China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: McDonald's owns the night... KFC woes... Middle-class spending... GM exports... Buick and Toyota recalls... Adidas fakes... GSK scandal... Volvo and Carrefour look West... Hollister brah... Givenchy... Dreamworks' Tibet Code... Durex gets spanked... and more.Continue reading...

Has Chrysler gone too far in refusing to recall 2.7 million older-model Jeeps that federal safety regulators say are unsafe and may have contributed to dozens of fatalities in fiery rear-end collisions?

The consensus of outsiders is: Yes, Chrysler is taking too big a risk of its hard-won success and reputation in drawing this particular line in the sand.

"It's the most moronic decision this year," Todd Turner, head of auto consultancy Car Concepts, told MarketingDaily. "Why would they start a fight that is only going to damage their reputation and further draw attention to the issue?" Paul Eisenstein, a veteran journalistic follower of the industry, opined on Autoblog that "sometimes you can't win for losing and even if Chrysler is right, there is a serious chance that it may nonetheless lose the battle in the public eye, especially if it is seen as putting profits before safety."Continue reading...

Apple faces a limited ban on product sales in wake of court victory by Samsung.

Toyota recalls nearly a quarter-million Prius and Lexus hybrids.

Allegiant Air emerges as most profitable airline in America.

Amazon plans major expansion of grocery delivery, report says, while it is attacked by French culture minister as "destroyer of bookshops" and reaches deal with Viacom to stream kids' shows.

Bloomberg begins fund to invest in startups.

Carl's Jr and Hardee's go after McDonald's disaffected Angus customers.

Chrysler challenge of federal recall effort on Jeeps is unusual.

Delta plans to reduce operations at Memphis hub.Continue reading...

The good news on the sales front kept rolling in for Chrysler today, which posted an 11 percent increase in May sales over a year ago, comprising its best May in six years. The company and its brands have kept asserting their way in the continuing US auto-industry recovery.

But the great monthly result hid a couple of unsettling facts for the company overall and the brands its dealers sell: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat.

First, most of the load in terms of sales increases is being carried these days by only five of the company's 21 vehicle lines: the completely overhauled Jeep Grand Cherokee, the all-new Dodge Dart, the trendy Jeep Wrangler, an unlikely winner in Dodge Charger and the new Ram pickup which is benefiting from the US housing recovery.Continue reading...

YouTube launches paid channels after rumors swirled earlier this week about subscription partners.

ESPN may subsidize wireless-data plans.

JPMorgan Chase is sued by California over credit-card cases.

AT&T returns to chatty kids for Mother's Day ads.

Amazon is reportedly developing a smartphone with 3-D screen.

Caterpillar and union suspend talks.

Chrysler faces uphill climb for Jeep in China.

Costco now offers travel packages to members.

Dell may see rival bid by Carl Icahn group.

Delta sees new terminal as symbol of air-travel makeover.Continue reading...

Chrysler knows a thing or two about how to coax an emotional response out of American consumers. Exhibit No. 1: The now-iconic "Born of Fire" TV ad during the Super Bowl game some 25 months ago, starring Eminem and the Chrysler 200. It and the "Imported From Detroit" campaign it introduced nearly singlehandedly rescued the Chrysler brand from the scrap heap.

Now, Chrysler is angling for would-be Exhibit No. 2: The evocative "Farmer" ad that it ran on behalf of Ram trucks during the Super Bowl in February. There's already evidence of a medium-term impact from the ad and the attention that was paid to it in the game's aftermath: Through April 1, sales of Ram pickups were up 15 percent year-over-year in the US, to 77,594 units. And that included a 26 percent gain in March over 2012 and a 3 percent increase in February over a year ago.

April sales figures will be released on Wednesday.

Olivier Francois, Chrysler's CMO, insisted that the spot and follow-up actions by Chrysler to mark what it calls "the year of the farmer" are persuading Ford, GM, Toyota and Nissan customers to consider Ram trucks too. "I receive letters every day from loyal customers of the competition thanking us for doing that spot and saying that they are considering the Ram," Francois told Automotive News.Continue reading...

Dirce Navarro de Camargo, Brazil's richest woman and owner of Havaianas, dies at 100.

Apple faces criticism over Siri's long memory as market expects it to report profit drop.

Nutrisystem joins forces with Walmart in retail push.

Amazon asks viewers for help in selecting which pilots to turn into original TV series.

Ahold donates a half-million dollars to Boston fund.

Boeing will see timeline of Dreamliner return to skies vary widely around globe.

Chipotle sees expansion of US investigation into its hiring.

Clorox aims to expand market for Green Works beyond niche.

Coach fights to keep its cachet as competition rises.

Comedy Central plans to use Twitter to host comedy festival.Continue reading...

Who knew The Weather Channel was such a hot commodity?

It turns out that the cable network's online and mobile properties are hot beds for advertising trends and a launch pad for hyperlocal marketing initiatives for major advertisers like Taco Bell, Delta Airlines and Jeep.

Twitter and The Weather Channel (TWC) have developed a weather-based ad-targeting product, leveraging 60 percent in the twitterverse that accesses the microblogger via smartphone, to receive Promoted Tweets related to… weather. “Based on certain forecasts, Taco Bell, Seamless, Delta Airlines, Farmers, Goodyear and others have fallen in line with Ace Hardware, targeting nearby consumers via mobile ad networks such as MoPub and Jumptap and—in a lot of cases—TWC's popular smartphone app,” notes AdWeek.Continue reading...