Apple reportedly working on a lower-end iPhone.

H&M reveals launch plans for & Other Stories store brand.

Lance Armstrong to discuss doping in exclusive live-streamed Oprah Winfrey interview as new allegations arise.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos doesn't care about profit margins.

American Airlines upgrades international travel.

Asus looks to share in Google Nexus glory.

Audi A7 self-driving autopilot car goes for a spin at CES.

Beauty brands including Philosophy try oxygenating products.

Best Buy's former CMO lands at LivingSocial.

Boeing sees formal probe of Dreamliner.Continue reading...

Election historians may yet argue about the impact of Mitt Romney's that ran in Ohio in November in which he attacked government-rescued Chrysler for planning to "build Jeeps in China." But there's no arguing which direction the Jeep brand is headed these days: all over the world.

In fact, expanding Jeep's nameplates and manufacturing footprint around the globe has emerged as one of the primary brand missions of Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne as he tries to meld a wounded Fiat and a resurgent Chrysler into a single, durable survivor in a still-consolidating worldwide auto industry.

Some outsiders believe the strategy to elevate Jeep's status as a global brand makes sense. Since American-made Jeeps hepled liberate the world during World War II, the brand's succession of owners actually have done little to build upon a very positive initial reputation.Continue reading...

Adobe buys Behance for its design community.

Hostess Brands holds out for meaningful offers.

Quaker Oats readies Quaker Up campaign in US.

ABC leads America's late-night TV ratings with Nightline but loses Jake Tapper to CNN.

Absolut Vodka looks to Cirque du Soleil for inspiration.

American Airlines and US Airways sketch out how merger would affect pilots.

BAE strikes $4-billion deal with Oman.Continue reading...

Fiat faces more and more problems in the struggling European car market, so it's got to make more progress than company executives initially had hoped in the U.S. market — and faster than they'd planned.

So Fiat is turning up the voltage. In tandem with other Chrysler-owned brands, it is offering what it calls Conquest Bonus Cash as an incentive to U.S. buyers who own Volkswagens to switch. They'll give $1,000, through January 2, to any VW owner who buys one of their cars except for a handful of excepted models.

This isn't a usual tactic — the last time Chrysler did it was 2010, targeting Toyota. "We believe the Dodge Dart, for example, would appeal to current Volkswagen owners," Ralph Kisiel, a Chrysler spokesman, told brandchannel. Customers don't even have to give up their VW to qualify.Continue reading...

Chrysler can celebrate its comeback from the dead in just three years in large part due to the contributions of two executives. Let's call them Mr. Outside, Olivier Francois, and Mr. Inside, Klaus Busse.

Francois is the Chrysler CMO whose inspired vision and creative command conjured up the "Imported From Detroit" campaign that caught fire at the 2011 Super Bowl and other magic that just got Chrysler Group named Ad Age Marketer of the Year for 2012, and Francois named a 2012 Brand Genius by Adweek.Continue reading...

Priceline to buy Kayak.

Chrysler recalls Jeeps over faulty airbags.

Walmart faces probe in India.

Axe sponsors comedy tour.

Boeing is on track to outsell Airbus for first time in six years.

Diageo finally reaches deal for stake in United Spirits.

GM stake becomes a challenge for re-elected President Obama as Chevrolet finds a home in Russia.Continue reading...

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been considering lots of ways to alleviate the crisis faced by his Italy-based automaker because of the growing problems of the European auto business.

When Fiat accepted the carcass of Chrysler from the U.S. government after the bailout in 2009, Marchionne believed that the investment would be great counterbalance to Fiat's main dependence on Europe and that, over time, Chrysler could become a solid complement to the leadership of Fiat within the company.

But already, Chrysler's surprising recovery and Fiat's unprecedented woes have turned that presumed relationship on its head — or at least on its side. After all, it's the booming sales and profits provided by Chrysler that are helping keep Fiat afloat these days.Continue reading...

Chrysler exec tweets a rebuff about Donald Trump comment on Jeep jobs, as UAW leads ethics complaint vs Romney over auto rescue remarks.

Apple's iPad Mini launches globally to shorter than expected lines; secures Lion trademark.

Barclays facing a $470 million fine for alleged energy market manipulation, and a corruption probe.

Australian court rejects free range trademark move.

BlackBerry 10 is on schedule for early next year, RIM says.

Bloomberg Businessweek pins Sandy on global warming in cover story.Continue reading...