Google Inc (GOOG) News: New Leader, Reiterated Rating, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) a Common Foe & More

Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Google Appoints Its Next Leader for Greater China (WSJ)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) said current China head John Liu will step down in mid-August as the company looks outside the greater China region for its next leader in what has been a challenging market. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) said in an emailed statement Monday that the current head of its partnerships in Europe, Scott Beaumont, will take over for Mr. Liu. Google said Mr. Liu is departing to pursue “other opportunities,” without elaborating. Mr. Liu didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Google and Microsoft are enemies in court, frenemies in Congress (WashingtonPost)
Even as they battle in courts over smartphone and video technology, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) have discovered a common foe: patent owners who try to sue their customers or go after an entire industry. Both companies are seeking to curb the litigation practices of firms that buy patents with the sole purpose of demanding royalties from as many end-users as they can, even if it means suing a pizza parlor or non-profit. Anger has united a cross section of retailers, finance companies, public-transit operators and hotels, and even caught the attention of President Barack Obama, who last month announced corrective measures.

Google Rating Reiterated by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GOOG) (DailyPolitical)
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, StockRatingsNetwork.com reports. “Google will report 2Q13 results July 18th. We are modeling consolidated revenue and non-GAAP EPS of $14.35bn and $10.36, versus consensus of $14.45bn and $10.79. We are forecasting Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) stand alone revenue of $13.32bn (+2% qoq and +16% yoy), in line with consensus.

The merger of Google and Apple? (ITVoir)
The relationships between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and have drastically improved over the past year with the two technology companies and partners as well, conducting a plethora of meetings and summits, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt said. Schmidt however, did not any provide details regarding the nature of the meetings during comments. Schmidt once was a part of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s board of directors, but the relationship between the two companies had now frayed as competition had increased majorly.