GS.

AT&T warns blocking T-Mobile deal will lead to higher prices.

Amazon provokes retailers with new price-check app.

Banana Republic opens Paris flagship.

Bill Gates rumored to consider returning to Microsoft.

Billabong uses augmented reality in new campaign.

Carrefour mulls merger with French supermarket chain.

Dean & Deluca expands from New York to Singapore.

Jamba Juice to tap into schools market with self-serve units.

Ford to restart dividend after five years.

GM CEO Dan Akerson acts aggressively to staunch Volt damage.Continue reading...

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz lately has diversified his personal brand into becoming a cheerleader for U.S. job creation. Now he's engineering another stretch, as he takes his company further afield from coffee into new beverage arenas.

That's what Starbucks intends to do after its just-announced purchase of Evolution Fresh for $30 million. The coffee icon plans to use the deal to push well beyond its roots in java into both quick-serve delivery of juice-based products as well as a beefed-up presence in CPG -- and beyond.

"This is the first of many things we're going to do around health and wellness," Schultz said. "We're not only acquiring a juice company, but we're using this acquisition to build a broad-based, multi-million-dollar health and wellness business over time."Continue reading...

Saab signs deal to be purchased by Chinese firms.

Samsung overtakes Apple as top smartphone seller.

Virgin Galactic space tourism could begin in 2013.

Chrysler becomes profit-maker.

Disney strikes TV deal in Russia.

Jack in the Box and Jamba Juice are testing Google Wallet.

J.Crew president Jenna Lyons' personal life makes headlines.

Netflix reportedly takes up one-third of web bandwidth.

New York City's first casino opens today.

Nokia launches first Windows phone ad, in Europe.

Obama administration announces desert solar energy zones.

P&G's Wrigley brand is 100 years old this month as company finds consumers largely are accepting price hikes.

Samuel L. Jackson becomes top-grossing movie star of all time.

Under Armour hits the basketball court.

Weather Channel relaunches iPad app ahead of international expansion.

Whirlpool to cut more than 5,000 jobs.

& NYT ponders if the era of cheap Chinese imports to US is ending.

You like fruit juice? You like chips? You are in luck. Jamba Inc. and Bare Fruit LLC, which sources its apples from the Pacific Northwest, are joining forces for a new line of Jamba-branded dried-fruit chips, according to the Associated Press. The licensing deal will result in "all natural" chip flavors that will include mango, Fuji apple, and Granny Smith apple, which should be in stores by the new year. The company, which has 746 Jamba Juice stores in the U.S. and six outside, “has been trying to grow by licensing its brand for consumer products,” AP notes.

"Our focus continues to be on developing differentiated Jamba-branded products that make it convenient and easy for health-conscious consumers to lead healthier and more active lives,” stated Julie Washington, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Products, Jamba Juice Company. “This latest offering, created with Bare Fruit, leverages our collective expertise in fruit to create a line of wholesome snacks that are lower in calories, higher in fiber and naturally sweet.”

Jamba Juice was also just named as one of the latest round of retail partners for the Google Wallet "tap and pay" platform.Continue reading...

Misery loves company? Maybe that's why Burger King and Quaker Oats are getting together to offer two flavors of oatmeal at the fast feeder's outlets nationwide. By adding the venerable breakfast food to its growing morning menu, Burger King is following hopefully in the footsteps of acknowledged innovators in its business including McDonalds, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A and Jamba Juice.

Though the times suggest they should be doing better, both Quaker and Burger King have struggled lately. Burger King hasn't come close to matching the stellar results posted by industry leader McDonalds during the recent period of economic sluggishness in the United States, when cheap eats have been more popular than ever. Meanwhile, Quaker Oats -- at a time of strong consumer interest in intrinsically better-for-you foods, and with the marketing muscle and expertise of PepsiCo behind it -- has struggled to elevate supermarket sales, with a series of marketing campaigns over the last few years that have failed to motivate American consumers to pick up its classic, inexpensive oatmeal. "Go Humans Go!" just wasn't a potent message.Continue reading...

SocialTwist has just hit a key benchmark, partnering with 100,000 brands and websites to create “customer advocates” to help relay deals and other marketing messages.

In the past year, 4.8 million customer advocates have used the platform for referrals, offers and content sharing with friends.

Also making the service a player to watch: Sanjeev Agrawal, former head of product marketing for Google — and the former VP Products at TellMe Networks (acquired by Microsoft) and CEO of Aloqa (acquired by Motorola) — has just signed on as its president.Continue reading...

Last week, Google launched a new service, Google Advisor, to help consumers make money decisions and compare financial products: credit cards, CDs, checking, and savings accounts.

Today, the search giant unveiled its own financial product, Google Wallet, at a press conference in New York, with partners Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint, sharing the stage.

Can Google Banking be far behind?Continue reading...

Airlines raise prices for the sixth time this year.

Automakers call for electric car standards.

Best Buy woos small business owners.

BP execs receive bonuses despite Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Cadbury brings Oreo brand to India.

Calvin Klein promotes ck one relaunch with augmented reality at Macy's NYC flagship.Continue reading...