Disney sees higher TV ad revenues drive quarter and considers ESPN exit from U.K. sports coverage.

Dell seeks to transform brand, going private in $24 billion buyout under founder Michael Dell, as Microsoft gambles on involvement.

U.S. Postal Service plans to cut Saturday mail as Hallmark fights the cuts.

Apple loses right to iPhone brand in Brazil.

Arby's launches "fan of the week" promo via Facebook.

Lance Armstrong reportedly under investigation for obstruction and other serious crimes.

BP is hit by new $34 billion claim from U.S. state governments over Gulf spill.Continue reading...

Twitter is at the center of a UK-sparked battle over courts, so-called super injunctions, and social media conversations which apparently cannot be curtailed by either.

What's a "super injunction," you might ask? The term has come into the public arena following two recent UK court cases, in which judges prohibit naming public figures involved in scandals, with at least three cases, two involving former Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Fred Goodwin and Manchester United soccer player Ryan Giggs.

British politician John Hemming was rebuked by the House speaker for naming Giggs (and his affair with Imogen Thomas), because the soccer star had won an injunction prohibiting the media from naming him.

But what about social media? Outing Giggs on Twitter quickly became something of a parlor game, as tweeting and retweeting the gossip swept the site.

"With about 75,000 people having named Ryan Giggs on Twitter, it's obviously impractical to imprison them all," said Hemming, citing the tweets as reason to lift the British court's publishing ban.Continue reading...

Burger King raises the cost of its double cheeseburger from $1 to $1.19. [WSJ]

New Klondike commercials channel 'The 40 Year Old Virgin.' [BrandFreak]

Burger King will now sell Seattle's Best coffee in its restaurants. [Daily Finance]

Chevy hopes consumers feel connected with its new family-oriented ads. [Brandweek]

Microsoft adds Facebook and Myspace sites to its Outlook program. [AP]

The Federal Trade Commission puts its foot down on unemployment scams. [LA Times]Continue reading...

Berkshire acquires remaining stake of Burlington Northern. [WSJ]

Sony Ericcson unveils first Android smartphone, on sale early next year. [NY Times]

Starbucks dumps "Gold" loyalty program in favor of "My Starbucks Rewards." [Business Insider]

Lloyd's and RBS agree to sell assets for further federal aid. [NY Times]

UBS expects further client hemorrhaging. [NY Times]

Year-for-year sales at Toyota decline. [WSJ]

Carmakers grapple with pronounciation of "2010." [NY Times]

Embattled Liz Claiborne CEO renews contract for three years. [WSJ]

(More headlines: Peets, Illy, Starbucks, Vegemite iSnack rises).Continue reading...

Ford reports surprise profit of $997 million. [NY Times]

Comcast close to final deal for NBC Universal. [NY Times]

Shanghai to unveil plans for $3.6 billion Disney amusement park. [Forbes]

Kraft expected to make hostile bid for Cadbury in a week. [Times of London]

Tata may allow assemblers to brand the Nano. [Business Standard]

Critics blast Kellogg's for suggesting its cereals boost resistance to H1N1 flu. [USA Today]

UK will purchase more Lloyds TSB, Northern Rock and RBS shares, may split banks into three new brands [NY Times, Brand Republic]. Santander and Virgin may bid for RBS shares [FT]. And RBS faces EU pressure to sell insurance brands Direct Line and Churchill [NY Times].

(More headlines: Bridgestone quits Formula One, Nestle, Bob Marley.)Continue reading...

What does a financial institution do when it runs into trouble? Apparently, the simplest solution is to rebrand.

In the US, embattled insurance giant AIG changed the names of various divisions to create distance from the parent company. AIG's property and casualty business, for example, became Chartis. General Motors' GMAC financial unit was re-named Ally Bank, to eliminate the distasteful association with a bankrupt automaker.

Now Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is planning to extricate itself from a mess with the European Commission with a simple name change. The Commission is forcing RBS to dump 312 of its branches in England and Wales. RBS plans to change the name of those branches to Williams & Glyn's, to make them more attractive for sale.Continue reading...