Anthracite-haired Amber Heard, who acted in "Pineapple Express," is the new walking hagiography of the Guess fashion brand. As the face of Guess, she will be featured in Fall 2011 advertising.

General Mills on Wednesday reported profits rose 18% from a year ago but fear about inflation and U.S. growth prospects prompted a selloff of the company's stock.

For the third straight quarter, Best Buy is expected to post declines in same-store sales because of weak demand for televisions and entertainment software. Its focus on promoting pricy TVs hasn't worked and it keeps losing shoppers to Amazon.com, Target and Walmart.

At its 20th annual shareholders meeting in Seattle on Wednesday, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz outlined the QSR's plans, which include extending the brand into new grocery, hotel and other retail channels, introducing single-cup servings, increasing presence in overseas markets, and expanding digital opportunities. Of that last, Starbucks has deals with The Economist, ESPN Inside Rumor Central and Marvel Digital Comics.

Before she made spots for perfumes, Liz Taylor shilled for products like Whitman's chocolate, Lustre-Creme Shampoo, Lux Soap, Max Factor cosmetics and ArtCarved Diamonds. In 1996, she got CBS to place herself and "Black Pearls" fragrance into the story lines of four primetime shows on the same Monday night, an integration feat unparalleled since.

Two former Delta Airlines customer service strategists are helping the ball club craft the "Reds Way," designed to teach employees to greet fans with enthusiasm, engage them in conversation and never be stumped by a question or request. Employees are rewarded with gift cards and, this year, the club is hoping to add prizes such as flat-screen TVs and trips to 2012 spring training. In addition, it has signed up 40 season ticket holders to catch staff members doing well.

Cameo Stars is looking for a sponsor for its deal with "American Idol," wherein celebrities' recorded greetings sent by friends appear on Facebook profiles. They are hoping a current "Idol" advertiser may step forward so that the greetings, which now cost $3 a pop, will be free for users. Meanwhile, the company is on the hunt for other marketing deals. One such involves Under Armour clothing, which has mixed martial arts champ Georges St-Pierre, a pitchman for the brand, featured in free Facebook videos. A similar deal is forthcoming for the movie "Kung Fu Panda 2."

Both Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have extended their production stoppages in Japan. Last week, they said production will be down until at least the middle of this week. Now, the companies say production won't restart until at least the middle of next week. Nissan, whose production facilities weren't damaged by the quake, says it plans to resume production at five plants on Thursday as long as its supplies last. Toyota is still making components for overseas plants and replacement parts in Japan. Each day Toyota's plants are idled means a loss of 15,000 vehicles, per Deutsche Bank.

Research in Motion said PlayBook will start at $499 and hit shelves next month. The company has priced its first tablet in the same range as iPad2, both going to $699 for the 64-gigabyte model. Three models of the PlayBook will be in more than 20,000 retail outlets. Best Buy starts accepting orders on Tuesday.

Sprint Nextel's stock is heading up after announcing two new 4G devices: an Android smartphone called HTC EVO 3D that promises glasses-free 3D, due out this summer, and the HTC EVO View 4G, a seven-inch touchscreen tablet that is also slated for a summer release.