Wall Street was apparently put on notice yesterday by President Barack Obama's nomination of former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White to head the Security and Exchange Commission and his simultaneous bid -- once more -- to have former Ohio Atty. Gen. Richard Cordray confirmed by the Senate as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an operation he has been running with fervor for the past year.

We could talk about Apple's disconcerting results, McDonald's tepid expectations or the high price of tea (and everything else) in China, but why not head toward the end of the week with an upbeat story line? Netflix.

Microsoft, whose Windows operating system and applications are part of Dell's DNA, is said to be mulling a multibillion-dollar investment in the leveraged buyout of the company being engineered by founder Michael Dell, with private equity firm Silver Lake Partners taking the lead.

Why would McDonald's want to go messing with a brand name that is consistently rated as one of the world's most powerful and, a new survey says, has the qualities that best drive loyalty to quick-service restaurants? On the surface, that's what it may seem to be doing by renaming 13 outlets "Macca's," which is the Aussie equivalent of Mickey D's. In reality, concludes Mark Wembridge in today's "Financial Times," if you think of it as an effective publicity stunt, "fair dinkum."

The biggest lesson gleaned from Subway's foot-long fiasco last week is obvious: It doesn't take much to kick off a social-media stampede followed by a mainstream media steamrolling. The question is whether Subway's response, sincere and honest as it may have seemed, comes across as half baked.

There's something different in the air. Just how special seems to be a matter of hardy debate. American Airlines, whilst in bankruptcy and reportedly in discussions with US Airways about a merger, ceremoniously unveiled a new logo replacing the "iconic" Helvetica AA on its tail with bolder colors and red-white-and-blue stripes, as well as an updated eagle.

Top banks, hit hard by rate-rigging scandals and unsupervised play by junior-level traders, are burnishing their images by reestablishing that integrity is indeed a virtue and, if you don't agree, Junior Staff Member, please seek employment elsewhere.

Daniel J. Edelman, who founded his eponymous agency in Chicago in 1952 and "pioneered public relations as a corporate marketing tool," as the "Wall Street Journal"'s Stephen Miller observes, died yesterday at 92 of congestive heart failure. He had remained active until recently in the firm, which has remained independent under the leadership of his son, Richard, with 66 offices and more than 4,500 employees worldwide.

Coca-Cola unveiled a two-minute commercial yesterday that puts itself squarely in the national discussion about obesity -- as well as in the crosshairs of long-time critics. It's the opening salvo in what Coke promises will be an ongoing campaign.

It turns out that the car that's going back to the future isn't a DeLorean after all. It's a seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette dubbed the Stingray in homage to the classic sports car that first vrooomed onto the tarmac 60 years ago but hasn't carried that nameplate since the mid-'70s.