Apple’s Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who spent months on medical leave, will open an annual developers’ conference on June 6 showcasing the iPad maker’s latest computer software and a new cloud computing service. But it’s unclear if he’s returning from medical leave or simply kicking off the conference.

Jobs and his team plan to unveil a new cloud-based service called iCloud, which will offer remote computing and data over the Internet, and a slew of software upgrades at the conference including Lion, its Mac OS X computer operating system, and iOS 5, the next version of its mobile operating system.

Nokia abandoned hope of meeting key targets just weeks after setting them, raising questions over whether its new boss can deliver on the turnaround he promised in February.  The news sent its shares tumbling 18 percent to their lowest in 13 years, wiping some $5.5 billion off its market value. Investors are worried the company, once the leading force in its industry, is losing so much market share it may never regain its footing.

World Health Organization (WHO) cancer experts say using a cell phone may increase the risk of developing certain types of brain tumor and consumers should consider ways of reducing their exposure. A working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries meeting at the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) say a review of all the available scientific evidence suggested cell phone use should be classified as “possibly carcinogenic.” The WHO had previously said there was no established evidence for a link between cell phone use and cancer.

And for a sneak peak of the Cr-48 laptop, the first implementation of Google’s cloud-based Chrome operating system, give Steve Levy’s piece in Wired a read. Levy’s not quite sure we’re ready for a “cloud”-based future. See what you think.

Some see e-readers as the poor cousin to more glamorous tablets, but that may soon be about to change. Billionaire media mogul John Malone, whose Liberty Media owns DirecTV Group and the QVC shopping channel, may be interested in buying the Barnes & Noble chain specifically for its Nook e-reader, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking behind the deal.

The Nook is now the second biggest e-book seller, behind Amazon, which only yesterday announced is now selling more e-books than print books. With Liberty as a backer, Barnes & Noble and the Nook may be well positioned to compete against Amazon and Apple.

Hackers set their sights on Sony – again, this time hacking into the company’s Internet service provider So-Net, stealing virtual points worth $1,225 from account holders. This after Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported that Sony was considering re-starting its U.S. based online games service on Tuesday, after shutting it down last month when the company discovered hackers had accessed the accounts of more than 100 million users.

An explosion at a Foxconn factory in China shook Apple shares slightly, sending them one percent lower after local news media said the factory was involved in the production of the iPad2.

And the Reuters Global Technology Summit wrapped up with word that American consumers can soon expect to swipe their cellphones to pay for things as companies will soon begin to roll out their “virtual wallet” technology.

But don’t expect to swipe your smartphone for the latest tablet. “Right now we are looking at areas around low value transactions, as we’re trying to see what consumers want and how much they feel comfortable with, says James Rees from Orange, which launched launched Britain’s first mobile payments service today.

LinkedIn made its remarkable debut on the New York Stock Exchange, at times trading more than 171 percent above its IPO price of $45. The stampede to buy the stock had some remembering back to another time when investors also loved tech stock IPOs: the 1990s and the dotcom bubble.

Does the response to LinkedIn suggest investors are in for another bubble that bursts when the fundamentals overtake the hype? Or is it a sign that investors are hungry for any piece of the social media pie and LinkedIn’s happens to be first out of the oven? While Facebook, Groupon, Twitter and Zynga are still expected to go public, LinkedIn Chief Executive Jeff Weiner cautions that his company’s spectacular debut should not be seen as a proxy for them.

While American social media companies are testing the IPO waters, their European counterparts at Viadao, Mind Candy, Sulake and Telmap are expressing skepticism at the Reuters Global Technology Summit about the sky-high valuations of U.S. start-ups and the potential for another bubble.

Smartphone makers should take heart. Analysts do not think that Google and Apple have a stranglehold on the industry because the owners of other platforms like Windows Phone, webOS, bada and MeeGo have deep pockets.

And good news for those who don’t have room for built-in bookcases. Amazon says it is now selling more digital  e-books than print books on its best-selling Kindle e-reader.

Commodities trader Glencore will close the books for its planned $11 billion initial public offering a day ahead of schedule, underscoring strong investor demand for its shares despite volatile commodity markets. A source told Reuters on Friday the offer was already “multiple times covered” across the price range, but part of that success is due to the relatively small stake in the company being placed with funds and to Glencore’s size, which makes it a must-buy for many.

Takeda, Japan’s largest drugmaker, said on Friday it has not agreed to  buy Swiss rival Nycomed, following reports it was in talks to buy the privately held company for more than $12 billion. “Takeda is constantly seeking and evaluating opportunities to increase shareholder value and enhance our business through strategic investment; however, there is nothing that needs to be announced at this point,” Takeda said on its website.

Yum Brands is adding Chinese hot pot to its menu of fast-food restaurants with an offer to buy out China’s Little Sheep for $586 million, paying a premium to introduce the popular chain to a global audience and sending the restaurant’s shares to a record. Analysts said the deal was positive for both Yum Brands, the parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, as it expands in China and for Little Sheep, which has more than 300 restaurants, primarily in China, as it would help save costs.

Hertz Global Holdings is back in the market for smaller car rental firm Dollar Thrifty, offering close to $2.1 billion, taking advantage of rival Avis Budget’s problems getting regulatory clearance for a rival bid. Hertz first bid for Dollar Thrifty in April, 2010, but following a bidding war with Avis, the Hertz offer was voted down by Dollar Thrifty shareholders in September.

Volkswagen made a long-awaited bid for MAN, valuing it at $20 billion and stepping up plans to merge the German truckmaker with Swedish rival Scania in which it also holds a controlling stake. Europe’s largest carmaker made the offer, which is less than the stock was trading for last week, after it increased its stake above 30 percent, requiring a mandatory bid for the remaining shares under German rules. Volkswagen has been toying with plans to create Europe’s biggest truckmaker by merging MAN with Scania.

The New York Times DealBook profiles newly crowned department store prince Richard A. Baker. Just before the recession, Baker bought the Lord & Taylor and Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Company chains and most people expected the private equity dealmaker to lose his shirt. But Baker has proved the naysayers wrong.

Goldman Sachs is betting big on the word’s largest insurance market with its purchase of a 12 percent stake in China’s Taikang Life Insurance Co Ltd. Goldman’s deal could pave the way for Taikang’s planned initial public offering next year. Credit Suisse estimates China’s life insurance market –which generated $124 billion premium income in 2009 — will grow more than 20 percent per annum for the next decade.

BP’s proposed $16 billion share swap with Rosneft received a stay of execution when an arbitration panel gave it time to try to extend its April 14 deadline for the deal. The co-owners of BP’s Russian venture TNK-BP are trying to block the deal with Rosneft arguing that it violates TNK-BP’s shareholder agreement.  By not killing the deal outright, the panel has given BP time to either persuade TNK-BP to drop its case or cut them in on the deal.

U.S. securities regulators may ease constraints on share issues by private companies, making it easier for start-ups like Facebook, Twitter and Zynga to raise money, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Wall Street Journal’s Mike Spector provides an inside look at the intense bidding that took place for the Blockbuster chain on Wednesday night. A person who was at the auction says it “was at times like a ‘cage match’.”

The $1.2 billion sale by Swiss German chemical company BASF of its stake in K+S could trigger a battle amongst global mining giants for the German potash miner.

BASF sold its roughly 10 percent stake in the company as part of a shift away from the nitrogen fertilizer business in the face of competition from lower-cost producers in the Middle East. If Russian fertilizer company EuroChem sells its own K+S stake of 14% it could push the German miner into play, with majors such as BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto amongst the potential buyers.

The lagging economic recovery has made discount stores an attractive destination for pinched consumers and big investors alike. The Schiffer-Gold family, which currently owns 33% of 99 Cents Only Stores, is teaming up with buyout firm Leonard Green and Partners in a $1.34 billion bid to take the retailer private.

Leonard Green has embarked on a retail acquisition spree, having recently pitched up billion-dollar offers for J.Crew and craft products retailer Jo-Ann Stores.

Sources tell Reuters that Bain Capital is on the verge of completing the biggest private equity purchase of a company in Japanese history by buying the restaurant chain Skylark Co. from Nomura Holdings.

And finally, according to unpublished diplomatic cables, U.S. officials believe China’s insurance regulators passed on sensitive information about then-collapsing AIG to Chinese rivals to convince them to buy the troubled assets.

Arizona Public Service is giving fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks and green energy advocates something to cheer about.

APS plans to build a structure at the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field in Phoenix, the sunniest major city in America, which will do double duty by providing fans waiting in line with much needed shade and generate 75 kilowatts of solar power.

The power will go back into the grid as well as into a test battery storage system onsite which will provide power to electric vehicle charging stations.

The structure is no small, flimsy canopy. According to artist renderings the large rectangular structure will cover 17,280 square feet of an open plaza near the ballpark’s western entrances and ticket area.

The facility will also act as a “working laboratory and green energy classroom”, says APS spokesman Dan Wool, providing a unique opportunity for baseball fans from around the state to learn about renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and recycling and how they can save energy and money.

Some might scoff at the facility’s cost of approximately $1 million, but when you consider the public education value the structure will provide it could be seen as a huge bargain for APS, the state’s largest electricity utility.

In a state like Arizona, with more than 300 days of sunshine every year and large tracts of open, flat land, solar energy will play an increasingly important role.

Among the major issues global leaders will discuss at the upcoming annual World Economic Forum in Davos are the risks associated with the tightening of water, food and energy resources to meet the demands of an increasing global population.

The three interrelated resources impact both global economic growth and geopolitical stability and the Forum’s Global Risks 2011 report warns that “any strategy that focuses on one part of the water-food-energy nexus without considering its interconnections risks serious unintended consequences.”

Three recent news stories illustrate the risks associated with these precious resources.

Water

The situation in Yemen provides a perfect illustration of the growing problem countries face when it comes to fresh water supplies. Yemen’s population is increasing – exploding really. Currently at 23 million, it’s forecast to double in the next 20 years. Thanks to drought and overconsumption, the water is running out and farmers are abandoning their land for the cities.

A nonprofit network and affiliate of the policy think tank Pacific Institute called Circle of Blue offers 19 solutions to the global freshwater crisis here.

Food

Hit hard by the real estate crash and banking crisis of 2008, Ireland has since had to make deep spending cuts and a humiliating appeal to the IMF and Europe for a rescue package.

As a result, Prime Minister Brian Cowen’s Fianna Fael-led government now has the dubious honor of being Ireland’s most unpopular in recent memory, with one recent poll putting Cowen’s support at 17 percent.

Cowen’s government, backed by independent MPs, approved an 85 billion euro IMF/EU bailout on December 15.

But the opposition Fine Gael party, which will likely lead a coalition government after an election next year, has threatened to renegotiate the deal to force losses on some senior bondholders in Irish banks.

Follow a timeline below of the events that led to Ireland’s IMF/EU bailout and political turmoil.

TIMELINE