At top: Attention art directors looking for something new and cool. Check out the perspective art of this Beijing Chemical Engineering University student. 

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: ad spend... what China wants in 2013... suspicions about VW's recall... Apple... Buick's recall... Microsoft on Taobao... BMW partnerships... one evil mechanic's genius business development idea... Gangnam grannies take on Harlem noodle shake... and more.Continue reading...

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...

Acer postpones launch of Alibaba-powered phone.

Apple fights to keep iPhone cool in China as larger screen of iPhone 5 sparks developer rush and NFC omission puzzles observers.

Beef Products faces high hurdle in "pink slime" lawsuit against ABC News.

Brand USA tourism push sets sights on India.

Burger Lounge and Counter Burger offer non-traditional meats.

Disney takes film write-down.

Dr Pepper gets flack on Facebook after posting evolutionary graphic.Continue reading...

Ace Hardware debuts first-ever paint campaign.

AIG sells $6 billion in AIA shares to help repay bailout loan.

Angie's List creates rare success with paid-content model.

Apple expected to pass 100 million iPad sales by year-end as iPad 3 is unveiled this week and excitement builds for Apple TV.

BP stock rises on proposed $17.6 billion settlement in oil spill.

Carlos Slim's America Movil reportedly starting a Netflix-like online service for Mexico.

Facebook asks advertisers for big investments in exchange for expanding fan base.

Frontier low-cost airline may be relaunched or sold.

GlaxoSmithKline expands in China.

GM struggles to make Volt a sustainable business.Continue reading...

California could become first state to ban styrofoam.

Groupon rapped for exaggerating pre-sale price in the UK.

Kobe Bryant announces new foundation to fight homelessness in LA.

Li Na hailed as first Asian to win a tennis Grand Slam tournament.

Louis Vuitton takes check-ins to China.

NBC's The Voice becomes a hit thanks to Twitter.Continue reading...

Burger King tests menu diversification. 

BMW launches "Don't Txt and Drive" public-service campaign.

Church’s takes on Chik-fil-A in chicken-taste test campaign.

Diageo and Pernot Ricard battle in China.

Exxon fuels chemicals drive in Asia.

Fiat ends four decades of Chrysler sales in Europe.Continue reading...

Last year, after the departure of Simon Cowell as the acerbic judge and the face of the show, American Idol confronted a fateful moment: How would the FOX mega-property fight a long-term slide in ratings without its fascinating bad boy and its most compelling personality – especially one who was going to create a competing show that would debut on the same network this fall?

Idol producers succeeded handsomely, bringing in Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler as judges to join holdover Randy Jackson, and making the show’s narrative about really developing really good talent instead of allowing not-so-good singers into the final ranks and then savaging them when they performed down to their level.

Viewership for Wednesday night’s finale was 29 million people, up about 18% from last year’s according to Variety. Votes cast for the two finalists, winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina, totaled well more than 100 million, easily a record for the show (thanks largely to its addition of online voting to the old-fashioned phone medium). Inevitably, Idol questions about how long it can keep going, now arise.Continue reading...

On the list of unsympathetic figures in the entertainment business, Simon Cowell certainly has to rank in the top ten – maybe jostling for #1 or #2 with Donald Trump. Such status is ensured by a decade of absorption of his often-biting persona on American Idol and his opportunistic exit from the show after last season, when presumably Cowell saw it as a sinking franchise.

But if you’re ever going to feel sorry for the glowering, acerbic, v-neck-clad Brit, now might be the time to do it. Not only is Idol arguably better in the post-Cowell era, and with renascent ratings, but there also is an unexpected competitor to the music impresario’s plan to launch an Idol fighter this fall in a U.S. version of his UK hit talent show, The X Factor.Continue reading...