Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is an excitable guy and if there is one thing that excites more than anything else (as far as we know), it is his employer. Ballmer threw his energy behind a letter to stockholders that was released on Monday, informing the investment community that Microsoft was in the midst of a changing world and now considers itself a devices and services company.

In other words, Microsoft is following in the footsteps of Apple. Don’t worry, Microsoft, as the master brand, will still be producing great software, but the company wants to push its device products, such as the soon-to-be-released Surface tablet. But, as Ballmer says in his letter, the company will be putting extra emphasis on "new form factors that have increasingly natural ways to use them including touch, gestures and speech."Continue reading...

KitchenAid apologizes for anti-Obama tweet during presidential debate, the most-tweeted event in US political history, which saw Mitt Romney gain the upper hand on Barack Obama. Romney's anti-PBS comment on Big Bird also took over social media, while "Walmart mom" is the new soccer mom. The campaigns, judged the most negative in recent times, inspire JetBlue to offer chance to pull an Alec Baldwin and leave the country after election result.

HP warns about grim outlook, sending shares to lowest level in almost a decade.

Facebook passes one billion users with plans to charge to promote user posts, while Twitter measures brand impact with Nielsen.

Amazon now offers loans to small businesses.

American Airlines pulls 47 jets after loose-seat debacle as image suffers.

Apple rumors of smaller iPad persist as the #2 Best Global Brand earns kudos for admitting maps screw-up.Continue reading...

With quiet hoopla, Microsoft has changed its logo for the first time in a quarter of a century. The change signals an iterative leap forward for the grandfather of software, founded 37 years ago by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The charge will be led by Xbox 360, with a supporting role by the Windows phone.

The timing coincides with the upcoming elections and Microsoft’s push to embrace a younger, broader demo through its “Election 2012 on Xbox LIVE” hub on the Xbox 360 dashboard, set to launch August 27th as the GOP convention gets under way in Tampa.

Microsoft is making good on its earlier promise to make Xbox 360 a "media center." Through Xbox Live, users can participate in a daily polls via YouGov, register to vote through Rock the Vote, brush up on background information with Face the Facts USA, and watch the presidential debates and the Republican and Democratic National Conventions live, with coverage from NBC News.Continue reading...

Apple pays $60M to end iPad trademark dispute in China, looks to secure ipad3.com domain.

Barclays scandal forces out chairman, saying "the buck stops with me."

Bristol-Myers agrees to buy Amylin Pharmaceuticals for $5B in cash, expands diabetes alliance.

Rupert Murdoch will rebrand the Wall Street Journal as WSJ as part of News Corp. split.

AMC parent ends AT&T U-verse TV dispute with long-term agreement, as Dish feud continues.

Applebee's rolls out fresh menu, look and campaign.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch InBev hails adding Corona to stable of brands in $20 billion Modelo deal.

BlackBerry-maker RIM reports dire earnings, slashes 5,000 jobs and delays phone, sees shares plunge and erodes Canadian confidence.

Barclays faces political firestorm.

BMW and Toyota announce joint development of new sports car.

Coty nears IPO.

Family Dollar keeps thriving amid sluggish U.S. economy.

Ford warns of weaker profit because of Europe.Continue reading...

The images may make it look like a notebook, but Microsoft's new Surface line is all about tablets. As the center of the computing industry continues to shift from PC to mobile, Microsoft, maker of keyboards and mice for three decades, is directly challenging Apple’s iPhone and iPad dominance with the Surface sub-brand.

"Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen made a big bet — a bet on software — but it was always clear that we had to push hardware in ways that sometimes manufacturers hadn't envisioned," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at Monday's unveiling. "We believe that any intersection between human and machine can be made better when all aspects, hardware and software, are working together."Continue reading...

America is settling in for a long summer of campaigning between the Democratic candidate President Obama and the Grand Old Party’s Mitt Romney. News of minor flubs by candidates and those who work for them will come up at bars, barbecues, and ice-cream joints across the land (or be completely avoided, for everyone’s safety).

Americans will likely hear a constant media drumbeat about red states vs. blue states that will be so loud, it will seem that the country is about to burst into a Civil War.

Just in time for this comes a new study from Buyology that members of the two political parties don’t just disagree on their candidates. They also mostly disagree on the brands they love, though there are three that help bring them together. Next time a president wants to have a bipartisan summit of some sort, he or she might want to involve Coke, Apple, and Visa. Those three names were named by both parties as brands they love.Continue reading...

Starbucks acquires San Francisco's La Boulange Bakery for $100M to improve food menu and build out national premium brand.

Amazon acquires Avalon Books.

Bank of America execs explain how they hid Merrill Lynch losses. 

China embraces robot labor.

FedEx retires jets to cut costs.

Foursquare teases new app.

Google appears poised to buy Meebo as social agency M&A continues.

Marriott looks to expand through acquisitions.

Microsoft unveils Xbox Music as replacement for Zune.Continue reading...