A.G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble's CEO said that the company will shed up to 100 brands, representing $8 billion in annual sales to reinvigorate company-wide growth. Lafley, in a conference last month, said the company will target brands that aren't growing and don't fit into the company's core businesses. Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Pantene, Olay and SK-II skin care are sacrosanct, though, analysts say. Cincinnati-based P&G has said it also will keep smaller, but promising brands.

Activision games like Call of Duty are like movies, and now the company might actually make movies. Sources say the developer is looking to launch a studio that would produce movies and TV shows based on its brands, a la Marvel, which does its own producing, versus selling intellectual rights to movie studios. CEO Bobby Kotick is in talks to get the necessary executive talent.

Nabisco's Oreo brand, famous for experimenting liberally with flavors, marketing risks and cookie statements, is just maybe coming out with pumpkin spice and caramel apple Oreos. The company hasn't confirmed this, but you can see a shot of the could-be packaging at the jump.

Samsung has bought SmartThings, a startup that makes smart-home controllers. While the companies did not disclose the price, sources said Samsung paid about $200 million. Samsung said the company will operate independently, though most operations will be moved to Palo Alto, Calif., to become part of Samsung's Open Innovation Center (OIC) there.

Microsoft is aiming to deliver a "technology preview" of its Windows "Threshold" operating system by late September or early October, according to multiple sources. Those who install the tech preview will need to agree to have subsequent monthly updates to it pushed to them automatically, sources added. Threshold is the next major version of Windows that is expected to be christened "Windows 9" when it is made available in the spring of 2015.

General Motors plans to invest $2.9 billion during the next five years in Brazil for product development, new technologies and employee training. The cash infusion is a reminder of the importance the maker places on the potential of the Brazilian market. "This investment will allow the Chevrolet brand continue to renew its lineup with a focus on technology and quality," said Jaime Ardila, president of GM South America, in a statement.

One of the nation's largest supermarket operators has had its card payment system compromised at chains like Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, and ACME. According to AB Acquisition LLC, which operates these chains and others, the company "recently learned of an unlawful intrusion to obtain credit and debit card payment information in some of its stores."

The National Football League has tied with Nike to let fans outside the US purchase custom jerseys for all 32 teams for the first time. The move is designed to build more year-round appeal for the sport in international markets. First stop, the U.K., which the companies see as a gateway into Europe via an online store, where people can personalize shirts with their own names.

Tesla's Model X, the first of the company's nascent battery-electric SUV line, should be in showrooms by early next year. A new report says it may surpass the Model S sedan. The Model X is "ready to feast" on a market looking for an alternative to conventional, high-line luxury SUVs and CUVs, forecasts financial firm Morgan Stanley, which also anticipates the demand for the new battery-car will drive Tesla's stock to a new high, well above the maker's previous peak of $265.64 a share.

Tom Hanks has a thing for typewriters. He gives old, classic manual machines as gifts. Now he's giving the typewriter to the mobile device world via an app called the Hanx Writer. It replicates that characteristic sound of metal stamping on paper and even the whiplash sound of the carriage return ending one line and starting a new one. The app is free in Apple's App Store, though additional typewriter fonts and sounds cost $2.99 each.