Business

Yahoo is asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a human rights organization that claims the Internet portal's cooperation with the Chinese government resulted in the torture and 10-year jail term of political dissident Wang Xiaoning. Xiaoning had used a Yahoo account to anonymously pos...

HP will invest $300 million in the next year in a global marketing campaign meant to support a new product and service strategy around its printing business and to encourage consumers and businesses alike to do more printing. The company will launch a marketing blitz to support what it's calling "Pr...

Qualcomm has repurchased and retired approximately 29 million shares of its stock during the last two months for approximately $1.1 billion under its $3 billion stock repurchase program. Some $1.5 billion worth of shares remain authorized for repurchase in future periods, net of put options outstand...

U.S. regulators on Monday gave Time Warner's AOL the green light to acquire behavioral analysis marketing firm Tacoda, clearing the way for a purchase that could boost AOL's online advertising prospects. The Federal Trade Commission listed AOL's buy of Tacoda among the mergers and acquisitions recei...

The long-consolidating personal computer industry is shrinking once again, with Taiwan-based Acer saying it reached a deal to buy Gateway in a deal worth $710 million, a move that has implications in both the U.S. and Europe. The once market-leading Gateway -- the current iteration of which is itsel...

The maker of the batteries that prompted Finnish cell phone maker Nokia to recall up to 46 million handset batteries will pay up to $172 million of the costs associated with replacing them. Japanese electronics giant Matsushita, perhaps best known for its Panasonic brand of electronics gear, agreed ...

When it comes to sales, Nintendo's Wii continues to lead the pack of current-generation video game consoles, according to NPD Group. However, the real eye-opener, from NPD's perspective, is the unexpected mid-summer sales boom involving just about everything related to the games. Those following the...

In a move heavy with symbolism, Sun Microsystems said Thursday it would change the ticker symbol under which its stock trades on the Nasdaq to "JAVA." Sun will replace its current ticker of SUNW with the new symbol, which is also the name of the widely used software for handling Web applications tha...

Financial software maker Intuit's longtime CEO Steve Bennett will leave the company at the end of the year, the company said Wednesday as it announced its fourth quarter and fiscal year earnings. The firm named the head of the company's small business efforts to replace him. The firm named the gener...

AMD's head of sales and marketing will leave the company next month, the company said, as the chipmaker finds itself struggling to regain market momentum it enjoyed as recently as last year. Henri Richard, whose title is chief sales and marketing officer, will exit the post sometime in September. Ri...

Rumors are flying that E*Trade and TD Ameritrade are again discussing a possible merger, a long-contemplated move that would create an online stock trading powerhouse. The companies reportedly have been in talks for several weeks, but it's not likely that a deal is imminent. Current discussions are ...

Wal-Mart, the world's largest music retailer, has entered the DRM-free music download fray. Its decision to sell unrestricted 256 kpbs MP3 songs from record giants EMI and Universal may well be the tipping point that lets consumers easily buy popular, legitimate online music capable of playing on mo...

MTV and RealNetworks have formed a joint venture that will utilize Verizon Wireless' distribution capabilities in an effort to dislodge Apple's vise-like grip on the online music space. As part of the iTunes-killer venture, MTV is merging its Urge music service with RealNetworks' Rhapsody. One of th...

Cisco and Microsoft may be on a collision course in some areas, including the push to bring a single communications platform to businesses, but their CEOs said Monday the two companies will continue to work together to ensure their products remain compatible. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Cisco ch...

Google continues to win the battle for Internet search dominance, according to the latest findings of Web traffic measurement firm comScore. The Reston, Va.-based Internet metrics company said its July numbers show Google leading the field of what it considers the top five search engines. According ...