This is sort of a branding story if one considers that, while Morgan Stanley may have a lot of money, it is running on fumes when it comes to brand equity: One William Bryan Jennings, the firm's bond-underwriting chief in the U.S., was charged with a hate crime in the stabbing of a New York City cab driver of Middle Eastern descent over a fare.

With Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki on the program, such companies as Delta, Mercedes, Rolex and title sponsor BNP Paribas plan to make quite a racket tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The jeweler Cartier is launching a global campaign centering on a short but very elaborate film done in CGI in which a jeweled panther comes to life. The film, called "L'Odysse de Cartier" is meant to be a concentrated, fantastical 3.5-minute view of the band's 165-year history.

Rush Limbaugh, as of Sunday evening, had lost eight of the advertisers on his radio show, in spite of a website apology, that many felt didn't go far enough. Carbonite and ProFlowers decided associating with Limbaugh was too dangerous.

Walt Disney is partnering with VisitScotland for a GBP7 million global marketing campaign to promote Scottish tourism around the international release of the Disney film "Brave," an animated feature set in the Scottish highlands.

A Beautiful Life Brands has teamed up with retailer Urban Outfitters to sell ABL's line of beauty products in Urban's top retail locations and within the "beauty" section of the retailer's website.

Sam's Club's new own branded, bimonthly magazine, Healthy Living Made Simple, will go to the club's members and will also be in stores. It is the first warehouse club publication solely dedicated to health-and-wellness issues. Topics covered by the publication include items related to personal, child and pet health. Future issues will spotlight local Sam's Club pharmacists, optometrists and associates, as well as members' stories, Sam's Club said.

During last week's conference call to discuss fourth-quarter earnings, an analyst asked Target EVP of merchandising Kathee Tesija whether the retailer might consider shifting some of its design partnership launches to early December, to help boost holiday sales.

Panera Bread has outperformed Starbucks, Nike and Nordstrom over the last 10 years. There are now 1,541 locations, half company-owned and half franchised, in 40 states and Canada, and it earned $139 million on revenues of $1.82 billion last year. Analysts expect continued and steady growth. Said CEO Ronald Shaich, who bought the brand for $24 million in 1993, “Panera Bread has been successful by betting on food quality, design and people." It found a niche branding itself as something in between fast food and casual dining. Consumers seem willing to pay a few extra dollars for fresh-baked …

High-end department store Nordstrom is funneling its returned and worn shoes to its Nordstrom Rack outlet stores. This practice is surprising since outlet stores are not known as second-hand stores. It's a place for retailers to send their unsold merchandise each season.