Amazon.com, Inc.

In the face of a global economic crisis, the world’s biggest brands are still going strong. According to Interbrand’s 2009 Best Global Brand rankings, the top five -- Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, GE and Nokia -- held their positions from 2008. But while Coca-Cola and IBM actually posted gains in their brand value, overall value for all 100 on the list fell 4.6 percent, marking the first such loss in the rankings’ 10-year history.

The economic downturn hasn’t caused consumers to disconnect from their favorite Web sites, a new survey by Stores magazine shows.

Target, Inc. plans to build and manage its own platform for its Web site (Target.com), which it expects to launch in advance of the holiday season in 2011, breaking a 10-year relationship with Amazon, which has been a strategic partner for its Web site for the past decade.

Tropicana, a division of PepsiCo, has joined with international trust Cool Earth on a campaign to help stem the devastation of the world’s rainforests. Through 2009, specially marked packages of Tropicana Pure Premium and Trop50 products will carry a code that consumers can enter online at www.tropicanarainforest.com. For each code entered, 100 square feet of rainforest will be saved.

None of the items is currently offered for sale online; instead, each item's entry offers a search link to check availability at a local store by zip code or city.

The world's largest retailer said it is making a commitment to improve the management of valuable and threatened forests.

For five straight years the World Tea Expo has grown in size and scope-and its latest iteration, which occurred May 30 to June 1 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, played host to 4,632 attendees and 284 exhibiting companies. Participants came from 49 countries, including Germany, Canada, Korea, India, and South Africa.

Customers' purchases to benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository