In an attempt to extend their reach during the holiday season, many brands have created holiday pop-up shops -- eBay and Wired, for example.

And now, JetBlue. Sort of.

The brand has been relatively quiet since their partnership with Lufthansa, but the reality of a down economy and the looming holiday travel season have compelled the budget airline to take a more aggressive -- and humorous -- approach to reaching customers.

The JetBlue pop-up store features the brand's new "Flyer's Collection," which is comprised of an inane array of products and gadgets that are not for sale but do serve the valuable purpose of highlighting the amenities JetBlue offers flyers.Continue reading...

Falling dollar helps US exports. [NY Times]

UK considers windfall tax on banks that received aid. [Guardian]

Apple's earnings soar despite recession. [WSJ]

Threatened by Google, Microsoft prepares to launch Windows 7. [FT]

But in China, where software pirates romp, Windows 7 is widely bootlegged. [NY Times]

Lack of a smartphone hobbles Nokia's efforts to battle back in US. [NY Times]

US luxury sector still soft, dropping 8%, recovery awaits 2011. [WSJ]

Twitter helps The Guardian beat gag order about lethal Trafigura waste dump. [NY Times]

Location-based mobile social network Foursquare connects users in real life. [NY Times]

(More headlines: Aid threatens GM and Citi, Lufthansa brings back WiFi.)Continue reading...

It's not the first, and it won't be the last time we’ll see airlines joining forces in an effort to broaden their reach. These days, it's an economic necessity. But today's news reveals an unusual pairing of airline brands: The somewhat staid and formal German-owned Lufthansa is forming a "ticketing partnership" with the U.S. upstart known for low fares, JetBlue. Lufthansa gains wider access to U.S. and Caribbean destinations, while JetBlue enters the European market for the first time.

The deal goes even further: Lufthansa has purchased 19% of JetBlue. A Lufthansa spokesman claims the airlines are "evaluating the possibility of a customer-oriented cooperation." Yet these two airlines couldn't feel more different: The Lufthansa brand persona ("There’s no better way to fly") seems the antithesis of JetBlue ("Happy Jetting"). Imagine, if you will, a Lufthansa passenger transferring to a JetBlue flight, or vice versa. Will cultures clash – or will the airlines find a way to put the flying public on common ground?

Lufthansa and JetBlue plan a code-share partnership to "help ease passenger concerns that switching carriers during a transcontinental journey would inevitably lead to missed connections and lost luggage." [FT]

Tech drama: Microsoft recruits top Yahoo! engineer to help its efforts to take on Google [NYT], though Bing's rise is leading companies to think beyond Google for SEO [Ad Age]. Microsoft fights Apple with a new ad campaign [NYT] while facing a technological threat from virtual machine software leader VMware [NYT]. 

Cell-phone manufacturers challenge iPhone's share of the British market with touch-screen Android technology. [Guardian]

Print media: Hachette's chief warns that Amazon and Google may kill the hardcover book [FT]; but some see signs of hope in second-quarter newspaper profits, boosted by cost-cutting and a stronger ad market. [LA Times]

(More headlines: Harley-Davidson in India, GM in China, Whole Foods and Fox boycotts.) Continue reading...