Business

Clear Channel Communications accepted a new, increased bid to buy the company Wednesday, but there is widespread skepticism on whether the offer will be enough to satisfy shareholders. Clear Channel, the largest radio broadcaster in the United States with nearly 1,200 stations, was offered $39 a sha...

As the midnight filing deadline loomed large for America's taxpayers Tuesday, users of TurboTax were frustrated by delays in the software's electronic filing system that caused many to miss the deadline. Luckily for them, the Internal Revenue Service understands. In the third such extension this fil...

Vonage says its legal woes have severely restricted its ability to add new customers and ultimately could lead to bankruptcy court, according to a regulatory filing. Shares of the VoIP service provider dropped 6 percent after the company warned this week that legal wrangling with Verizon over patent...

Research In Motion has restored service to millions of BlackBerry users in North America who lost their connections Tuesday night. The company has not said why its network was interrupted over a period of several hours. The "root cause is currently under review," according to a statement. "RIM is cl...

Yahoo reported first quarter net earnings down 11 percent from Q1 of last year as the global Internet brand faces stiff competition from search-based advertising leader Google. Google captured a first-place 48.3 percent of the U.S. search market as of March 2007, compared to Yahoo's second-place ran...

Private equity investors are interested in acquiring BCE, the parent company of Bell Canada, the country's largest telecom provider. BCE has confirmed news reports that it is indeed in talks with pension fund managers to take the company private. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a U.S. buyout firm...

In an expected but by no means insignificant move, Google will begin selling 30-second ads to run on hundreds of radio stations operated by Clear Channel Radio. The deal is part of the search engine giant's determined expansion beyond the Internet, and it's one that should bring much-needed revenue ...

Following Google's announcement Friday that it is acquiring online advertising company DoubleClick, its Internet and media rivals began urging regulators to scrutinize the $3.1 billion deal. Microsoft, itself no stranger to competitive complaints both in the United States and abroad, issued a statem...

Chinese government departments, including the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, began a six-month campaign Thursday to eliminate pornography and other material from the Internet in China, according to reports. Some 137 million Chinese use the Internet, second only to the United States. Young Chin...

Google extended the reach of its online payment service Friday, launching Google Checkout in the UK and setting up an expanded showdown with eBay's PayPal and other Web payment alternatives. As with its U.S. launch, Google Checkout will be supported with steep discounts and promotions for buyers and...

The heavyweight patent battle between Qualcomm and Nokia grew more heated Friday, with Nokia responding to Qualcomm's decision to reject a $20 million payment by saying that it will more aggressively enforce the patents it claims Qualcomm is using in its own mobile phones. On Thursday, Qualcomm disc...

Just when directors thought that no more could possibly be expected of them -- especially after the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley -- they are now confronted with a new acronym: ERM, or enterprise risk management. Directors are now expected to conduct oversight of their company's enterprise risk, when ...

Unless you've had your head stuck in the sand this past month, you're probably already well aware of the hoopla surrounding Microsoft's latest release of Outlook 2007. Does the recent upgrade from our friends in Redmond represent the end of e-mail marketing civilization as we know it? Is it much ado...

Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry mobile e-mail device family, saw its stock fall Thursday even after posting a strong fourth quarter that featured a 65 percent jump in revenue. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company added more than 1 million new subscribers to its BlackBerry service in t...

Investors in Vonage cheered Thursday after the embattled VoIP firm's CEO said he would step down and the company pledged a "broad restructuring." Michael Snyder resigned effective immediately late Wednesday, Vonage said, giving up both his CEO role and his seat on the company's board of directors. C...