Android Pay is now available to everyone with a compatible device. To get more people to use the service, and in the spirit of the season, Google has teamed up with DonorsChoose.org to support special needs children in U.S. schools. Through Dec. 31, Google will donate $1 for every purchase made through Android Pay, with a total of up to $1 million. The money goes to an interactive classroom environment for kids who have trouble engaging. Android Pay will double its donations for every purchase made on Black Friday.

Globalization in advertising is weakening the brand reputation of Cadbury and other great British names, opines one of the leading figures in British advertising. Sir John Hegarty, who has worked on memorable campaigns for Levi Strauss, and did "Boddingtons: Cream of Manchester" among others, said the creativity of modern advertising was being diminished because companies expected campaigns to be effective in diverse markets. "I have to create a piece of communication that works not only in the UK but in Malaysia, in Germany...and all the vested interests are hard to convince," he said.

If you want to see Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and other top men's players in action on a regular basis, Tennis Channel has made certain that it would be your destination of choice. The channel has signed a multi-year pact to extend its alliance with the ATP World Tour - a union that dates back to Tennis Channel's launch year in 2003. Starting next year it includes nine Masters 1000-Level tournaments, 12 500-Level events, news, lifestyle and other off-court activations across TV and other platforms.

Tesla's new Model X battery-electric SUV will carry a starting price of $80,000 - before adding delivery charges and subtracting the $7,500 federal tax credit. A fully loaded version of the Tesla Model X P90D Signature Edition will come in at $132,000. That will include Tesla's new Ludicrous Mode, which will allow the big battery ute to launch from 0 to 60 in just 3.2 seconds, making it one of the world's fastest utility vehicles.

There are new emails from Coca-Cola around the faux anti-obesity program it funded, Global Energy Balance Network. The University of Colorado School of Medicine recently returned a $1 million "gift" to the beverage giant. One Coke email offers talking points and media training to researchers. Another from a Coke exec likened the goal of the GEBN to "a political campaign, we will develop, deploy and evolve a powerful and multi-faceted strategy to counter radical organizations and their proponents."

Chip Perry, as of Tuesday the new CEO of TrueCar Inc., says job one is to win back the trust of auto dealers. That will be one big job, since the company, under serial entrepreneur Scott Painter, wasn't exactly beloved by the retail side of the car business. Perry helped build AutoTrader from a start-up venture into a $1 billion shopping site. "I believe there are many ways in which TrueCar can better serve car dealers and my goal will be to earn their trust back and to listen to them," he said.

Earlier this year, Spike Lee, Charles Barkley and Samuel L. Jackson went on a road trip for Capital One in a series of TV spots that culminated at the Final Four. The trio are back and are joined by Kermit and Miss Piggy of The Muppets to launch a humorous multi-media campaign that will lead to the College Football Playoff Capital One Orange Bowl semi-final game in Sun Life Stadium and then to the CFB National Championship.

This could be a record holiday season for shopping, per investment strategist John Canally, with LPL Financial, who says this could be the strongest since at least 2006. He thinks consumers are "in the best shape they've been in about 10 years heading into the holiday season." He is also projecting more of the spending to be online this year than at brick-and-mortar stores.

Unseasonably warm weather has been bad for retail, as consumers have not been buying cold-weather gear. With Black Friday coming up, the stakes are high for stores that ordered cold-weather gear based on last year's temperatures. Macy's posted a 3% drop in third-quarter revenue to $6.1 billion and lowered its forecast for the year. The company plans markdowns this quarter on winter gear.

France is the most-visited country in the world, with more than 80 million foreign visitors annually, but those numbers are down sharply as tourists are canceling trips since the Nov. 13 Paris attacks. Big conventions have been postponed, too, as have music acts, including U2. Museums and spots like the Eiffel Tower are under heavy guard, and shopping at large stores means getting to re-visit the airport security experience. Two big Paris chains say they've suffered a 30% to 50% drop in sales.