Business

Facebook's policy of requiring that users post profiles under their real names was upheld by a German court on Thursday. The decision reversed last year's Independent Center for Privacy Protection ruling that Facebook had to permit the use of pseudonyms in Germany. The ULD -- the privacy regulator f...

Groupon got a stock bump this week following an analyst's upgrade, a rare occurrence for the daily deal site that has seen its stock price plummet since its debut on the public market. The company's evolving business model, an increasing presence in mobile commerce and an international push can help...

In case investors have any doubts that Yahoo sees its future in mobile, events of the past few days should dispel them once and for all. News surfaced Tuesday that Yahoo has acquired Alike, a mobile app that guides users to find nearby venues and places to visit. The acquisition was announced on Ali...

Comcast announced Tuesday it will pay $16.7 billion to acquire General Electric's 49 percent stake in NBCUniversal. Comcast currently controls 51 percent of NBCU, which it picked up from GE in a deal that was finalized in 2011. The agreement was structured to allow Comcast to eventually acquire 100 ...

Periodically we are reminded that the Federal Trade Commission plays a major role in regulating the Internet. For instance, the FTC is in charge of protecting privacy on the Internet in the U.S. and continually starts new privacy initiatives as the use of the Internet evolves. Unlike the EU, which h...

Dell's plan to go private in what would be one of the biggest leveraged buyouts in recent years appears to be in jeopardy. Some of the company's largest shareholders have come out against the move. Southeastern Asset Management filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a letter it sent to De...

Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt might sell as much as 42 percent of his shares in the tech giant, according to an SEC filing. At the stock's current price of around $785 per share, the sale could yield about $2.5 billion for Schmidt. He currently owns about 7.6 million shares of Class A and...

Yahoo and Google on Wednesday announced a nonexclusive agreement to display ads on various Yahoo properties and certain cobranded sites using Google's AdSense for Content and its AdMob services. Because the agreement is nonexclusive, Yahoo will continue to display ads from other providers, including...

Comic book legend Stan Lee wants kids to join him on his next superhero adventure. The 90-year-old creator of Spider-Man and cocreator of Iron Man, Thor and the rest of the Avengers, this week launched Stan Lee's Kids Universe as part of a joint venture between his POW! Entertainment and 1821 Comics...

One of the age-old challenges that has plagued the software industry, like many others, is how vendors can reach small- and mid-sized businesses with their software products. Although today's Software as a Service model eliminates many of the distribution challenges of the past, it hasn't overcome t...

Yelp's revenue and monthly unique visitors rose during its most recent quarter, but the site still reported a net loss as it funded expansion into new markets. The site, which provides information and crowdsourced reviews about local restaurants, entertainment and businesses, reported a net loss of...

Zynga's shares got a lift from better-than-expected earnings reported earlier this week. The picture wasn't entirely rosy, though. The maker of once-popular social media games such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars reported revenue of $311 million for Q4, flat compared to the year-ago quarter. Zynga admit...

The tweets were flying this week, and not just about Beyonce and blackouts at the Super Bowl. Twitter was itself the subject of tweets following the announcement late Monday that it had inked a deal to buy social TV analytics firm Bluefin Labs. Terms were not disclosed. Bluefin Labs, founded in 2008...

After years of diminishing returns amid a slumping PC market, Dell announced Tuesday that it would take itself private in a leveraged buyout estimated at $24.4 billion. Chairman and CEO Michael Dell will buy back the company he founded in a University of Texas dorm room in 1984. Dell, partnering wit...

Facebook's rise in overall ad revenue helped the company beat Wall Street expectations on its quarterly earnings, but promises from the company to continue spending heavily in hiring and new initiatives kept investors from sending the stock price soaring. The company reported this week that its over...