* The Wall Street Journal reports that social networking giant Facebook is getting closer to an initial public offering. The paper says the company is targeting a time frame between April and June of 2012. It is also allegedly exploring raising some $10 billion. That would assign Facebook a $100 billion valuation — twice the size of HP and 3M. Zuck’s take? $24 billion and change.
* Forthcoming Apple devices have been outed by the company’s iOS 5.1 software update, or so the blogs are saying. Code in the updates suggests a new iPad and an upcoming refresh of Apple TV. (9 to 5 Mac)
* Dell is trying to get in touch with its inner entrepreneur. The troubled PC-maker is attempting to compete with full-service tech giants like HP, Oracle and IBM by keeping its hands off its internal innovation efforts. Can it really act more like a startup? (Fortune)
* Mario ruled Black Friday. That’s a much-needed bit of good news for the battered game maker Nintendo, which is suffering a major decline otherwise. Its latest Mario and Zelda games were the fastest selling in both franchises’ histories. And, Nintendo sold some 500,000 units of its 3DS handheld, a 325% surge from the week of November 6. (USA Today)
* Time’s Brad Tuttle reports on “What We Learned from the Black Friday-Cyber Monday.” Tuttle writes that market research firm ComScore reports that online retail sales totaled $479 million on Thanksgiving Day 2011, up 18% from last year’s Turkey Day e-commerce tally. The rise in e-commerce on Black Friday was even greater, hitting $816 million compared to $648 million on Black Friday of 2010 — a 26% increase. What’s more, early online sales for Cyber Monday were booming — up 30% compared to the year before.
* Olympus is undergoing a review of its business structure in the wake of a major scandal that has plagued the iconic company. There is speculation that the firm may have to sell assets to survive the mounting scandal. Read about that here and get the latest moves here. (Reuters)
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