Apple's rumored virtual assistant feature could outshine Tuesday's iPhone 5 announcement (and rumor mill). Sprint, meanwhile, is reportedly buying 30.5 million iPhones from Apple.

Australia looks beyond cigarettes for plain packaging rules.

Bank of America shares fall on European fears.

Boeing ramps up commercial airline production.

Carnival Cruise Lines signs brand partners.

Daily Mail posts wrong Amanda Knox verdict.

ESPN pulls Hank Williams Jr. signature tune following Hitler remark.Continue reading...

IHT fashion doyenne Suzy Menkes today highlights Ermenegildo Zegna's digital retail experience, with its new 3D in-store app featuring model/actress Milla Jovovich (and directed by Hollywood special effects director James Lima) leading luxury retailers into cyberspace.

Launched in July in tandem with the opening of its new Paris flagship, Lima tells Menkes about the challenges of creating a virtual experience for a brand on the iPad, a 3D trend that Burberry and Ralph Lauren are also exploring.

“It is a very interesting problem, using high-end Hollywood visual effects and animation software, transported into a different Internet format," Lima comments. "In Hollywood, we design by story, it’s all from a script — but this is not Brad Pitt, it’s brand narration.”

It used to be that European brands were all the rage in the US. While they still are to some extent, a global flip-flop (and we don't mean Havaianas) is in the making. Now Europeans are embracing American brands, so much so that a "stampede of American retailers opening in Europe" is occurring, reports the New York Times.

Last year, Gap opened in Milan and will add a location this year in Rome. Victoria's Secret is planning a store next year in London. Tory Burch is now in Rome, and Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors are in Paris. Just last month, Abercrombie & Fitch made perhaps the biggest splash of all with the opening  of a 31,000-square foot store on the Champs-Elysees in Paris in May.

In an effort to draw maximum exposure (pun intended), Abercrombie held a publicity event before the store opened, with 100 shirtless male models — the retailer's signature store greeter — in attendance. Apparently, it was too much even for the permissive French — Abercrombie was ordered to tame things down a bit because of regulations against partial nudity on the Champs-Elysees.Continue reading...

In an effort to modernize their brands and attract tourism dollars, many cities are adopting "green" campaigns aimed at reducing pollution, promoting health, and demonstrating concern for the environment.

Mexico City recently launched an official public bike-sharing program, which will initially include 85 stations and over 1,000 bikes. Participation costs 300 pesos ($23) a year, and bikes can be taken for 30 minutes a ride. After only a few days, over 1,000 people have already signed up.

The program is similar to those that have successfully launched in Washington D.C. and Barcelona. The first city to try anything of the sort was Portland, Oregon, which provided hundreds of used bikes to its inhabitants, which were scattered all over the downtown area. Riders could simply use the bikes when they wanted, then leave them for others to use. A similar attempt was made in New York City, but within a few days all the bikes were stolen.Continue reading...

Next June, Paris will play host to a new beauty event called Make Up, in hopes of competing with the world's leading beauty fairs.  Organizers plan to turn it into "the unmissable beauty event" for international beauty professionals.

Make Up faces fierce competition from other beauty conventions such as Cosmoprof. Exclusively dedicated to the universe of make-up, Make Up was designed as a global platform for those in the cosmetics industry, with a convention that includes discovery workshops, conferences and debates, and contests where a relaxed sense of professional networking can take place.Continue reading...