Announced today at the World Economic Forum's Summer Davos conference in Dalian, China, Interbrand has released the top 50 brands making its 2011 Best China Brands ranking.

"Chinese brands area accumulating strength at home to actively prepare for future development overseas," commented Interbrand Global CEO Jez Frampton on the fourth annual ranking of the Chinese market. "We are already experiencing Chinese brands around the world, and will likely see one of the 2011 Best China Brands among the top 100 Best Global Brands in the near future."

China Mobile maintains top spot this year, while social media giant Tencent breaks into the top 10 for the first time, debuting at #7 following a 76% increase in its brand value in the past 12 months.

The financial services industry remains prominent this year, representing 19 of the top 50 brands (including seven of the top 10 positions).

Brands in the IT services were another fast-growing sector, showing an industry-wide 68% increase in brand value since the 2010 ranking, while fashion-forward apparel brands also broke through.

The sector showing the biggest decrease in brand value: China's food and beverage industry, which suffered a 25% in brand value in the past 12 months due to food safety issues.

Click here to read the 2011 Best China Brands report.

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Credit Suisse eyes layoffs.

EA Sports taps into college-football devotion.

Ford reports profit dip due to cost pressures.

GE moves its x-ray headquarters to China.Continue reading...

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The march of brands into China continues apace: Facebook is pursuing its billion-user dream by courting Baidu, luxury brands such as Marni and Armani are not only opening stores but e-commerce sites, and InterContinental is developing a hotel brand specifically for China.

Among the most closely-watched China entrants: Groupon, which is bouncing back from its Super Bowl fumble in the US to banking on a bright and shiny future with China.Continue reading...

Activia-maker Dannon forced to drop yogurt hype.

AOL acquires content marketing platform Pictela.

Apple grapples with "made in China" iPhones.

Baidu sees growth rate slowing in 2011.

Bloomberg to begin publishing editorials and opinion pieces.

BYD brings electric car fleet to Los Angeles.

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Comcast tests combo web/TV service.

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Nokia designers post YouTube videos answering users' questions (about new devices and mobile phone design in general) tweeted with a #nokiadesign hashtag.

Which brands got the most check-ins on Black Friday? Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Apple. Target puchased the #blackfriday hashtag on Twitter and duly became the #1 store for Foursquare check-ins, which accounted for 25% of all check-in activity on Friday. Verizon, meanwhile, is paying for the #cybermonday hashtag on Twitter today.

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China now has close to 400 million Internet users, according to a recent Boston Consulting Group research study, making it the most wired nation in the world. The Chinese are more plugged-in than any population in the world, except the Japanese.

In a country where media censorship, state-run television, and a limit on imported films is the norm, young people are flocking to the Web for entertainment and social media.

Baidu, China’s largest web site, is joined by Tencent and Sina.com in capturing millions of young users fixated on IM, microblogging, games, and pirated music and movies. While they may devour entertainment from the rest of the world, increasingly China's digital natives are turning to home-grown sites to sate their thirst for content and activity online.Continue reading...