Last year, three drivers from the Nascar circuit made Forbes' list of America's Most Influential Athletes, led by perennial Sprint Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, with ties to Chevrolet, Quaker State and Lowe's, repeats as America's most influential athlete, based on public opinion polling. But fellow drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (down from No. 3 to No. 7) and Jeff Gordon (off the list this year) didn't keep up, making way for newcomers like Jeremy Lin and Manny Pacquiao, and for the rise of several pro quarterbacks.

You'd think gas stations are making a killing on $4 a gallon gas, but they are getting killed by swipe fees, according to a c-store trade group that is girding its loins to duke it out with banks.

Not too long ago it would have been impossible to conceive of automakers skipping Frankfurt, and Geneva, not to mention Detroit, to make their global product debuts in Beijing. But China's the big dog in auto sales now. The 2012 Beijing Auto Show features everything from first cars for urban dwellers to super-broughams for the rich.

Blogger Allison Schiff culls different news reports on whether the new Curve will help BlackBerry swerve away from the precipice. The Curve 9220, which launched on April 18 with much fanfare in India, might help the company claw its way back to relevancy. But in any case the Indian market could be the life buoy the company needs, she says.

Wal-Mart Stores is creating a new global compliance officer position following reports that the world's largest retailer allegedly covered up results of an internal probe proving that its Mexican subsidiary bribed officials there. The new global leader, who has not been named, will make sure the discounter is in compliance worldwide with the U.S. law that forbids U.S companies from engaging in bribery and other corrupt practices overseas.

In response to the New York Times article about compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Wal-Mart VP corporate communications, David Tovar on Tuesday made the following statement: "Walmart has been working diligently on U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance and has a rigorous process in place to quickly and aggressively manage issues like this when they arise. In the last year, we have taken a number of specific, concrete actions to investigate this matter and strengthen our global FCPA compliance processes and procedures around the world and in Bentonville and Mexico."

Today's twentysomethings hold an average debt of about $45,000, which includes everything from cars to credit cards to student loans to mortgages, according to a PNC financial independence survey released last month. Unemployment for those 18-29 is 12.4%, well above the national rate of 8.2%; and young people face an increasingly complex global economy that is credit-driven and puts more responsibility on individuals to plan for and manage their retirement accounts. The average student loan debt for the class of 2010 is $25,000, per the Project on Student Debt; and the average credit card debt for those 20 to 29 …

Tesco has pushed back the timeframe for reaching a break-even point for its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain in the U.S. until early 2014 rather than early 2013. "The business is on track to deliver a further significant reduction in losses during the current year, even though the timing of break-even will now be later than our earlier guidance," the company said. "This is because we intend to focus on delivering store-level profitability first before pushing on faster with the expansion we need to create sufficient scale to cover our overheads."

Samantha Hoyt, Ford Fusion's marketing manager, said of the totally redesigned 2013 model that the automaker was hoping to make the car a showcase for owners. She said Ford wanted to give owners "great fuel economy, lots of choice, great design and style, but also the typical Ford dependable reliability, all in a stylish package." Ford is mum so far on whether it will make a 350 hp performance version under the SHO moniker that Taurus uses. Hoyt said the subject piques the interest of many, including herself. Notably, she adds that the "platform offers a great opportunity to do …

Kraft Foods has a new ad depicting an infant suckling while clutching an Oreo cookie. The tagline: Milk's favorite cookie. The Northfield, Ill.-based company said the ad was made in Korea and "created by our agency for a one-time use at an advertising awards program." It "was never intended for public distribution or use with consumers" and has not been aired on television in Korea or elsewhere. Apparently the ad is by Korean shop Cheil Worldwide.