Cadillac sees its ATS named North American Car of the Year at the North American International Auto Show, while Ram celebrates naming of 1500 as truck/utility vehicle of the year.

Hostess strikes a deal to sell Wonder Bread and other brands plus production facilities to Flower Foods.

HP CEO Meg Whitman receives $15.4 million.

American Express travel cuts point to end of an era.

Apple cuts orders for iPhone parts.

Billabong receives another takeover bid. 

Deutsche Bank reportedly considers 20-percent bonus cuts in Europe.

GM's Chevrolet division relaunches Corvette brand.Continue reading...

AIG decides against joining federal lawsuit.

Boeing tries to defuse fears about Dreamliner.

Yum! Brands apologizes for KFC chicken probe in China.

ArcelorMittal plans to issue stock to cut debt of world's largest steelmaker.

Chrysler sees push from UAW for IPO.

Coca-Cola files claim in China against false fungicide rumors.

Dish Network looks at spectrum as prize in Clearwire gambit as FCC opens doors.

Ford doubles dividend with business humming.Continue reading...

Ordering fast food is pretty easy to do, but fast-food marketing execs are aiming to make it even easier for consumers, while also saving a bundle on real estate by opening their new locations under someone else's roof.

Nation’s Restaurant News reports that a few fast-food chains aren’t spending all the bucks of creating new standalone locations but instead investing in opening up new eateries inside existing supermarkets, retailers, and convenience stores. While nested within a retailer's branded storefront, bringing their food services directly to shoppers also helps to differentiate the stores from their competitors. Such U.S. fast-food brands as Checkers Drive-In, Fazoli’s and Huddle House are “investing in nontraditional partnerships,” NRN notes, in order to “reach more customers and better serve their franchisees.”

As part of its franchising push with sister brand Rally's, Checkers has opened two in-store Walmart locations and is looking into adding more. “It has to be the right type of partnership,” commented Jennifer Durham, VP of franchise development for Checkers and Rally’s. “With Checkers and Rally’s being the most value-relevant brands in QSR and Walmart being the most value-relevant retailer, it made sense to join forces. We wouldn’t go into a Nieman-Marcus, because that’s not where our consumers live.”Continue reading...

It turns out that Fresh & Easy was neither, in the end.

Tesco, the third largest retailer in the world, has announced that is ready to pull up stakes and close its 200 Fresh & Easy supermarkets in California and Nevada after a largely unsuccessful five-year run.

As Tesco CEO Phil Clarke put it about why the US grocery store brand is "under strategic review," "It just became clear to us that the journey to sustainable returns was going to take too long. ... It's likely but not certain that our presence in America will come to an end."

Tim Mason, deputy chief executive in charge of the U.S. business, has left the company, effective immediately, after 30 years of service. But as we reported back in July, the writing has been on the wall for Tesco's US expansion.Continue reading...

Disney and Netflix sign landmark agreement for the web streaming service.

GlaxoSmithKline begins assembling new global branding effort on its impact around the world.

Tesco bails out of Fresh & Easy venture in U.S.

AOL's Advertising.com group acquires Buysight.

Apple upgrades iTunes, secures USPTO patent for "retina."

Beer tax dispute heats up in Europe.

Blu Dot tests Twitter game of musical chairs.

BMW has US luxury auto sales crown in its sights.

Campbell Soup Company donates $500K to Salvation Army.

Citigroup announces 11,000 job cuts and $1B charge.Continue reading...

CNN seen naming Jeff Zucker, former head of NBCUniversal, as its chief.

Groupon sees board meet on new CEO.

LinkedIn wants to solve world's skills gap.

Aldi stretches brand promise for hunger challenge.

Angry Birds sparks export boom from Finland.

Apple continues shakeup over iOS 6 maps app mishap as brand hit with patent suit over headphones.Continue reading...

AT&T sees end of copper-wire era, and agrees to pay fee to settle overcharging dispute.

McDonald's monthly sales drop for first time in nearly a decade.

Coca-Cola plans to boost corporate social responsibilty as growth key.

Burberry rethinks small-cities push.

CNN edges Fox News in overall election-night cable ratings.

Carlsberg says SAB Miller faces organizational "challenges" in Russia.

Dunkin' Donuts partners with Universal to tap into Latin music.Continue reading...

Tesco made headlines a year ago when its HomePlus retail subsidiary in South Korea tested a virtual store in a Seoul subway station, showcasing items that could be scanned and ordered by smartphone for home delivery, while Peapod is testing virtual grocery shopping in the U.S.

Now Walmart is testing a similar idea in Toronto in partnership with Mattel. The retail and toy giants are teaming up on what's described as Canada's first pop-up virtual toy store, enabling QR code-based shopping of Mattel brands — including hot toys from Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and Thomas & Friends brands — to holiday shoppers.

The pop-up is located in the city's massive PATH underground walkway, a retail concouse that connects downtown buildings and and an array of businesses to Toronto's Union Station rail commuter hub. It may find a ready pool of virtual shoppers, as it will run for four weeks in the same location where Wells.ca tested a QR-enabled store in April.Continue reading...