American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia are forming a virtual merger to closely coordinate flying between North America and Europe. How to deal with consolidation will pose a thorny policy question for the next U.S. president, who likely will have to approve this venture, as well as one proposed by United Airlines, while determining the role U.S. carriers will play in emerging global networks. Carriers that belong to the three major global marketing alliances increasingly are seeking closer ties that will allow them to form worldwide networks while sidestepping rules that limit foreign carriers to small ownership stakes in …

Until recently, ShotPak's home page on the Internet showed a photo of just the middle of an attractive young woman. There was no head and not much of her legs. But there was a tight, bare belly clad in low-slung blue jeans with a 50-milliliter (1.7-ounce) "Purple Hooter" pouch wedged into her front pocket. The makers call it a "party in a pouch." Critics say it's more like an alcoholic candy bar. "Who are they appealing to? This isn't the kind of thing adults drink," says Dr. Michael Brody of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. …

Prescription drug ads became less memorable for consumers between this year and last, according to new figures from Nielsen IAG. Six of the most-remembered ads this year would not have made it into the top 10 last year, based on IAG's recall index. The drug ads consumers remembered best in 2007 were executions for Schering-Plough's allergy drug Nasonex, Takeda's sleeping pill Rozerem, Schering's anti-cholesterol brand Vytorin, Pfizer's anti-cholesterol brand Lipitor and its anti-smoking brand Chantix, and Sepracor's insomnia med Lunesta. But midway through 2008, all of those brands have run into controversy or economic difficulties, and some of them …

Juicy Couture may rankle some parents for its high prices and risqué slogans --including "I'm a Juicy Girl" -- but no one can deny it's taking retail by storm. As classic clothiers struggle to reverse falling sales, the 12-year-old tracksuit company is expanding into every facet of fashion, from $45 computer mouse/pad sets to $180 charm bracelets to $2,000 couture dresses. Co-founders Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor, a former Hollywood costume designer and an actress, respectively, have no patience for the stuff of supply chains and fine-print balance sheets. In June, they ended any pretense and gave up their …

Lenders have spent billions of dollars in advertising to change the language of home loans and with it Americans' attitudes toward debt. Not long ago, "home equity" loans were known as second mortgages and were considered the borrowing of last resort, to be avoided by all but people in dire financial straits. Today, these loans have become universally accepted, their image transformed by ubiquitous ad campaigns from banks. "Calling it a 'second mortgage,' that's like hocking your house," says Pei-Yuan Chia, a former vice chairman at Citicorp who oversaw the bank's consumer business in the 1980s and 1990s. "But call …