GM pressures TV networks for discounts in upfront.

Ducati is booming in North America.

Facebook sees future in India, and explores access for under-13-year-olds as fallout from botched IPO continues.

Adidas sues Merrell over three-stripe design.

Apple/Motorola patent trial will feature Steve Jobs 'testimony.'

Big Tobacco goes to war in California.

BlackBerry-maker RIM victim of own 'identity crisis' (at least it's still cool with South African youths).Continue reading...

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing files for bankruptcy.

Chipotle faces federal probe.

Facebook deals with aftermath of less-than-stellar IPO showing, as NASDAQ admits some fault and site faces pressure to perform for advertisers. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, surprises with post-IPO wedding to his longtime girlfriend.

Alibaba and Yahoo strike a $7 bullion stock deal.

AT&T sings praises of Facebook fans.

Apple and Samsung talk today about ending smartphone-patent war.

Barclays to sell $6.1 billion BlackRock stake.

BMW Guggenheim Lab prepares Berlin debut.

Carl's Jr. seeks $100-million IPO.Continue reading...

Americans haven’t been able to enjoy over-the-counter Cuban products for decades now and it doesn’t appear that will change anytime soon. That’s bad news for the folks at Pernod, who have been battling to get its Havana Club rum trademark renewed. Unfortunately for them, the U.S. legal system at pretty much every level has said, “No dice.” The most recent blow came from the Supreme Court.

The rum is being made in Cuba by Cubaexport and distributed by France-based Pernod, a loophole the U.S. government doesn’t approve of and so when the Havana Club trademark came due in 2006, the government opted not to renew it, according to Bloomberg. The Cuban Foreign Ministry is not happy. After all, America accounts for 40 percent of the world’s rum intake so it would be nice to be mixed into that financial cocktail.Continue reading...