Amazon ships Kindle Fire and Kindle Touch early.

Apple searches for next retailing genius, recalls first-generation iPod Nano devices.

Audi A7 wins car of the year nod.

Barbie links with Stardoll for premium collection.

BMW promotes sustainability with China roadshow.

Boeing cements wide-body lead over Airbus with biggest ever deal, with Emirates.

Borders demise parsed by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launch smashes records.

China 'ready' to allow foreign companies to issue stock.

Chevrolet woos Sonic buyers with perks program, while GM slows Chevrolet Cruze production.

Citrus Australia introduces new seal of authenticity.

Crowne Plaza tilts makeover toward young travelers.

Deutsche Boerse defends NYSE Euronext deal.

Disney buys Babble.com for $40M to reach 'hipster parents.'

Estee Lauder co-founder Evelyn Lauder dies, lauded for launching Pink Ribbon campaign for breast cancer research.

Facebook nears U.S. privacy settlement that would make public sharing opt-in, not opt-out.Continue reading...

Tiffany released this video today to highlight its corporate commitment to sustainability. The description: "Nature is our most important designer. Tiffany is committed to protecting the beauty of the natural world. Visit http://tiffany.com/sustainability to learn more about our commitment to the environment."

American Airlines sees shares plunge on concerns over its cost structure and future.

Apple continues to stoke anticipation over today's iPhone announcement, as SEC presses on Nokia litigation.

Bloomingdale's goes nostalgic by extending Popeye and Beetle Bailey lines.

Chobani launches integrated campaign for Champions line for kids.

Citigroup faces struggle to sell assets.

Coors Light expands Jean Claude Van Damme campaign.

Cosi and activist investor scrap over company's future.Continue reading...

Swatch Group has broken off a partnership with Tiffany & Co. that was originally set to last for 20 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Nick Hayek, chief executive of Swatch, claims that Tiffany “pushed for the partnership’s creation in 2008 but then neglected it and blocked its development,” according to the Financial Times. As a result, Swatch would like some big bucks in compensation – and it presumably won’t take it in champagne flutes.

The brands' collaborative watch business, dubbed Tiffany Watch Co., is definitely winding down — Tiffany fired back Monday to say that Swatch didn’t “make the necessary commitments and work co-operatively” on the business, either.Continue reading...

Chrysler was clearly onto something when it launched its breakthrough "Imported from Detroit" campaign. Sales spiked, leading the company to launch phase 2. Explaining the positioning, Chrysler CMO Olivier Francois told brandchannel, “American coolness is essential to our strategy, because that’s exactly what imports do not have, and some other American [luxury] brands don’t have as well.” 

Chrysler isn't the only one latching on to the rising "Made in USA" star. In March, we reported on the website, MadeInUSAForever.com which was bootstrapped by Todd Lipscomb. He told CNN, "I saw this terrible need in our nation for a real alternative to buy American made products. ... It's a virtuous circle of economic activity that's caused by buying American made." Lipscomb has seen his website business grow at over 40% per year.

Many other brands are following suit, according to Bloomberg. Joseph Abboud, the maker of menswear, proudly displays a "Made in USA" moniker on its website. Brooks Brothers waves a "Made in America" banner and boasts of its factories in the US. Mark Kate and Ashley Olsen's fashion brand, The Row, promotes its American-made line.Continue reading...

Is the world ready for "Sugarpova"? It's a new brand of candy and sweets, leveraging the brand value of tennis star Maria Sharapova, expected to launch at the US Open in August.

This is just the latest commercial venture for the world's highest paid female athlete whose branding acumen seems to be as sharp as her tennis game.

The 24-year old professional tennis player is a winner in more ways than one, ranking number seven in the world's single women tennis players and having made over $24 million from June 2009 to June 2010, according to Forbes.

While Sharapova has earned her fair share from playing tennis, she has done even better from her commercial endorsements.Continue reading...

AT&T bid for T-Mobile comes under scrutiny in California.

Abbott Laboratories gets federal pushback on cholesterol-drug trials.

Amazon takes a do-over on flubbed Lady Gaga promotion.

Baidu plots overseas growth.

Delphi IPO signals automotive rebound.

Facebook beefs up lobbying team in Washington.Continue reading...

Tiffany's new collection expands its signature lock motif in a new jewelry line that ranges from $80 to $6,000. The new shoot, styled by red carpet power stylist Estee Stanley, also marks a departure from Tiffany's more traditional campaigns, such as the recent "True Love Grows."Continue reading...