Amid all the high-profile news about Google (GOOG) lately rebounding earnings, buyouts and a multifront war with some of the tech industry's biggest titans one development nearly got lost in the shuffle.

On April 26 Google said it's revamping the fee structure for AdWords, its flagship advertising system. Instead of charging fees to ad agencies to use its eyeball-drawing search engine, it's creating a certification program that gives preferred pricing to ad agencies that educate themselves on how the system works and pass four Google-created exams testing them on their knowledge. [Read the full article]

And in tough times, even those who have jobs are often anxious enough to do what it takes to improve their skills and status.

For many working adults, that means going back to school to earn that second degree. Online courses are appealing because they cut the travel out of heavy schedules.

Grand Canyon University is a rare traditional campus for a for-profit school that even boasts sports teams.

Now imagine an online school that positions itself to lure more solid and motivated back-to-schoolers. These would be nurses and teachers who already have socially valuable skills. [Read the full article]

Allergan (AGN) reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings Friday on strong sales of its Botox anti-wrinkle drug and medical devices. It slightly raised the low end of its 2010 profit forecast despite costs of U.S. health care reforms.

It said it earned $168 million, or 55 cents per share compared with $45 million, or 15 cents, a year ago, when the company took restructuring charges.

Excluding special items, Allergan earned 65 cents per share. Analysts tracked by Thomson Reuters expected 60 cents. Global company sales rose 11.2% to $1.11 billion, in line with Wall Street forecasts. [Read the full article]

There's good news and bad news in the estimates drug companies made in recent weeks of their expected costs as a result of ObamaCare.

The good news is that new costs as a result of the national health care overhaul should be offset by the addition of up to 32 million people to the ranks of the insured. New products will offset those costs even more.

The bad news is that benefits won't come close to revenue lost from expiring patents and generic competition.

The drug industry is 10 years into a 15-year wave of patent expiration and new generic competition, says Marc Goodman, an analyst with UBS. [Read the full article]