Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Thursday that the software giant is urgently working with its partners to unveil a host of tablet computers running Windows 7, to compete with Apple's fast-selling iPad.

It could quite possibly be called the worst job on Earth -- and the position is open.

Despite a mixed performance on Friday, stocks booked the best monthly gain in a year, with the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 both rising nearly 7% in July.

China has surpassed Japan to become the world's second largest economy, lagging only behind the United States, a Chinese government official said in remarks published on Friday.

Michelle Spranger and Scott Zuckerberg have been husband and wife for eight years, but they've yet to marry their finances.