Acura is under fire for casting of Super Bowl commercial starring Jerry Seinfeld.

American Airlines parent AMR outlines non-union cutbacks.

California Pizza Kitchen plans new prototype and brand renewal.

Citigroup faces executive-pay dilemma after shareholder vote.

Dick Clark's career celebrated as entertainment legend dies at 82.

eBay continues comeback, citing PayPal.Continue reading...

Tired of "planking" and "occupying"? TIME's top buzzwords of 2011 also include "leading from behind," "haboob," "99 percent," "manscape," "mantyhose," "mankini," "cone of uncertainty," and "Arab Spring."

The latest vocabulary blacklist by Michigan's Lake Superior State University, meanwhile, singles out coined words and phrases to banish from our collective vocabulary including "occupy," "ginormous," "shared sacrifice," "win the future," "blowback," "man cave" and "the new normal."

Lexicographer Grant Barrett commented in Sunday's New York Times that at least one of the words that defined 2011 ("occupy") won't disappear any time soon:

"In 10 years, some of last year’s words will be relics. We’ll think of them the way we now think of the decades-old phrase “gag me with a spoon.” Others have already proved their staying power. Who could argue that the new sense of “occupy” isn’t already a keeper, even starting as it did late in the third quarter of 2011? A movement so well labeled, if not cohesive in thought and action, that its name instantly lent itself to variation and satire."

Anheuser-Busch InBev tries a tea-lemonade "light alcohol" drink for Michelob.

Ann Taylor woos younger women by featuring stylish students.

Avon replacing Andrea Jung as CEO.

Best Buy finds that deep discounts sacked profits.

Canadian Tire buys house in Toronto just for webisodes.

China plans to impose duties on U.S.-imported cars, ratcheting up trade tiff.

Chrysler picks up sales and financial momentum while parent Fiat treads cautiously.

CNN rehires Christiane Amanpour, who will continue to contribute to ABC News.Continue reading...

It's a hunkfest this weekend as two major films open this weekend, Real Steel and The Ides of March, featuring a face-off between Hugh Jackman and George Clooney (and, for some, Ryan Gosling).

One envisions a world in which robots controlled by off-stage handlers are pitted against one another in brutal, emotionless combat that destroys everything around them. The other is about machines in the future that box each other for money.

In both of these films, one can find timely marketing tie-ins. In Ide's case, the producers took a common product placement technique and twisted it for maximum effect.Continue reading...

Apple loses to RIM in smartphone market in India and eyes worldwide iCloud rights as CEO Tim Cook gets ready to unveil iPhone 5.

Alibaba casts eye on Yahoo, as Yahoo signs content-sharing deal with ABC News.

Angry Birds owner Rovio loses top branding exec.

Citibank raises fees and customer hackles.

Daimler signals optimism on truck sales.

Disney's 3D version of The Lion King shoots onto top-grossers list.

England bans cigarette-vending machines ahead of UK-wide ban.

Facebook looks to increase engagement and help brands communicate better with users via new Insights analytics tool, as changes and security issues touch privacy nerve.Continue reading...

Apple slows down growth in China and plans reveal iPhone 5 on its campus, as Verizon sides with Samsung in Apple dispute.

Arizona and Lipton fight for first place in dynamic tea category.

Audi and its new A6 "take over" Jersey City in new branded content with FX.

Blockbuster unveils streaming movie service as Netflix secures streaming deal with Dreamworks.

Bloomberg and Time shuffle web heads.

Boeing offers bidets and electric window shades on new Dreamliner for All Nippon Airways.

Bud Light pairs with Pitbull in pitch for Cuban-American consumers.Continue reading...

Hurricane Irene seems to be aiming for the Northeastern U.S. megalopolis.

ABC refuses to air ad for Our Idiot Brother flick.

Apple prepares for life after Steve Jobs' leadership as new chief e-mails the troops.

Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett invest $5 billion in Bank of America, shoring up the stock, as the financier prepares to host a fund-raiser for Presidnet Obama, and Charles Schwab sues the bank and others over a financial-markets intricacy.

Burger King finds the King listed at one of Time magazine's "creepiest" brand mascots.Continue reading...

Apple's blockbuster earnings report includes surprises, such as popularity of iPads over Mac sales to education market.

Baidu launches browser in China.

Bank of America posts record quarterly loss.

Coca-Cola gains market share despite soft market.

Dupont sued over herbicide as brand supports sustainable aquaculture.

Facebook and NBC partner for GOP presidential debate, as Facebook ads increase 1,900% in year, 104% in one quarter.

Goldman Sachs prepares to trim workforce in wake of disappointing quarter.Continue reading...