Clouds Ahead for Microsoft

According to the New York Times, the forecast for Microsoft (MSFT) is “partly cloudy.” While the company is planning a high-profile software release later on this week, doubts remain whether Microsoft can build as much buzz as its rivals. Its chief software architect says the company is reinventing itself or at least trying to. The article says that it's got stiff competition: “Consumers now buy more PCs than businesses do, and their wants and desires for better-looking devices have invaded the cubicle. The current breed of consumer has shown an ability to turn something like the Apple (AAPL) iPhone into an overnight sensation, then demand that companies embrace it. Google (GOOG), meanwhile, uses its influential Web search and YouTube properties to introduce people to its e-mail, document and Web browser software, and Facebook now provides inspiration to business software makers.”

Also from the Times, Congress has given the Federal Communications Commission a mandate to produce a plan with specific recommendations regarding faster Internet connections by next February. The paper says, “Congress is clearly irritated that the United States has not done well in the international broadband Olympics. Other countries have national plans to accelerate the diffusion of broadband; America does not.” Still, there’s no need to race, the paper explains. “We shouldn’t get caught up, however, in a space-race panic. We’ve actually done surprisingly well making a broadband connection accessible to a vast majority of American households. No less than 96 percent of households either subscribe to or have access to broadband service, according to an F.C.C. task force, which presented a status report to the commission last month.”

CNNMoney.com reports that the country’s tally of bank casualties for this year hit 99 on Friday night. State regulators shut down San Joaquin Bank, based in Bakersfield, Calif.—the 10th bank to fail in the state. The Web site says, “There are about 8,000 banks in the nation, and an average of 10 banks have failed per month this year, nearly four times the number that failed in 2008. This is the highest tally since 1992, when 181 banks failed.”

The Washington Post reports that Verizon (VZ0) and Motorola have at last revealed their new Droid Android phone, which could be available as soon as the end of this month. “Make no mistake, this is Android's flagship product, and the first phone that will pose a significant threat to Apple's iPhone,” the paper says. “The Droid poses a different and more significant challenge to the iPhone than any other phone to date. The Palm Pre could have been that challenger, but it lacked the Verizon network, and users were unimpressed with the hardware.” According to the paper’s sources, the phone is “the most sophisticated mobile device to hit the market to date from a hardware standpoint.”

Finally, from Reuters, big rule changes meant to shed light on so-called “dark pools,” could end up hurting the traditional investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission meets  this week to discuss changes that the industry largely expects will bring more clarity to these exchanges. Still, the article states, “Executives at a conference said political pressure had a hand in pushing new regulations. They argued that although some changes may be needed, a lack of understanding the way orders circulate among the more than 40 U.S. trading venues could lead to poorer prices and executions for mutual funds, pension funds, and individual retail investors.”