Retailers and consumer products companies are on charging toward a touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday.

Consumer spending related to the big game Feb. 5 is expected to reach an all-time high this year, with the average watcher projected to shell out $63.87 on Super Bowl-related merchandise -- from team apparel and TVs to snacks -- up from $59.33 in 2011, according to a new survey by the National Retail Federation's Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, conducted by BIGInsight.

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By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Yes, the New England Patriots and New York Giants will interrupt the entertainment to run some football plays, but everyone knows that the Super Bowl is really all about the commercials.

With advertisers spending a record average of $3.5 million this year for 30 seconds of pitch time, sponsors certainly seem to think that they'll be getting their money's worth. But will their shareholders feel the same way?

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By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool

Fans of John Hughes' classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off will have to keep waiting for a real sequel.

A teaser with Matthew Broderick reprising his role as the happy-go-lucky Bueller -- sort of -- is actually a taste of a Honda (HMC) commercial that will make its television debut during Sunday's Super Bowl.

Facebook, Twitter, and blogs were ablaze earlier this month with buzz that Broderick's middle-aged turn as Bueller wanting a day off from work was actually a precursor to a full-blown movie. The fact that Hughes died two years ago didn't seem to matter. The lack of production buzz in a day and age where few things in Hollywood can be kept secret didn't really register. The teaser pointing to Feb. 5 -- commercial-intensive Super Bowl Sunday -- didn't tip off faithful fans of the coming-of-age comedy.

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By The Associated Press
About two-thirds of smartphone and tablet owners use their gadgets to do things like text or post on Twitter while watching TV, according to research firm Nielsen. So, for Sunday's game, companies from Coke (KO) to Chevy are trying to reach fans on all the "second screens" they have.

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By John Rosevear

Toyota (TM) may have lost the U.S. sales lead, but it still leads in one key survey -- and that lead should give fans of the automaker hope as it gears up to retake lost ground.

Toyota retained its crown in the latest edition of Consumer Reports' annual survey of auto-brand perception, a sign that many consumers remain loyal to the company despite its struggles in recent years.

But the survey also showed that homegrown competitor Ford (F) is rapidly closing the gap. And other brands aren't far behind.

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By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool

Now that Facebook has filed its paperwork to go public, we're getting our first real glimpse at the inner workings of the world's largest social networking website.

It's pretty impressive.

Let's set aside the potential for Facebook's valuation to get out hand. We're still several weeks away from actual deal pricing and retail investor reactions. What we have now are the company's fundamentals.

Let's dive into a few of the numbers that may surprise you.

This week, Walletpop Canada highlighted a 24/7 Wall St. report which named the "9 Big Companies That Will Disappear in 2012". Included on that list was American Airlines.

So far, it seems those predictions are spot on. CNN Money is reporting that American Airlines plans to cut 13,000 Jobs:

"American Airlines told its unions Wednesday it plans to cut 13,000 jobs from the staff of 88,000 at (America's) No. 3 airline.

The cuts will fall most heavily on the airline's maintenance operations, which will lose 4,600 jobs. More than 4,000 additional ground worker jobs will be eliminated, as will 2,300 flight attendant jobs."

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By Chuck Saletta, The Motley Fool
According to a recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management, some 83% of HR professionals think that personal financial challenges have at least some impact on employees' performance. Those same HR professionals aren't blind to economic reality -- 80% of them believe that employees at their organizations are facing more financial challenges than they were five years ago.

And it's not a stretch to connect the dots: How you manage your own money can have an impact on the work you do for your company.

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For the CEO's of these companies, 2011 couldn't end fast enough.

Will 2012 bring better fortunes for these organizations?

24/7 Wall St. compiled its list of companies most likely to vanish by focusing on those that are serious mergers and acquisitions targets, those that are weak players in industries with too many competitors for any to become highly profitable, corporations that Wall Street believes are worth more in parts than intact, and generally, those in good old-fashioned deep fiscal trouble.

Theses are the 9 companies that we're betting won't survive to see 2013.

To view our gallery, click here or on the pictures below.



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By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool

As news spread of the tragic Costa Concordia accident, you could hear the groans floating up from landlubbers everywhere.

• "That's why you won't find me on some fancy cruise ship."
• "There has got to be an easier way to see Europe."
• "I had a great time on a cruise last summer, but I'm never setting foot on a boat again."

Carnival's (CCL) luxury liner tipping over after running aground on a rock off the Tuscan coast was horrific. Fatal travel accidents always are. And while such events are extremely rare on the major cruise lines, even one is enough to scare people away from taking a floating getaway. But that's not the only reason why now may be the best time to book a cruise.

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