Mobile advertisers are working around a new Apple policy that makes it harder to track user activity on iPhones and iPads, in what some see as clear consumer privacy violations. Last summer, Apple began phasing out developer access to unique device identifiers (UDID), numbers on devices that many companies had used like tracking cookies in Internet browsers, enabling them to monitor activity from app to app and target ads accordingly.

Ferrari celebrated the 20th anniversary of its entry into China by laying rubber on top of a 600-year-old Nanjing wall, possibly causing permanent damage to the Ming Dynasty-era monument. The weapon was a dragon-adorned Ferrari 458 Italia. Officials were displeased. Ferrari offered an official apology to China.

According to Millennial Media, from 2010 to 2011, mobile ad spending in the finance vertical grew by 314% worldwide. Banks and credit cards, along with electronic payments, stock trading and insurance services, became the top global brand advertising vertical on the Millennial Media platform in the fourth quarter of 2011, moving ahead of the Retail and Restaurants, Entertainment, Telecom and Automotive.

HP has launched six new Ultrabooks. And in the works are notebooks Hewlett-Packard will launch for college kids during back-to-school season. The company has redesigned its Pavilion DV series, as well as its entry-level G laptops. New is the Pavilion M6, a 15-inch computer for the thin-and-light market.

Vitamin Shoppe reported Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended March 31 rose to $18.3 million, from $11.6 million in the same period last year. Sales rose 14.4% to $248.1 million, boosted by a strong 9.6% rise in same-store sales. E-commerce sales rose 15.5% in the quarter. The vitamin retailer said it plans to open 52 new stores in fiscal 2012.

McDonald's is stepping up efforts to dispel perceptions that it sells unhealthy food and drink with the introduction of a fizzy fruit drink in the UK that it will promote as containing one of a child's five fruit and vegetable portions a day. Fruitizz is a 60%-fruit juice drink that the fast-food chain claims "delivers nutritional benefit as well as an exciting taste." It combines raspberry, grape and apple juice with natural sparkling water and contains no added sugar or artificial colorings or flavorings.

7UP has formed a deal with Alianza de Futbol, the premier Hispanic U.S. soccer-scouting program. A major component of the deal is 7UP's launch of the Sueo Alianza soccer tryout series designed to give up-and-coming soccer players the chance to fulfill their dreams of playing collegiate or professional soccer.

Research In Motion Ltd. has named a Sony Corp. manager as chief operating officer and a LightSquared Inc. official as head of marketing. Kristian Tear, a former executive vice president at Sony Mobile Communications, will take the operations job, Waterloo, Ont.-based RIM said Tuesday in a statement.

Worldwide Olympics partner Visa unveiled a commercial on NBC's "The Voice" Monday night that will jump-start a global push of TV, print, Internet and consumer activation and a sweepstakes leading to the Summer Games.

Companies such as Acura, Dr Pepper, Farmers Insurance and Southwest Airlines have already reaped nearly $2 million in brand value for product placement in "The Avengers," which had a record-setting $220 million U.S.-opening weekend.