Speaking of coffee, my cousin the politician sent me a couple of Obama Inauguration mugs a few weeks ago. I promptly put them to use as part of the early-morning production team for "Around the Net in Brand Marketing." When other members of the household saw what I was doing, well, it was as if I was using the good china for my cornflakes. The mugs, I was told, are collectible. Worth a lot of money someday. (Here's what I was thinking: "Sure, just like the Desert Storm bubble gum cards my father-in-law told me to stash in the …

There was so much news out of Chicago yesterday that McDonald's encouraging results were almost an afterthought in the Chicago Tribune. The biggest news, of course, was the bankruptcy filing of the newspaper empire itself. Then there was Christie Hefner declaring at it was time for her to do good with some non-profits after three decades of toil at papa's Playboy. Even a sit-it of 240 workers at Republic Windows & Doors on Goose Island got bigger play on the Trib's online edition. "McDonald's same-store sales up 7.7% in November" and five measly paragraphs …

Whole Foods Market filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday comparing the Federal Trade Commission -- which wants to block its $565 million merger with Wild Oats Markets -- to the Queen of Hearts in "Alice in Wonderland," who declares, "First the sentence, then the evidence." Whole Foods CEO John Mackey will hold a news conference -- an extremely rare event for him, according to American-Statesman reporter Lilly Rockwell -- on the issue in Washington today. The company is also pushing Congress to urge the FTC to transfer the dispute to federal court and to consider adopting legislation that …

In addition to its legal hassles, Whole Foods has been hit with declining profits recently as shoppers hesitate to shell out more green for greener fare. It's no surprise, then, to see Todd Wasserman report that sustainability is sustainable "only if consumers don't have to pay extra for it." Nielsen data show that sales of organic items began declining in June. And after years of double-digit expansion, Tom Pirovano, director of industry insights for Nielsen, predicts growth for organic will be in the single digits in 2009. Marcia Mogelonsky, senior research analyst with Mintel, concurs: …

The Freep's Justin Hyde and Todd Spangler advise us to "call it the deal Detroit can't refuse" -- a bailout pact that will give General Motors and Chrysler the $14 billion they say they need to survive through March 31 in return for very close scrutiny and perhaps even a majority stake in either of the automakers. Ford has said it will not take a loan but is asking for a $9-billion line of credit. Michigan lawmakers say that a draft proposal from congressional Democrats needs tweaks, but they are hopeful a bill will pass Congress in …

In a letter titled "GM's Commitment to the American People," the automaker apologized for past blunders in a full-page ad in yesterday's Automotive News. It kind of says what outsiders have been saying for some time. "While we're still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you," the ads states. "At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs become lackluster. We have proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on our core U.S. market. We also biased our product mix toward …

"A bankruptcy filing by two of the Detroit Big Three would cost taxpayers more than four times what they would pay if Congress was to give them a $30 billion bridge loan, according to a report released this morning by Anderson Economic Group and BBK, an international business advisory firm," the Detroit News reports. Not much in the Times story -- "Car Dealers Brace for Closings, Or For A Fight, As Detroit Seeks Help" -- that you haven't read before except for further insight into the trickle-down effect that automakers' woes will have on the …