Microsoft announced this morning that consumers can now pre-order its Surface tablet, the latest mobile contender to Apple's iPad. Orders placed today will ship on Oct. 26, the same day a promotional blitz for the new tablet will hit 65 Microsoft stores, according to CNN.

In the ultimate David and Goliath story, the China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner and one of China's biggest state-owned firms, dropped its hostile bid to take over the much smaller, privately-held China Gas Holdings after a contentious struggle lasting nearly a year, according to major media stories.

The Wall Street Journal has recognized the world's hottest new innovations with its annual Technology Innovation Awards, highlighted in today's paper. Culled from 536 applications originating in two dozen countries, the 37 winners and runners up span 18 categories and include start-ups as well as larger, more established companies.

The police in this upscale coastal town have released 21 names of a suspected 150 clients who patronized an alleged prostitution ring disguised as a Zumba dance studio, CBS News reported this morning.

In the latest coup for what was an early Internet sensation when it the scene in the mid-nineties but has more recently been waning, Yahoo Inc. has recruited a top advertising sales executive from its rival Google, Vice President Henrique de Castro, as its new Chief Operating Officer. Mr. de Castro will take the reins from another Google veteran Marissa Mayer who has been CEO and President at Yahoo since July.

The Japanese telecommunications company Softbank Corp. has struck a deal to buy a 70 percent stake in Sprint Nextel for $20.1 billion.

After months of negotiations, the German retailer Douglas Holding, which is known throughout Europe for its perfumeries, jewelry and book stores, is well on the road to going private. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the company's founding family has joined private equity firm Advent International in a takeover offer.

U.S. retail sales rose 1.1 percent in Sept. according to data released on Monday from the Commerce Department, totaling $412.9 billion. The growth is better than expected and good news for the economy, since consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the country's total economic growth.

Private equity plays a pervasive role in all of our lives,whether we are aware of it or not. In "The New Tycoons," author Jason Kelly tells the stories of the men who created this trillion-dollar industry.

Although a new study by one of the world's largest actuarial firms, Milliman, found the 100 largest pension funds are underreporting their unfunded liabilities by about $300 billion, a spokeswoman for the firm said the amount was "insignificant." Large public funds remain skeptical of private equity.

An estimated 200 million pounds of explosives have been dumped in the world’s oceans, according to researchers from Texas A&M University.

The online, privately held lending company borro just received $26 million in new funding to expand its U.K. and U.S. operations. borro offers loans ranging from $1,000 to $1 million dollars secured against personal assets such as jewelry, fine art, classic cars or even wine collections. It just received $26

A recently released study by Dow Jones finds that venture capital-backed companies with female executives are more successful than those with only men in senior executive roles.

In what could be good news for the middle class (if President Barack Obama is re-elected), Vice President Joe Biden during a debate on Thursday with GOP vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan signaled a possible change in the Democrats' longstanding position on tax rate increases, raising the threshold for increases from families with annual incomes of more than $250,000, to those making one million or more.

Millennial Media, a six-year old independent company ranked No. 2 last year in mobile advertising sales in the United States, Reuters reported today. Its customers included 75 of the top 100 Ad Age advertisers.

The sale of at least $100 million in fraudulent renewable energy credits since 2009 has fueled arguments by oil and gas refineries opposed to their government-mandated purchase of such credits.

The third richest man in America and the sixth richest billionaire in the world, Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison, is interested in bidding on the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) sports and entertainment empire, Reuters reported this morning based on two inside sources.

Beano Cook, whose real name was Carroll Hoff Cook, passed away in his sleep, the University of Pittsburgh announced today, as reported by ESPN. He was 81.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt called the contentious relationship between Google and Apple, the industry's defining fight in an interview in New York on Wednesday.

A temporary injunction banning the sale of Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphones has been overturned, dealing a blow to Apple in its ongoing battle with the South Korean electronics giant.

Two dozen letters posted to the SEC's website a month after the company went public indicate the social media company attempted to overstate the number of users of its mobile devices and cited the wrong research in its February 1 filing with the SEC, according to Bloomberg News.

A Piper Jaffray survey shows that 40 percent of teens own an iPhone, according to Fortune. A recent survey showed that teens love their iProducts. Of 7,700 teens polled by the investment bank/ asset management firm Piper Jaffray, 40 percent owned an iPhone, and 62 percent planned to buy one.

Google announced that its new Jelly Bean upgrade, version 4.1.2, is available today. Now Google Nexus users can use their Android tablets horizontally.

The London-based HouseTrip, which allows users to rent out their homes while they're away, raised $40 million in its third-round of funding, from Europe's three largest venture capital firms.

Forerunner raised more funds than any other venture capital firm for the quarter, $41.7 million for its inaugural fund, Dow Jones reported yesterday. What the press release didn't mention is that Forerunner Ventures is a female-only firm.

Former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced in Pennsylvania today to 30 to 60 years in prison. Sandusky made an audio tape proclaiming his innocence that was aired by the university's radio station the evening before his sentencing.

Data released today by Dow Jones shows U.S. venture capital funds raised $16.2 billion for the year's first nine months, 31 percent more than last year for the same time period.

The New York Times reported that an "ambitious three-step plan" to side-step the economy's looming "Fiscal Cliff" on Jan. 1 has garnered bipartisan support according to lawmakers and aids.

Apple shares are down nearly 9 percent from its Sept. 21 intraday high of $707.07, the day the iPhone 5 went on sale, reported Yahoo Finance today. The site added, "That's 4 percent below its 50-day moving average of $658."

San Francisco-based venture capital firm Valar Ventures Management led a $10.47 million round of financing in the up-and-coming Brazilian furniture e-commerce store, Oppa, according to securities filings obtained by The New York Times. It is the firm's first venture into Brazil.