EU decision this week

A court decision is expected Wednesday on Microsoft's request to suspend the European Commission's antitrust ruling pending the outcome of the company's broader appeal. Business Week calls it the tech sector's "most closely watched court ruling since U.S. Federal Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered the breakup of Microsoft" more than four years ago. The Financial Times explains one of the reasons it's so anticipated:

In principle, Bo Vesterdorf, the president of the European Court of First Instance, only has to rule whether the sanctions would cause irreparable harm to the company should Microsoft win its appeal against the Commission ruling four or five years down the line. But he is also expected to give a preliminary examination of the merits of Brussels' case against the company, which it built up in an investigation lasting more than five years.

See additional coverage by Reuters and the Associated Press.