COMPANIES

Citing several sources, Citi analyst Richard Gardner said in a note that the iPad 3 will launch in February with a screen that has double the resolution of Apple's most recent model, the iPad 2. Such a screen enhancement would improve the iPad's graphics to sharpness levels available on Apple's popular iPhone 4 and 4S, according to CNET.

The Arkansas Supreme Court has reversed a murder conviction because a juror tweeted and another slept during the trial.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Blue Coat Systems, Silver Standard Resources, Golar LNG, Logitech and Perrigo. The top pre-market NASDAQ losers are: Sears Holdings, Lattice Semiconductor, Intel, ProShares UltraPro and First Niagara Financial.

As we cast our eyes over the year that was, the computer tablet market across the world strikes one as having been the sort of space most affected by a constant stream of products, with each one trying to outdo the other, in terms of innovation, design, components and performance. At the end of it all, however, if you've played the waiting game, hoping that 2012 will be an even better year, here is a brief rundown of what to expect...

The only rule at Loosecubes' office in DUMBO is you have to play nice with others. Words to that effect have been etched in Old English on a wooden placard that hangs near the doorway. Pass that lone condition and you're free to use the company's massive studio, a cavernous room with a makeshift meeting area made from a large canvas tent standing on artificial turf, pinned smack dab in the middle of all the desks.

Panasonic Corp, which has warned it will post a $5.5 billion annual loss, will launch a smartphone in Europe next year, the latest Japanese maker to tiptoe late into a fiercely competitive market dominated by Samsung and Apple.

Luxury goods conglomerate, LVMH is believed to be planning for a £300 million investment on three stores on one of the most expensive shopping areas in London.

U.S. federal prosecutors, on Thursday, recommended a 15-month prison sentence for former Major League Baseball outfielder Barry Bonds.

The Coca-Cola company has exhibited its secret formula at its World of Coca-Cola corporate museum in Atlanta for the first time, much to the joy of its signature drink fans.

American clothing brand, Banana Republic, celebrated the arrival of their first store in France with a launch party attended by the crème-de-la-crème of the industry.

MIPS Technologies Inc. has announced NOVO7, the world's first tablet with the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android.

Zynga Inc Chief Executive Mark Pincus said the social games company can double the number of its paying players but he and other executives sidestepped questions about player retention and churn rates, speaking at a luncheon ahead of its IPO.

Smithfield Foods, the McDonald's McRib pork supplier that has come under fire from The Humane Society of the United States, said Thursday its progress toward conversion from gestation crates for its pigs was on track to be completed by 2017.

Real estate developer Forest City Enterprises reported a net loss of $41.9 million, or 25 cents per share, in the third quarter ending Oct. 31, down from $50.6 million, or 33 cents per share, loss in 2010.

The report was the result of a 2010 law requiring a survey of New York's jury pools to determine whether jurors represent a fair cross-section of the population.

Prospects for revenue growth for U.S. insurance brokers in 2012 will likely match or exceed levels reported for the first nine months of 2011. Nevertheless, the competitive fundamentals of the property/casualty insurance market and tepid pace of the global economic recovery will continue to challenge more meaningful improvement in operating performance, Fitch Ratings said Thursday.

Virginia Tech officials have lifted the campus lockdown and said they have recovered a weapon following the shooting death of a police officer and an unidentified man on Thursday.

McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) reported a bigger-than-expected rise in November sales at established restaurants across the board, led by big gains in Japan, China and a strong showing in its top revenue market of Europe.

Costco Wholesale saw first-quarter profits jump 2.6 percent and revenue rise 13 percent in its fiscal first quarter of 2012, the company announced Thursday.

Family Court Judge Susan Larabee refused to release the 12-year-old boy who pushed a shopping cart from the fourth-floor walkway outside a Target store in Harlem, striking 47-year-old mother and philanthropist Marion Hedges and putting her into a coma, from minimum security jail because of his history of erratic behavior.

With the millions of iPhones, BlackBerrys and Androids sold in the U.S., the massive demand for data use is far exceeding the supply of spectrum - the range of all possible frequencies through which signals can be transmitted.

Overstock.com and Barnes & Noble are working as partners to help sell books through the Nook Store. The partnership can help Barnes & Noble compensate for the company's poor physical book sales.

A gunman killed a police officer and another person on Thursday at Virginia Tech University, the site of one of the worst shooting rampages in U.S. history, school officials said.

A Virginia Tech police officer and an unidentified victim were shot and killed by an unidentified suspect on Thursday afternoon on the school's campus.

Your morning cereal ritual may pack more of a sugary punch than you thought. A new study has found that some popular cereal brands contain more sugar per serving than a Twinkie or three Chips Ahoy! cookies.

The contract that established Apple as a corporate entity in 1976 and another document, signed 11 days later, that removed one of the partners are expected to fetch up to $150,000 when they are auctioned next week by Sotheby's.

Following the shooting death of two people on its campus on Thursday, Virginia Tech authorities have advised visitors to stay away from the campus.

Daily deals site LivingSocial is raising a targeted $400 million in a private offering of which over $176 million of that amount has already been raised, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

At least two people have been confirmed dead after shots were fired at Virginia Tech University on Thursday afternoon.