Apple and HTC settle patent dispute.

BBC needs radical overhaul, chairman says, as two more senior execs step down.

Hyundai and Kia cope with damage they've done to their main selling point: mileage.

AEG and StubHub align.

Alltel returns with holiday pitch to Santa.

Brinks says it isn't for sale right now.

Cisco rolls out aggressive new strategy for dealing with patent trolls.Continue reading...

Here's to the many brands that have been stepping up in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's devastation on the U.S., providing everything from money to food to power and their employees, products and services to help disaster relief efforts. A partial list of charitable first-responders follows (and if we miss any, please let us know in the comments):

AT&T will extend late-payment windows for wireless and wireline customers, waive late payment fees and not disconnect services because of non-payment, and in an unprecedented open-network arrangement with T-Mobile, will enable roaming to customers of both companies in the impacted areas. AT&T wireless customers can make a $10 donation (up to $50) for Hurricane Sandy relief by texting to relief organizations. AT&T and T-Mobile also joined forces on a wireless roaming agreement, while Verizon Wireless is offering free charging for all cellphones.Continue reading...

Avon's Jung to leave board early, shifting focus to new CEO.

Mondelez creates Oreo and Cadbury Dairy Milk hybrid chocolate bar, acquires Italian biscuit maker from Danone.

Foxconn faces more unrest at iPhone factory as new battle brews between Apple and Samsung.

BAE deal with EADS is questioned by major shareholder.

Baxter looks to its medical-product pipeline to sustain growth.

Budweiser donates to military families via tie-in with Major League Baseball.

BuzzFeed bets on online sharing of sponsored content.

Coca-Cola India signs Bollywood star Salman Khan as brand ambassador.Continue reading...

Chipotle sales slowdown leads to stock-market plunge.

Kodak risks grow after loss of patent fight.

Samsung passes 10M sales benchmark for Galaxy S3 but iPhone prevails.

Bentley plans SUV.

Cnooc stakes $15B for Canada's Nexen. 

DreamWorks buys Classic Media.

Facebook pace of revenue growth closely watched.Continue reading...

JPMorgan Chase reaches nearly $6 billion in losses on "whale trades" but posts multi-billion-dollar quarterly profit.

Digg, a social-media pioneer, sells for pittance and gains new CEO.

Richard Branson takes on Stephen Fry in new Virgin UK campaign.

Axe replaces bikini-clad women with Kiefer Sutherland in new spot.

Coca-Cola launches Hispanic campaign for Olympics and reintroduces controversial drink colors in Freestyle dispensing machines at UK Burger Kings.

Olive Garden owner Darden to buy Yard House for $585 million.

Facebook starts automating home-page ad buying and monitoring chats for criminal activity.Continue reading...

Airbus designs new way to build planes and scraps sales target for A380.

Amazon tests a smartphone.

American Airlines opens door to merger with U.S. Airways.

Apple pulls game with Japanese Ninjas invading island chain.

Barclays former CEO Bob Diamon hits back at U.K. lawmakers over interest-rate scandal.

Drew Brees nears becoming highest-paid player in NFL history.

Expedia features real travelers' experiences in new campaign.

John Varvatos taps British musician Paul Weller as new face.Continue reading...

Amazon gets ready to move on Apple in mobile ad space.

BP is investigated on estimates of Gulf leak.

Dewey & Leboeuf bankruptcy marks biggest collapse of a law firm in U.S. history.

Facebook stock performance creates more turmoil as site is reportedly ready to pay $1B for Opera as mobile platform and is eyeing Face.com acquisition.

Ford aims to catch up production with hot U.S. demand.

GM wanted to change ad slots on Facebook.

Groupon looks to reimburse subscribers with unused deals. 

JPMorgan Chase faces probe in Japan as firm tries to offset trading loss.Continue reading...

Facebook heads into IPO today with record pricing and a strategy to raise money, not hype, WSJ says — but also with persistent questions among brand marketers about the value of advertising, among other challenges. Meanwhile, average investors face long odds on a big Facebook payday, which will make Bono the richest rock star and Mark Zuckerberg richer than Google's co-founders.

Yahoo names new executive team as Alibaba deal apparently looms.

HP plans to slash workforce by up to 30,000, WSJ says.

Bud Light is drawing online buzz from Millennials.

Amazon to sell ads on Kindle Fire welcome screen.

Barneys New York relaunches website.

Coca-Cola bests Pom Wonderful in court in latest round of long-running labeling dispute.Continue reading...