Apple tries to leverage lower prices.

Cars.com sets up custom channels on Pandora.

Chipotle finds customers tolerate higher prices.

Dove asks women, "Who inspired you?" in new campaign.

Kia asks NBA star Blake Griffin to soar again.

Kraft keeps investors and advertisers hopping with its "leaping" strategy aimed at hitting home runs.

Mattel to buy preschool brands.Continue reading...

Visa leverages Fundamo unit to boost growth in emerging markets.

Google+ opens up to all and renames group messaging app, while Hangouts API could open social video and +1 function expands to display ads.

UBS grapples with corporate culture in wake of rogue trader.

Amazon nears Kindle Library Lending service launch.

Anthem Blue Cross drops customers who pay by credit card.

Apple iPhone 5 speculation for October continues as brand beats its own American Customer Satisfaction Index performance.

Bombardier signs John Travolta as a brand ambassador.

Comcast aims to bridge digital divide with low-cost broadband plan. 

Disney plans to bring Avatar to its theme parks.Continue reading...

Google Wallet was announced in May—an app that makes your phone your wallet—with Citi, MasterCard, Sprint and First Data. With Google Wallet, you can tap, pay and save using your phone and near field communication (NFC). Following testing, today today Google released the first version of the app to Sprint, with the app available on all Sprint Nexus S 4G phones. Google also announced that Visa, Discover and American Express are joining Citi and Mastercard in signing up for o future versions of Google Wallet.Continue reading...

Apple goes after HTC and Android phones with ITC complaint, while iTunes may test 1080p movies.

Citi, Wells Fargo and Visa are adding Groupon-like in-network deals.

EA acquires social gaming firm Ohai.

Google acquires Punchd, a digital loyalty startup.

Lady Gaga plans to intern for royal hatmaker Philip Treacy.

Microsoft is phasing out Windows XP.

NCR buys Radiant Systems for $1.2 billion.

Nortel patent sale cleared for Apple/Microsoft/RIM consortium.

Quiznos hires financial advisers for restructuring.

Johnson & Johnson used to be a top-tier sponsor of the International Olympic Committee. When renewal time came up in 2008, though, the health-care corporation didn’t sign on. Now it appears those dollars are going to a different international sporting event.

The world governing body of soccer, FIFA, has announced that Johnson & Johnson has filled its final sponsorship slot for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, according to the Associated Press. J&J is now the eighth second-tier worldwide sponsor of the next World Cup.

J&J joins Budweiser, Castrol, Continental, McDonald's, OI, Seara, and Yingli Solar as the global sponsors of the next Cup, according to SportBusiness.com. The top-tier partners are Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai-Kia, Emirates, Sony and Visa.Continue reading...

General Electric has decided to go “faster, higher, stronger” for another decade.

The 119-year-old brand co-founded by Thomas Edison has agreed to extend its Olympics sponsorship with “a four-games deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to the Associated Press.

As with past Olympics, when it owned NBC to help reinforce its branding, viewers worldwide will get to see the GE logo in every place possible through the 2012 London Olympics, the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2018 Winter Games and 2020 Summer Olympics. The latter pair has not had their host cities selected, the AP points out.

The other current sponsors that will be involved with the Olympics through 2020 include Coca-Cola, Dow, Omega, Proctor & Gamble, and Visa.Continue reading...

Apple and the Weather Channel sued over location-based advertising.

Chrysler may hire up to 3,000 workers.

Cisco, struggling, reveals that AT&T will power its Cius tablet.

Duncan Hines tries to broaden its appeal.

eBay stands to make $1.4 billion on Skype's sale to Microsoft, as Skypers brace for more ads.

Facebook can't keep its Mark Zuckerbergs straight.

FOX releases biometric study assessing brand effectiveness.

Gilt valuation puts web brands to test.

Google will launch Chrome laptops in June.Continue reading...

Amazon cloud issues impact sites including Reddit, Quora, Foursquare, and Hootsuite.

Apple reportedly ready to launch cloud-based music service ahead of Google.

eBay and Amazon wage costly battle for shoppers. 

Gap kicks tires on Visa's new mobile commerce program with Gap Mobile 4 U launch.

JPMorgan will return $861 million to Lehman brokerage. 

Linux patent suit ruling goes against Google.

MLB takes control of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

RIM's PlayBook beats odds and sells 50,000 devices on day one.

Samsung launches first Droid-branded smartphone for Verizon.