Air France replaces CEO, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO is ousted in Daimler exec shuffle, and Olympus shares plunge as its CEO is fired.

Apple sells 4 million iPhone 4S units in first weekend, as Samsung sues to block the device in Japan and Australia and HTC loses Apple patent case in US. Steve Jobs' Silicon Valley memorial service reportedly filled with humor and music, as company prepares to honor late co-founder and report earnings on Tuesday. Starbucks and Apple are also partnering in the UK on free music downloads.

Mattel eyes UK's HIT Entertainment, home to Thomas the Tank Engine and other kids' properties.

Bank of America posts $6.2 billion quarterly profit, while Goldman Sachs reports $428 million loss.

BlackBerry customers receive free apps and tech support to make amends for outages.Continue reading...

Intel may be touting its latest product launch — ultrabooks — but it's also looking to inspire and engage consumers, which is why it keeps anthropologist Genevieve Bell on staff. To that end, it's expanding the Visual Life campaign which was introduced in January at CES with a new short film and an interactive social web experience.

The latter, a digital brand experience called The Museum of Me, has already garnered more than 20,000 Facebook likes — which is fitting, as the project aims to turn your Facebook profile into a work of art.Continue reading...

BMW and Mercedes outpace rivals in China, as Shanghai auto show opens and a new report shows the most popular brands in China are predominately foreign. Ford's China JV execs mull own brand, while Volkswagen reveals the new Beetle at events in Shanghai, New York and Berlin today. The Volkswagen Group also saw record first quarter sales as China deliveries boom.

VH1 woos female viewers with new programming, while siblings BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nick, and Spike remain holdouts on Time Warner Cable's iPad app due to Viacom lawsuit, although Cablevision's iPad app gets only grumbles.

Toyota resumes production at all Japan plants for first time since tsunami, as its Lexus brand slips behind rivals in the US. TEPCO also laid out a plan for shutting down nuclear reactor.Continue reading...

Take a 6-minute break and check out this Intel Visual Life short film (by Brooklyn-based m ss ng p eces) on Wolff Olins cofounder, the British designer Michael Wolff.

He weighs in on branding not only verbally, but (of course) via visual cues to his personal aesthetic system — watch for his Pantonesque color-coded mugs, shirts, markers and umbrellas. And if you have nine more minutes...Continue reading...