"Trust me - I used to work at Apple," seems to be the message from new JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson as he mounts an ambitious transformation of the department-store chain - without telling them exactly what the plan is.

Ostentatious wealth was supposed to have ended. For a while, the very rich were keeping their Maybachs in mothballs, diamonds in drawers. But the 1% are back in black and spending a lot of money on toys. Auctions are breaking records again. A British businessman paid $34,400 for chocolate and Champagne caviar topped with a 2-carat diamond, according to the Daily Mail.

Cover Girl Natureluxe Mousse Mascara featured Taylor Swift, but when the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau opened an inquiry into the ad, P&G volunteered to pull it and stop using it.

In the fourth quarter, toy companies can generate 70% of their operating profit, mostly before Christmas. It's also an important indicator of where the economy and the jobs market are headed, since consumers represent two-thirds of economic growth.

ESPN and the NCAA have signed a new deal through 2023-24 for worldwide, multi-media rights to 24 NCAA championships and exclusive multi-media rights outside the U.S., its territories and Bermuda for the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship. The pact includes 600-plus hours and 300 telecasts of live coverage annually across all ESPN platforms.

Jenny (formerly Jenny Craig), Nutrisystem and Weight Watchers, are tapping singers Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Jennifer Hudson to show their newly slender bodies to entice people to lose weight. Jackson will tout the Nutrisystem's "Success" program; Jenny brings in Maria Carey and Weight Watchers puts Jennifer Hudson in the spotlight.

Super Bowl halftime shows, according to industry analysts, are among the most-watched entertainment programs of the year. However, when it comes to songs, a new report suggests that marketers, who this year will spend upward of $3.5 million for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial, should think outside the music box and go with such artists as head-bangers Megadeth.

The British Heart Foundation cited websites by Cadbury's and Nestle as examples of "cynical marketing." Sites used childish language, games and gifts to appeal to children, according to the report. But an Advertising Association spokesman insisted online promotion to children was strictly controlled.

Saab Automobile filed for bankruptcy Monday after attempts by Chinese investors to take over the loss-making brand were blocked by previous owner General Motors Co.

Alec Baldwin tweeted about his American Airlines "Words with Friends" fiasco, wherein he refused to stop playing, went to finish the game in the bathroom, slamming the door so loudly it was heard in the cockpit as he went into the loo, and was kicked off the flight.