American Airlines wins court order barring Sabre from hiding flight and fare information.

Barneys rumors pan out, as creative director Simon Doonan steps down to become 'ambassador.'

Campbell's soup returns to UK after two-year break.

CNN simplifies on-air look.

Facebook rolls out new profile design to all users.

Groupon raises record-breaking $950 million in venture capital.Continue reading...

Comcast acquisition of NBC Universal won't be approved by Dec. 31.

Craigslist removes "adult services" listings worldwide.

JPMorgan maintains global top spot for investment banking fees.

L.L. Bean among retailers enjoying a happy holiday season.

Lilly Pulitzer fashion brand changes hands.

Marks & Spencer celebrated with a museum exhibit in its birthplace.

President Obama signs bill repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as Senate ratifies nuclear pact.

Skype outage affects millions worldwide (and potentially Twitter).Continue reading...

Android is booming thanks to Asia.

Boeing boosts jet prices, drops short-range carrier.
 
Boston Scientific abandons sale of pain-management unit.  

Brett Favre sits out Vikings vs. Giants game, ends streak at 297 NFL games. 

Comcast tests combo web/TV service.

Costco rebuffed by U.S. Supreme Court in challenge against Swatch's Omega watch brand.Continue reading...

Airtel's new logo — "blobby" or "modern, vibrant and friendly"?

Apple is preparing for patent showdowns with Nokia, Motorola and HTC.

Audi puts focus on US Sunday TV advertising.

Batten & Company, a new unit of BBDO, opens shop.

Black Friday sales saw more foot traffic but lower-than-expected sales as retailers cross fingers for Cyber Monday.

BP is commissioning a feature-length documentary about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill — but the company says it is not intended to scrub its reputation clean.

Delta and Southwest Airlines aim to emerge from among branding-challenged air carriers.Continue reading...

Microsoft could spend one billion dollars (say that in your best Dr. Evil voice) promoting the Windows Phone 7 and its Xbox 360 Kinect motion-sensor add-on. With Apple and Google's Droid dominating smartphones, and Sony and Nintendo eating into its gaming revenue, the new products' marketing budget will be spent thusly, according to All Things D:

* Burger King promotion

* Pepsi promotion

* Kellogg’s cereal promotion

* YouTube homepage takeover

* Ad buys on Nickelodeon, Disney sites

* Ad buys on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and Fox’s Glee

* Ad buys on Time Inc.’s People and InStyle

* Times Square event

* McDonald's promoted McDonald's UK president and CEO Steve Easterbrook to EVP, global chief brand officer, a new position that fills the hole in its senior management team created when former CMO Mary Dillon left in May to join U.S. Cellular. Jill McDonald, currently CMO for McDonald's in the UK and northern Europe, is being promoted to UK CEO.

* Dell put its first U.S. smartphone on sale today: the Aero, which costs $99 with a two-year AT&T contract and runs on Google's Android platform.

* Watch out, Netflix: Apple is rumored to be preparing a 99-cent TV show service.

* Facebook sues Teachbook, a social networking site for teachers, over use of -book in its name; deletes accounts purporting to be from North Korea; and bans marijuana-based advertising campaign.

* Microsoft is now handling all search requests for Yahoo in North America; the global rollout will take until 2012.Continue reading...

• Add India and Germany (but not Oman) to the list of countries giving Research in Motion a hard time about BlackBerry security, as RIM reportedly reaches an agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia.

• H-P's slide on the New York Stock Exchange today was its worst in six years, as Oracle chief Larry Ellison denounced Hurd's ouster, which is being questioned on Wall Street. Reuters asks: What does this mean for "The HP Way"?

• Google and Verizon's net neutrality proposal today is parsed in Salon, Wired, NYT, TechCrunch, AllThingsD, and beyond, while the Wall Street Journal examines Google's seven-page internal memo "agonizing" over privacy and advertising.

• LeBron James' Miami Heat debut isn't generating a rush for tickets due to team's real-time sales.

• Lowe's settles a class action suit over defective drywall with $6.5 million in customer gift cards.Continue reading...

Allstate launches anti-TXTing campaign with musical group the Jonas Brothers.

American Idol anticipates a possible return to the fold of ex-judge Paula Abdul.

Apple and Research in Motion gain ground in Australia via the mobile web. But RIM CEO Michael Lazaridis lashes out at governments of Saudi Arabia, UAE and other countries over security restrictions on the company’s BlackBerry devices, as Indonesia threatens to join them.

BP reckons with long-term economic damages to the Gulf of Mexico and local economies as it prepares to pour cement into damaged well.

Drugstore.com extends partnership with Medco Health Solutions to provide non-prescription drugs and other health-related items online.Continue reading...