Above, Beijing t-shirt maker Plastered releases its 草泥马老板 ("Grass Mud Horse" Boss) shirt. 

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Beckham's Adidias/Nike problem... McDonald's closes iconic location... bashing Apple... Steve Jobs manga... what your brand of car says about your sex life... Walmart... Nongfu... more infant formula scandals... Jackie Chan... Vera Wang... bye bye black Audis... and much more.Continue reading...

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg unveils $12 million ad campaign (above) for Mayors Against Illegal Guns that lobbies for background checks to reduce gun violence, while NYC's municipal data geek squad makes headlines.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz defends same-sex marriage support to shareholders as brand expands loyalty rewards to other retailers.

PepsiCo shares jump on Mondelez merger speculation sparked by Telegraph story which Pepsi "downplays."

Apple acquires indoor GPS startup WiFiSLAM for mapping, patents iPhone drop protection technology and faces EU scrutiny following iPhone and iPad distribution complaints — and may report first quarterly dip since 2003.

FTC "pay for delay" generic drug case, set to go before US Supreme Court on Monday, will be closely watched by pharmaceutical industry and economists.

Below: BlackBerry, Blockbuster, Dell, Diageo and other brands in the news —Continue reading...

Google taps David Beckham to promote Google+ as company grapples with social search fallout, and apologizes for Kenyan flub.

Apple's iPad 3 expected to go on sale in March with HD screen and faster chip. Apple also joined the Fair Labor Association, opening suppliers' doors to labor rights watchdog in transparency response to Foxconn fears — the first tech brand to do so.

Bentley courts Maybach fans including Jay-Z — who has just signed on as the face of (and an investor in) Duracell.

British films to be pitched as a global brand.

BT will offer free Wi-Fi at London Olympic Games.

Disney Studios quickly fills CMO position.

Dr Pepper brand name is removed from Texas town.

Easyjet fined for barring disabled passengers.

Excedrin recall expands to Canada.

Olivia Munn strips off for PETA.Continue reading...

With four more days of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, Maybelline touts its sponsorship of YouTube's live streaming coverage of the runway shows from Lincoln Center with roving reporter (and model/designer) Erin Wasson, who talks to designer Rebecca Taylor (and, oddly, Bravo "real housewife" Ramona Singer).

Today's  #NYFW spring/summer 2012 runway shows include Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan New York, Rebecca Minkoff, Betsey Johnson, and Perry Ellis. All except for DKNY are streaming on YouTube; DKNY's show will be streaming live on the brand's Facebook page at 2pm ET.

And in another interesting use of digital this fashion week, the Oscar de la Renta show will stream live on Tumblr tomorrow (9/13 at 6pm ET), with a user-generated stream of content tagged with #odlrlive already leading up to the livestream in a first for Tumblr — which is eager to stay in style with fashion brands and fashionistas via its real-time NYFW coverage, especially following a pre-Fashion Week pratfall on its own runway.

The new CMO of New York-based fashion label Rebecca Minkoff? Daniel Saynt, the blogger who founded Fashion Indie. The move follows H&M's just announced collaboration with the doyenne of Swedish fashion bloggers, Elin Kling.

Minkoff comments to New York magazine's The Cut blog: "We feel bloggers and social media are playing a key role in the quickly changing industry, and we are shaping future marketing initiatives around these channels. Daniel's experience will be an invaluable asset to Rebecca Minkoff moving forward. We plan to be a leader in the democratization of fashion, and Daniel will help guide us in that path." 

Is it possible that DailyCandy is ten years old? Since starting as a free email newsletter aimed at New Yorkers seeking insider fashion, food and fun tips, it's grown to 3.4 million subscribers and 28 local and national editions, plus a London edition.

Despite big changes along the way — it was sold to Comcast in 2008, which streamlined its business model and scaled back to 12 cities this past January — it has stayed true to founder Dany Levy's original goal of helping women "live the sweet life."

It has built brands such as designer Rebecca Minkoff, after the jump, who praises the site for supporting her business growth, as it has done for countless others.

Today, its content includes kids editions, original video (from restaurant profiles to artists, humorous advice from Dan the Office Guy and other spoofs), launched Swirl for sample sale aficionados, and inspired a raft of imitators.Continue reading...