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: VW gets nostalgic... Luxury brands suffer... Starbucks canbalizes itself... Apple "ruins" family life... Translating cat app... Tencent profits... BYD... Let Li... Dutch infant formula... What Taobao can tell you about breast size... McDonald's McCafe absurdity... Face toothpaste... What a poorly made $30 hamburger reveals about China's middle class... and more.Continue reading...

Taco Bell makes new Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos available a day early.

Fox reveals details of new planned national sports network to compete with ESPN.

Best Buy ends work-at-home program for corporate employees as Yahoo! policy continues to be debated.

Alfa Romeo says its performance numbers make 4C an ideal car for U.S. market.

Doritos launches first global campaign.

Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne presses full merger with Chrysler.

Groupon CFO says company's business model will stay.

JCPenney board's patience said to be wearing thin with CEO Ron Johnson, as Martha Stewart dished from the witness stand and rehashes her testimony on NBC's Today Show.Continue reading...

Apple stock plunge concerns Wall Street.

Toyota recalls another 2.77 million vehicles.

Papa John's hit with $250 million lawsuit over unwanted text-message (aka spam) promotion.

BP settles with Russian partner.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II depicts David Petraeus as secretary of defense.

Cisco beats profit estimates.

GM and Peugeot halt talks on deeper tie-up.Continue reading...

"成功在任何地方都不是赐予的. 尤其在中国."
— Howard Schultz

"No where is success a given, especially in China." That's a rough translation of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's August 29 column at Chinese business site Wabei.com.

Schultz is right, Starbucks success in China was not a given, and its future success is not a foregone conclusion. But just a week later, Starbucks (星巴克) was the fifth highest trending topic on Weibo, China's 400-million user microblog network. Many of the posts were photos of lines dozens of people long, queues that Coca-Cola didn't see for its massive Olympics giveaway Monday in the U.K.

The reason? Starbucks locations in southern Guangdong were giving away free cups of drip coffee to celebrate the brand's 10th anniversary in the province — creating a physical rush akin to the social frenzy in the U.S. for the java giant's LivingSocial deal this week.Continue reading...

China is the second largest economy in the world, every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse!); but who's got the time?! A weekly potpourri of ten reads that will make you look like a keen China observer during any conversation about China.

Vivienne Tam Slippers for Hilton, wealth inequality, Walmart, baijiu, Popcap, doggies, translating Spanish brand names, the Lingerie Football League comes to China and more... Continue reading...

China is the second latest economy in the world, every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse!); but who's got the time?!  A weekly potpourri of ten reads that will make you look like a keen China observer during any conversation about China. This week: Craft beer, China's Olympic spending splurge, Apple's Facetime suit and more:Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch InBev considers bid for European brewer StarBev.

Apple defends rights to iPad name in Shanghai court.

Barnes & Noble sees profits crimped by digital investments.

Carbonite encourages planning for loss.

Comcast takes aim at Netflix.

Ford boosts pay for directors by 25 percent.

General Mills and Kraft promise to hold line on marketing spending in tough environment.Continue reading...

ABC dismisses rumors of Pan Am's demise.

Amazon continues being coy about Kindle sales.

Apple's Siri can handle Viagra but not abortions.

AT&T disturbed by FCC report.

Audi finds success with youthful marketing.

BBC web redesign goes live in the UK.

Carlsberg acquires Vietnamese brewer.

Google and Facebook ordered to de-index counterfeit domains.

Jack Daniel's holiday campaign celebrates brand's Lynchburg, Tenn. roots.

Janet Jackson teams up with Blackglama to design luxury fur line.

Microsoft Office is reportedly coming to the iPad as Windows tablet hopes fade.Continue reading...