Charlie Ergen's Dish Network offers to buy Sprint for $25.5 billion in a bid to one up SoftBank.

ConAgra, Heinz and Nestle lead frozen food battle to reverse negative image.

Nike seeks to regain its edge with fewer ads following Tiger Woods stumble.

Dannon uses Greek-style to leapfrog Yoplait to top of U.S. yogurt business.

Apple clearly enters post-Jobs era.

Justin Bieber sparks controversy with Anne Frank comment.

Boeing sees new inspection order on its 737s.Continue reading...

Deutsche Telekom raises bid for MetroPCS.

The Masters begins at Augusta National today with Tiger Woods again among the favorites.

Toyota and other Japanese automakers recall 3.4 million vehicles over Takata airbag.

Applebee's led first-quarter social media engagement by restaurants.

Barnes & Noble rebrands self-publishing platform PubIt! as Nook Press as it continues to invest in future of Nook brand.

Justin Bieber backs a debit card for teens, from parents.

ConocoPhillips suspends Arctic drilling plan.

Daimler says worsening Europe puts its 2013 profit outlook in doubt.

Dell plans to double sales outlets in China.Continue reading...

Trouble is brewing between Kraft Foods and Starbucks. The one-time partners have turned courtroom rivals over the $6.6 billion ground coffee category and the former’s advertising claims for its Gevalia Kaffe brand, which Kraft touts as "an exclusively smooth yet rich coffee experience that has been perfected by Swedes since 1853."

In its latest Gevalia campaign, Kraft says a blind third-party taste test “found nearly 60 percent of coffee drinkers preferred Gevalia's House Blend over Starbucks House Blend, versus 34 percent favoring the latter.”

Kraft’s premium coffee brand is leveraging its commissioned survey of U.S. adults to the hilt with its new TV campaign featuring a Swede named Johan, who is seen in the coffee aisle at a grocery store telling shoppers about the taste test while standing next to displays of ready to take home packages of Gevalia and Starbucks coffee.Continue reading...

New York politicians are making life difficult for anybody who sells sugared beverages, but it doesn't stop there. Recently, Dunkin’ Donuts came under fire from state comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, who doesn't usually deal with what restaurants serve to their customers.

The state’s pension fund owns 51,400 shares of Dunkin’ Brands Group (worth around $2 million) and DiNapoli has been working toward getting any companies the fund invests in to be more involved in sustainable practices, the New York Times reports. As a result of DiNapoli's work, Dunkin’ said Thursday that it would announce in the second quarter a timetable for obtaining the palm oil it uses in its products from sustainable sources.

“Consumers may not realize that many of the foods and cosmetics they eat and use contain palm oil that has been harvested in ways that are severely detrimental to the environment,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Shareholder value is enhanced when companies take steps to address the risks associated with environmental practices that promote climate change.”

Meanwhile, Dunkin’ and other coffee vendors in New York City are preparing for the difficult task ahead of informing its customers about which of its drinks have more sugar than the new Mayor Bloomberg-pushed, American Beverage Association-opposed, NYC sugary drinks ban allows. According to the Times, Dunkin’ Donuts is handing out fliers to inform its customers while Starbucks is waiting until the rule goes into effect Tuesday before taking any action.Continue reading...

NASCAR brand refresh thwarted by P.R. crisis and YouTube takedowns after Saturday's fan-injuring accident during Nationwide race, while Danica Patrick is poised to make history as first female driver in pole position at Daytona 500. Dish Network, meanwhile, released "Memoriam" Daytona 500 campaign yesterday for its Hopper ad-skipping feature, a campaign that Fox has refused to run and Dish is trying to circumvent.

Microsoft joins list of hacked brands as Internet Explorer 11 rumored and Toyota Racing creates trackside app for Microsoft Windows 8.

Huawei unveils "Make it Possible" global branding campaign for Ascend P2 at Mobile World Congress, where Orange unveils own-brand 4G smartphone.

Coca-Cola forms major co-branding partnership in the Middle East.

Donald Trump tells the Financial Times his brand is worth $8 billion.

Dunkin' Donuts tops Brand Keys loyalty index for seventh straight year.Continue reading...

American Airlines and US Airways to create the world's biggest airline with $11 billion union.

AB InBev will sell Corona unit to salvage Modelo takeover, as Pernod Ricard is open to Jose Cuervo talks.

H.J. Heinz Company enters agreement to be acquired by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Time Warner rumored to eye Time Inc. split and talking to Meredith about buying magazine brands.

Adidas unveils new global brand strategy with Boost product push.

American Express and Yahoo accused of stealing travel service idea.

Angry Birds parent Rovio slings into advertising.

Apple promises to fix iOS Exchange bug, fights activist shareholder Einhorn.

Barclays agrees to stop speculating on food prices.

Barnes & Noble warns of lower 2012 sales and Nook concerns.

Boeing looks at interim 787 fixes.

BT sticks by Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius (charged with murdering his girlfriend), for now.Continue reading...

Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Vietnam's ambassador to the United States, met in Washington this week with executives from Boeing, IBM, Microsoft, Google, DHL, KPMG, and Lockheed Martin, along with members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to discuss how to “boost the two countries’ trade ties in a more effective manner.” 

But apparently, Dunkin’ Donuts got the message long ago. The donut/coffee chain has signed a deal with Vietnam Food and Beverage Co. to launch restaurants across Vietnam over the next few years, with the first planned forHo Chi Minh City, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The new eateries won’t just carry traditional Dunkin' fare, but also some regional items.Continue reading...

New York City is downsizing its soda sizes, Australia is placing nasty images on its cigarette packs, and sales of organic food are growing in the U.S. Many places in the world certainly seem a lot more aware of health and wellness than they did only a few years back.

Yet amid it all, the doughnut industry continues to thrive, especially in the United States.

Dunkin’ Donuts it plans to open anywhere from 330 to 360 new locations in the U.S. this year, making it one of the fastest-growing quick-service restaurants.

Dunkin’, which has about 7,000 stores in 36 states, opened 291 stores last year in an effort to eventually have 15,000 locations. The brand “sells 1.7 billion cups of coffee every year,” the L.A. Times reports — more than anyone else.

The brand has just announced it will target California for some of its openings in 2015 — a state where Dunkin' has been runnin' on empty, with no stores there since 2002. Executives are confident that it's time to stage a return.Continue reading...