AOL considers paid content.

Ben & Jerry's kicks off food truck in San Francisco with free ice-cream.

Bloomberg pushes for a wider TV audience.

Cadbury's Naomi Campbell ad ruled not racist.

Cartier joins Burberry, Louis Vuitton and other luxury brands by launching Youku video channel in China.

Cisco turnaround takes longer than expected.

Coca-Cola accuses Goldman Sachs of manipulating prices.Continue reading...

Gucci Gucci is a parasitically catchy tune with a (NSFW) video that has already rung up over 3 million views. The track is singlehandedly credited with landing the unknown and largely untested Oakland artist Kreayshawn (the self-styled 21-year-old 'creation' whose real name is Natassia Zolot) a $1 million recording contract with Sony.

And after pop artists Spears, Ke$ha, Lopez and Lady Gaga filled their recent videos with product, the anthem's chorus "Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada" is at once an endorsement, and an indictment, of commercialism in pop.

As Kreayshawn recently told Complex magazine, "It’s not really to say ‘F**k Louis’ [Vuitton] or ‘F**k Gucci.’ I have a Louis belt. Basically, it’s saying don’t let the labels make you who you are. Sprinkle it in there, but have your own style."Continue reading...

Angelina Jolie was paid as much as $10 million as the new face of Louis Vuitton, above. LeBron James signed a $90 million deal with Nike when he was still in high school. Rapper 50 Cent negotiated a executive office with Vitamin Water and raked in tens of millions of dollars upon endorsing it. Catherine Zeta-Jones got paid $20 million to endorse T-Mobile (and that was before her contract extension and raise).

Everywhere you turn people who play doctors on TV and every other celebrity you can name are telling us what to buy and where to buy it.

However, a new study from Adweek/Harris Interactive shows that consumers don’t give a rip if a celebrity is telling them to buy a product or not.Continue reading...

Airbus unveils transparent plane concept.

American Airlines to offer Samsung tablet for inflight movies.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is set to become a comic book superhero.

Citi reportedly knew about hacking "weeks" before revealed.

Comcast and Skype partner on HD video calling service.

Facebook IPO could be worth $100 billion, as US privacy groups balk at site's facial recognition — and Mark Zuckerberg may be (says Bill Gates) engaged.

HP executive churn continues.

Lanvin introduces children's collection.Continue reading...

It may not be a Louis Vuitton bag, but a Louis Vuitton badge is becoming a hot commodity.

To get a Louis Vuitton badge on Foursquare and unlock savings, one has to first follow the company on Foursquare and then visit three different physical locations of the store.

This kind of scavenger-hunt marketing seems to have worked for the company in its past forays using Foursquare in the United States and the United Kingdom, since it is now experimenting with the concept in the largest market in the world: China.Continue reading...

California could become first state to ban styrofoam.

Groupon rapped for exaggerating pre-sale price in the UK.

Kobe Bryant announces new foundation to fight homelessness in LA.

Li Na hailed as first Asian to win a tennis Grand Slam tournament.

Louis Vuitton takes check-ins to China.

NBC's The Voice becomes a hit thanks to Twitter.Continue reading...

AIG to sue two firms to recover some losses.

Apple sees Steve Jobs continue to try to smooth out Location-gate.

BP plans to return this year to drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Berkshire Hathaway says former executive David Sokol misled Warren Buffett.

Buffalo Wild Wings prepares for NFL lockout.

Chrysler announces full repayment of US and Canadian government loans this quarter.Continue reading...

Air Canada launches new regional brand to replace Jazz.

Amazon vs. Apple "app store" spat continues, while Apple moves to trademark "startup."

Apple iPad 2 finally goes on sale in Japan this week, plus 11 other countries.

Barclay's posts disappointing results.

BP's Russian saga continues as net profit rises, Gulf clean-up costs continue.

Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf ace crash tests.Continue reading...