American Media, publisher of National Enquirer, no longer is for sale.

Barney’s teams with Lady Gaga for holidays.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek launches global editions.

Cargill to buy Provimi and extend its reach in animal food.

Caterpillar faces increased competition from Chinese heavy-equipment makers in U.S. market.

Cathay Pacific campaign doesn’t mean “make you feel special” that way.

Dr. Scholl’s sells footwear in addition to foot care.

Estee Lauder sounds caution about consumer spending on cosmetics.

Google purchase of Motorola will heavily affect advertising industry; deal leaves BlackBerry's Research in Motion in “no-man’s land.”Continue reading...

Global stock markets rise this morning in last day of trading in wild week.

American Airlines plans to spin off its Eagle commuter unit.

Angry Birds parent Rovio seeks $1.2 billion valuation.

Anheuser-Busch InBev counts on NFL to lift Bud Light in a big way.

Apple holds sway in tablet wars.

Brinker’s increases focus on value at its restaurant brands such as Chili’s Grill & Bar.

Coca-Cola stumbles on Facebook post in Portuguese.Continue reading...

Accenture drives social business adoption through gamification.

Amazon battles U.S. states over taxes.

Bally expands to India.

Banco Popular expands rebranding to Popular Inc.

Canada sees online ad revenue exceed print for the first time.

Cargill recalls 36 million pounds of turkey products.

CNN finds host Piers Morgan coming under parliamentary pressure and accusations by Heather Mills over hacking.

Coca-Cola joins brands testing cloud-based in-text social advertising.

comScore acquires analytics firm AdXpose.

Dunkin' Donuts rolls out Keurig single-serve cups, with Starbucks to follow.Continue reading...

You may think the heat is from your workout, but it may be from the energy that brands are suddenly putting into creating attractive workout clothes for women.

The Los Angeles Times, in an article reviewing women's fitness apparel brands, points out that women who are active generally fall into a very desirable demographic: “female, relatively young, fashion-forward and willing to spend money.”

“We are hungry to win this girl over,” commented Adrienne Lofton Shaw, a marketing director at Under Armour, which has stepped up its focus on women, recently expanded into yoga-wear and, for next year, is redesigning its underwear and sports bras, according to Times. Other brands shaping up to woo the emerging woman warrior demographic?Continue reading...

Lauren Bush's FEED USA campaign, which raises money to improve school food programs across America, last crossed our transom when it produced "Made in USA" bags for Gap that turned out to be made in China, and Gap duly apologized for the gaffe.

Now another retailer, Nordstrom, is offering an exclusive FEED bag, to support the activist's (that's her at right) global FEED Projects program, with French beauty brand Clarins on board.

This bag, dubbed FEED 15, is a makeup bag rather than a tote bag, however. It contains Clarins body lotion, hand cream and lip gloss and will be available for $30 starting July 15th at Nordstrom and on the FEED web store and starting August 1st at Clarins.com.

To extend the exclusivity even further, in October, Bloomingdale's will offer a similar FEED 25 bag. The "15" and "25" on the bags indicate the number of children fed around the world with the purchase of each bag, according to WWD.Continue reading...

TOMS Shoes is ready to kick off the "Shoes" in its brand identity, rebranding with a campaign (which we previewed in March) dubbed "What's Your Next Chapter?" that will be unveiled in a series of events with its partners across the US tomorrow.

The company, founded by Blake Mycoskie in 2006, changed the game of social activism with its "one for one" business model — a pair of shoes is donated for every pair purchased. TOMS quickly made its bandage-style shoes ubiquitous, and proved it's possible to be profitable while impacting the lives of those less fortunate.

More than 1 million pairs of shoes distributed in over 20 countries later, TOMS has proven that social media is the lightning rod for digital activism be it on Facebook, Twitter, guerilla marketing or blogging. Now, Mycoskie is ready to expand beyond TOMS beyond shoes, taking "One for One" to the next level.Continue reading...

Amazon's Android tablets reportedly codenamed Coyote and Hollywood.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's personal brand rocked by confession he fathered a child with household staffer.

Birds Eye plans new sales push in Russia.

BP Russian pact with Rosneft collapses.

California pushes for tighter security controls on social networks.

Conde Nast expands iPad magazine editions.

Disney may make power play for Olympics sponsorship; and fined $3M for violating kids' privacy.

Facebook meets with bankers to discuss IPO.Continue reading...

Fashion collaborations have produced some odd bedfellows before, but none that intrigue our inner child—while befuddling our outer grown-up—like the projects of Walt Disney Signature, Disney’s adult lifestyle consumer products brand extension.

Working with high-profile design talents in art, home and fashion design, the brand has produced a series of unlikely products, from Italian armchairs with a TRON: Legacy motif to $1,000 pavé diamond “dinosaur” bracelets inspired by Fantasia.

The latest Disney collaboration to set fashionistas abuzz is the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides collection from hip accessory label Hayden-Harnett. It seems an offbeat choice for the Brooklyn-based business, which is better known for It bags and retro rags than for swashbuckling style.Continue reading...