The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC) has hired direct marketing veteran David Kenny as its new chairman and CEO, effective immediately, the company said. Kenny comes to TWCC from mobile cloud computing company Akamai, where he served as president. Prior to Akamai, Kenny cofounded and served as managing partner of VivaKi, the digital arm of the Publicis Groupe. Prior to that, he was CEO of Digitas for more than a decade.

U.S. Airways is looking to tie the knot with American Airlines. "We are, of course, always interested in studying potential value-enhancing opportunities, and part of studying these opportunities is ensuring we have good counsel," the airline's CEO told investors in a conference call earlier on Wednesday. "Therefore, as has been reported, we have indeed retained [investment bankers] Barclays Capital and Millstein & Co., and [law firm] Latham & Watkins LLP to help us explore our options as they relate to AMR's bankruptcy."

It's about damn time. Chevrolet is finally firing back at the pinheads who think the Chevy Volt is a Martian plot to take over the Church of Elvis (you may insert your own pet conspiracy theory here.) We've heard rumors for months about a new Volt campaign featuring real people from Hamtramck, Mich., where the car is assembled. Well, here it is.

P&G is launching 1 Like = 1 Day, a Facebook campaign to drive awareness of its global safe drinking water initiative. Under the campaign, P&G has pledged to provide one day of clean drinking water for children in developing nations for every Facebook Like. P&G will also share stories, photos, and videos from the field so that consumers can see how it works with humanitarian, NGO, and emergency relief partners worldwide.

Jim Henry pulls no punches in his critique of "the silly season of Super Bowl advertising." His take on Kia's 60-second Super Bowl meant to be a Gen X couple's wildest dreams, and including Victoria's Secret model Adriana Lima, Mtley Cre and MMA icon Chuck Liddell, among other things: "Let's see, forgetting anything? Oh, yeah, a car," he writes. The ad also features the 2012 Kia Optima Limited, which is meant to represent one of those dream items.

Harley-Davidson Inc. reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on a 12% rise in product sales, citing its success in boosting sales of its motorcycles beyond its core market of Baby Boomers. The U.S. motorcycle maker reported net income of $105.7 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $46.8 million, or 20 cents per share, a year ago. Profit from continuing operations came to 24 cents per share, 1 cent above analysts' average forecast.

The Ipsos Influence Index says Microsoft is the most influential brand in Canada. Based on the survey data, looking at 100 of the top brands in Canada, Canadians see Microsoft as an established, dependable brand with a strong future that has forever changed the consumer landscape and is relevant to their day-to-day life.

A Russia-based retailer with backing from Dutch investors is seeking to build a chain of small retail food stores in South Florida.

Macy's Inc. is suing Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, accusing the company of breach of contract for entering into an agreement to sell certain products to J.C. Penney Company.

The National Highway Trafic Safety Administration, meanwhile, has closed the book on the Volt fire snorefest. The federal safety regulators closed a government safety probe into General Motors Co.'s Volt, saying it does not believe Volts or other electric vehicles pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles.