Google co-founder Larry Page today replaced outgoing CEO Eric Schmidt as part of a transition process that takes place today.

Schmidt will continue to work at Google as Executive Chairman, where he will focus on external factors like business partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and government lobbying and policies that impact Google’s operations. Schmidt says he will still be involved in key decision making among the three co-founders.

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The chief executive officer, Bob Parsons, of the popular Internet services company, GoDaddy Inc., is being heavily criticized today after a video showing him killing an elephant in Zimbabwe made the rounds on the Internet starting early this morning.

In the video embedded below, Mr. Parsons slayed the elephant by firing two shots with a rifle, causing a herd of other elephants to scatter amid the night commotion.

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The office equipment-maker, Brother International, published the results of its annual Brother Small Business Survey, and the results indicate small business owners feel more confident about the economy compared to the previous year.

When asked whether or not small business owners preferred to invest or stockpile cash, 51-percent of respondents preferred to stockpile cash, versus 47-percent who responded they would rather invest capital towards gaining a competitive advantage over competitors.

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The former 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, is planning a trip to North Korea, according to the U.S. State Department, and North Korean state media.

Few details have been publically released about the trip, including its purpose, objectives, and duration.

It is believed Carter’s trip is aimed at easing tensions between North and South Korea, where tensions in November 2010 escalated to the shelling of a South Korean island that resulted in the deaths of citizens. Before that incident, North Korea allegedly sank a South Korean ship, killing upwards of forty service men. In both attacks, the South refrained from retaliation, fearing an all-out war in the volatile region.

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About one hour ago, AT&T announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire T-Mobile for $39-billion in a cash and stock deal.

Under the terms of the deal, AT&T will pay $25-billion in cash, and the remaining $14-billion in stock to T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom.

The $14-billion worth in AT&T equity will give Deutsche Telekom about 8-percent ownership in AT&T.

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Bloomberg is reporting Groupon’s valuation could now be pegged at $25-billion, according to confidential sources that spoke to the publication who were familiar with discussions taking place between Groupon and investment banks as the company looks for an initial pubic offering (IPO).

Groupon generates revenue by splitting revenue with merchants that offer deep discount limited-time deals exclusively for Groupon users. Groupon currently has about 75-million users, and the company continues to expand into new markets.

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Apple’s shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) today on the NASDAQ index are continuing to lose significant value as downward pressure is put on the stock following massive investor selloff of the stock, after analysts downgraded the stock for the first time since October 2010.

Alex Guana, a JMP Securities analyst covering Apple today downgraded his rating on the tech giant to “market perform”, from “outperform”, citing an increase in earnings volatility as Apple’s Chinese manufacturer partner, Foxconn, faces stagnant sales growth.

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The luxury German carmaker, Rolls-Royce, will unveil the company’s first electric powered vehicle, the Rolls-Royce Phantom 102EX, at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, which is scheduled to open on March 1, 2011.

Rolls-Royce said in the announcement that it is committed to continuing to provide an authentic Rolls-Royce driving experience, going on to say the new electric Phantom will not initially be available to consumers as the company says it is using the model to evaluate performance, range, and how consumers would react to an electric vehicle from the company.

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WASHINGTON—Early this Saturday morning, the United States House of Representatives voted 235 to 189 in favor of trimming $61-billion in federal spending costs off of the $1.2-trillion federal budget for fiscal 2011.

The Republican controlled House vowed to cut spending in a bid to avoid any future tax hike, even adding new limitations to the access of money that would have been earmarked to support Obama’s health-care reform plan.

Democrats will not accept the spending concessions, and as an early March spending deadline looms, the government could be shut out if lawmakers don’t reach a consensus on spending.

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Bernard Madoff, the disgraced investment executive responsible for the biggest ponzi scheme in U.S. history, kept his client’s capital at the financial intermediary JPMorgan Chase.

A recently filed lawsuit by appointed trustee Irving Picard aimed at JPMorgan is seeking $6.4-billion in damages from the New York City-based investment bank, citing internal e-mails, among other communications, that allegedly proves JPMorgan knew something was off with Madoff’s account.

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