COMPANIES

It's been long reported that Apple's next big product event, which is said to unveil the new iPhone 5, a new "iPad Mini," and even new iPod and Mac models, will allegedly occur on Wednesday, Sept. 12. If company history repeats itself, it's possible that Apple will release the press invitations eight days prior to the event's date, either today (Tuesday) or Wednesday.

Consider this a case of Hermès versus Louis Vuitton that doesn't involve trying to figure out which $3,000 designer handbag to buy.

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social networking site, went into a freefall Tuesday, plunging about 2.5 percent to keep setting new lows. After falling as low as $17.58 in late morning, they recovered slightly to $17.63, down 43 cents, after the first two hours of trading.

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD), the US-based fast-food restaurant chain headquartered in Illinois long known for its beef-based burgers of all shapes and sizes announced plans on Tuesday to open its first ever vegetarian-exclusive restaurants in India.

Bellevue, Wash.-based Valve, the software developer behind the critically-acclaimed Half-Life series, the Steam network for distributing games and the Source engine, is reportedly interested in building hardware. Valve, which was founded by two former Microsoft employees in Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, added a job posting to its site on Tuesday morning for an industrial designer.

Global automakers report August U.S. car sales, Tuesday. Follow the blog for the latest updates from Chrysler, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), General Motors Company (NYSE: GM), Nissan Motor Co. (Tokyo: 7201), Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC), Volkswagen AG (Frankfurt: VOW) and Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM).

Demonoid could be making a comeback, but after the founder of the Pirate Bay was arrested, the BitTorrent site might not be as inclined to return.

Griselda Blanco, a former drug lord for the Medellín Cartel and a pioneer in the Miami-based cocaine drug trade, was gunned down in Columbia by an assassin on Monday.

Cambodia has decided to deport popular BitTorrent site Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, who was arrested Aug.30, for violation of copyright laws and enabling illegal downloading of music and films.

The cabin crew of Lufthansa (LHA) airlines is staging a strike at three German airports Tuesday in their second walkout in a 13-month wage dispute that has resulted in the cancellation of 208 flights in Frankfurt.

Shaji Farooq, Infosys's financial services head in the U.S. has resigned and has joined rival business group Wipro.

The online version of the 328-page catalog released August 21, 2012, features 12 percent of 3D content, while for the next year it is bound to go up to 25 percent.

Samsung Electronics (005930) appears to be taking stock of things after the California jury ordered the South Korean giant to pay $1.05 billion in damages to Apple (AAPL) for violating patents pertaining to iPhone and iPad.

When Gottfrid Svartholm was arrested in Cambodia, it signaled BitTorrent sites that governments around the world will continue to cooperate in the effort to stop online piracy -- something Demonoid, Megaupload.com, the Pirate Bay, and others already know.

With just 10 days to go for the Apple September 12 event, a new video on Vietnamese portal Tinhte.vn showcases redesigned earphones that is likely to accompany the next-generation iPhone.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX: 005930) on Saturday accused Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) of resorting to litigation in an attempt to limit consumer choice after the iPhone maker said it was seeking to halt U.S. sales of Galaxy S3 smartphones.

The patent war between Apple and Samsung will apparently never end as the iPhone-maker filed a revised complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Friday, in which it added two versions Samsung's Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note to its original complaint against Galaxy Nexus and other related devices.

Shortly after Demonoid was removed from the Internet, the popular site uTorrent announced it would begin to sell advertisements on its service, signaling to the Motion Picture Association of America and Recording Industry Association of America that the battle against online piracy will only get tougher.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), the No. 2 computer company, said it will start providing services in the cloud for consumer electronics makers, starting with Dutch giant Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG).

American Airlines parent AMR Corp (AAMRQ.PK) and US Airways Group Inc (LCC.N) have signed a non-disclosure agreement as they evaluate a potential merger that would create an airline that rivals leader United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N) in scope.

The Sphero is a new kind of toy that tries to blend virtual gaming with physical toys in what its creators call "mixed reality." But before it does that, co-creator Ian Bernstein wants users to become more friendly with their machines.

Company responds to a video clip of a Pyongyang pizza joint serving its most popular soft drink. The world's largest beverage company says its product was probably brought in from a neighboring country.

Hype surrounding the iPhone 5 continues to mount in the days leading up to Apple's media event, allegedly scheduled for Sept. 12, in which the Cupertino, Calif.-based computers company is expected to unveil a brand-new iPhone, among other new products. Given the news, rumors and patents surrounding the phone's alleged features, there are plenty of reasons why Apple could be most proud of the next iPhone's screen.

Lamborghini, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG (Frankfurt: VOW), may seek to reinvent itself as it plans a successor to the popular Gallardo and works to bring the Urus SUV concept to market.

A reported $30 million worth of maple syrup was stolen out of a Quebec warehouse last week, according to the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.

Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins Publishers will have to issue reimbursements ranging from 25 cents to $1.32 per book to customers who paid inflated e-book prices between April 1 and May 21, 2010.

The Bank of Spain announced on Friday that capital outflow from the country had increased by almost 40 percent in June 2012.

Lufthansa was forced to cancel more than 200 flights and delay many more at Frankfurt Airport, Germany?s busiest, following a strike by the Independent Flight Attendants Organization, or UFO, that lasted from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. local time on Friday.

If Apple's history can predict its future, we might expect the Cupertino, Calif.-based company to release invitations to its media event, allegedly scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 12, eight days prior on Tuesday, Sept. 4. This reported date is not based on fact, or word from any source from within Apple; this is rather based on Apple's past when it comes to releasing its media event invitations.