TechBiz

Microsoft's (MSFT) Bing is about to get more user friendly thanks to a Facebook-inspired makeover. The new three-column results layout, set to debut over the next few weeks, is Microsoft's first foray into social search-results. The main column will still emphasize core web results, while a center "Snapshot" section provides instant access to services like restaurant rankings or hotel comparisons. On the far right is the most notable addition, a grey-colored "Sidebar" that allows a searcher to scour Facebook and other social networks for answers (examples here). (Microsoft owns and publishes TechBiz, an MSN Money site.)

The new Bing has a clear philosophical difference from Google's (GOOG) contentious take on social search, which obtrusively mixes Google Plus search results in with a user's main feed. "We're honoring the purity of the core web results making it easier to focus on the links you need to get things done," writes Bing in a blog post.

Could the savvy new redesign snag a few Googlers away?

By Danielle Kucera, Sanat Vallikappen and Christine Harper

Eduardo Saverin, the billionaire co- founder of Facebook, renounced his U.S. citizenship before an initial public offering that values the social network at as much as $96 billion, a move that may reduce his tax bill.

Facebook plans to raise as much as $11.8 billion through the IPO, the biggest in history for an Internet company. Saverin's stake is about 4 percent, according to the website Who Owns Facebook. At the high end of the IPO valuation, that would be worth about $3.84 billion. His holdings aren't listed in Facebook's regulatory filings. Saverin, 30, joins a growing number of people giving up U.S. citizenship, a move that can trim their tax liabilities in that country. The Brazilian-born resident of Singapore is one of several people who helped Mark Zuckerberg start Facebook in a Harvard University dorm and stand to reap billions of dollars after the world's largest social network holds its IPO.

By Debra Borchardt

In case you haven't heard, Facebook is planning an IPO. Not just an ordinary launch, but an offering to beat all offerings. The social network giant hopes (and probably will) raise $10.6 billion.

That should spark a huge run on IPOs, right?

Not necessarily. In fact, there's a good chance it may make the rest of the IPO candidates out there pale by comparison and a few reticent to launch at all.

By Therese Poletti for MarketWatch

Most investors realize that unless they work for a big mutual fund or institution, they won’t likely be able to buy shares of Facebook when it makes its debut late next week.

Facebook’s upcoming IPO, which is expected to value the company at around $95 billion, is the biggest Internet IPO since Google (GOOG) went public in 2004. There even will be shares allotted to retail investors, with perhaps 20% to 25% of the offering going to retail or online brokerage firms catering to average investors and day traders.

By Richard Saintvilus

It amazes me that Wall Street still does not fully appreciate the turnaround story that is networking giant Cisco (CSCO). Even more disappointing, many analysts do not really seek to understand, but instead carry on the notion that they've got it all figured out.

I will concede that Cisco has indeed made more than its shares of mistakes -- some of which have allowed newcomers like F5 (FFIV) and Riverbed (RVBD) to encroach on its territory and steal some market share. For this, it is clear that Wall Street still carries a grudge. But leading into the company's fiscal third-quarter results and coming on the heels of three consecutive earnings beats, I was optimistic in thinking that it was time to let bygones be bygones. Investors had different ideas.