Google Inc. (GOOG) continues to broaden its reach in the technology sector, and today the company announced that it plans to launch its Google TV platform globally in 2011.

The company gave a demonstration of the new platform today in Berlin, illustrating how a Google search bar would appear on top of the TV and allow users to search both the internet and live TV listings.

Former Goldman Sachs (GS) employee Sergey Aleynikov is being held on three counts of theft of trade secrets, cross-border transport of stolen property, and unauthorized computer access after he allegedly stole computer codes related to the company's high-frequency trading programs upon his resignation in April of 2009.

According to CNBC, "Goldman attributes millions of dollars of its annual profits to those propriety codes. Also in April, Aleynikov accepted a position at Teza Technologies to program a similar trading platform."

A modest setback on the global economic front as confidence in the world economy fell in February on concern worsening fiscal conditions in selected countries will hinder the global recovery, a new Bloomberg News survey indicated.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index (BPGCI) fell to 54.9 in February from a record-high 66.6 in January, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday. However, the index remained above 50 for the seventh consecutive month. Readings above 50 mean there were more optimists than pessimists in the survey. The index was at 58.9 in December.

More modest good news on the global economic front, as confidence in the world economy rose amid a pick-up in both manufacturing and service sector activity, a new Bloomberg News survey indicated.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index (BPGCI) rose to a record-high 66.6 in January from 58.9 in December, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday. Further, the index remained above 50 for the sixth consecutive month. Readings above 50 mean there were more optimists than pessimists in the survey.

Last summer, two Bloomberg News reporters filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the records of Federal Reserve secret transactions during the financial meltdown. The transactions relate to the $2 trillion U.S. loan program launched after the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. In August, a federal judge ordered that the information be released.

Now, the Federal Reserve is appealing the ruling. The appeal states that "The disclosure of highly sensitive documents including 231 pages of daily lending reports, threatens to stigmatize lenders and cause them severe and irreparable competitive injury."

Bloomberg News took a recent poll of its subscribers. Here are some highlights of the survey:

• Only 31% of investors saw investment opportunities in the stock market, down from 35% in the July survey.
• Worldwide, investors see the U.S. as the weakest link in the world economy. Twenty five percent of respondents see an unemployment rate of 11% in the U.S. next year.
• Respondents see China and India as the most promising markets and commodities are the asset of choice.
• Real Estate and bonds are out of favor, with 40% saying that bonds will have the worst returns over the next year.

As you walk by the corner of East 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, it's hard to miss Manhattan's temple to retail tech. The Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) store stands out amid the older, more traditional stores in the area -- both for its giant glass cube and what happens when you descend into it. So, is it so hard to believe that Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) move into the space could be successful?

At the turn of the century, the notion of Apple stores was mocked, with BusinessWeek proclaiming in May 2001, "Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work." Of course, it turns out BusinessWeek is what doesn't work, as evidenced by its recent acquisition by Bloomberg.

When the financial crisis really got into full swing, a lot of banks ended up taking TARP money. Some banks needed it, and some banks were forced by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to take it.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was one of those banks that was forced to take TARP money, and now it is making plans to pay the TARP money back.

Here's the interesting thing though. While many of the larger banks have paid the TARP money back, Wells Fargo says it is going to pay the money back without having to go out and raise additional funds for the bank -- something other large banks, like Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS), didn't do.

Need another 'green shoot' to bolster your investment sentiment? Try this one: confidence in the global economy surged to a 22-month high in August on signs the worst global recession since the end of World War II is nearing an end.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index soared to 58.12 this month from 39.13 in July. The survey sampled more than 2,300 Bloomberg users August 3-7.

The recession has led to belt-tightening all around, including tax increases and spending cuts to balance state and local budgets.

Further, the City of New York, under the leadership of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has done a pretty good job closing its budget deficit, while maintaining essential public services.

What does it mean when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers issuing bonds to raise cash? Obviously, the organization would be seeking more money to pursue its agenda, but what else could be inferred by this? How would the dynamics of world economic power wielding be affected? What effect could this have on the natural ebb and flow of free market capitalism? How would U.S. Treasuries be affected?

This possible bond issue was examined recently by Bloomberg.com. The Bloomberg article points to what I think is the most significant aspect that an IMF bond issue would present. I'm concerned that IMF bonds would directly compete with U.S. Treasury bonds. That possibility is fodder for a great deal of speculation.

Bestselling author and financial markets guru Nassim Nichola Taleb has a novel idea: Try to make the US economy as different from Bernie Madoff as we can.

Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Taleb said that "We want economic life to be organized to be as distant from that Madoff model as we can." The private equity industry is Ponzi-like because "you rely on new investors to pay off the other ones," Taleb said. "The stock market has some mild Ponzi characteristics. We have to make sure that innocent people are not harmed by this Ponzi-attribute."

Ah. Well that's the role of the SEC, right? Wrong.

"Regulators are fundamentally dumb," Taleb added. "Traders will go around them. I want the system where regulators can be stupid without you and I being harmed by it."

If we're going to try to move away from the Madoff model of economic policy, there are quite a few places we could start, but this one's my favorite: The United States government is buying cars from General Motors (NYSE: GM) to help the company demonstrate viability and secure more government loans.

Or we could take the principled stance and admit that what Madoff is doing isn't different from what Wall Street and the government dose everyday with little fanfare -- and let him get back to work.

Poor Steve Jobs! He recently asked a Bloomberg reporter: "Why don't you guys leave me alone?" In addition to having some vague health problems which require him to take a leave of absence from his position as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO, Apple's disclosure about Jobs's health is now under review by the SEC. Unfortunately for Jobs, the SEC cannot treat the CEO of a public company the same as it might an actress, such as Greta Garbo, who famously said, " I want to be left alone."

To bring any case, the SEC would probably have to show Apple tried to benefit by withholding information about an unambiguous diagnosis. In other words, it looks like there may be some legal wiggle room for Apple in the way they communicated Jobs' health challenges.

But after months of rumors, a few weeks ago Jobs said he would remain CEO while seeking a "relatively simple" treatment for a hormonal imbalance. Nine days later, Jobs said he would take a five-month medical leave after learning his health issues were "more complex."

Meanwhile, Apple is scheduled to report earnings after the market closes this afternoon.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

The media has been filled with reports about how poorly the advertising at The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) has been doing. The company has $400 million in debt due next year. It is trying to sell its part of the parent company of The Boston Red Sox. NYT is even attempting to mortgage its headquarters building.

Bringing in new money won't do much long-term if revenue keeps falling. Cutting costs would.

One of the sections of The New York Times that must be costly to run is its business section. Looking at all the bylines, the staff must be in the dozens. But, a great deal of what runs in the business pages is not unique. Most of its is covered by Reuters, Bloomberg, FT, or The Wall Street Journal.

As the cost of being in the news business stays high and revenue drops, networks are pooling reporting resources. Newspapers are sharing coverage of certain geographic areas. Websites such as Politico are offering newspapers coverage of Washington to save money on having bureaus following the federal government.

The New York Times might be better off if it cut a deal with Bloomberg or the FT to handle its business section. The paper would still be competitive with The Wall Street Journal, and the move might be the start of a system to save a lot more money by doing something similar with other parts of the Times.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

This post is part of our feature on Money Winners of 2008. See them all.

In Michael Bloomberg, you're dealing not just with a person, but with a brand.

Bloomberg, of course, in 1982 founded what is now Bloomberg LLP, the firm that runs Bloomberg News, a financial news service that competes with Reuters, Dow Jones, and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) to provide breaking news, features, data, and analytics, among other products, to financial players worldwide.

Bloomberg ingeniously developed a product that essentially aggregated, summarized, and presented financial market data at a time when financial institutions -- particularly bond market participants -- were ripe for such a product, and along with editor and former Wall Street Journal reporter Matt Winkler, built a financial news empire known for its speed, accuracy, and comprehensive coverage of the markets.

Bloomberg's reward for the above, in monetary terms? About $20 billion in estimated net worth, good for eighth place on Forbes magazine's 400 Richest Americans list.