Business

Officials at the European Commission (EC) say Microsoft is falling short of its pledge to cooperate fully with sanctions against it meant to boost competition among software makers in Europe, raising the prospect of additional penalties being levied. In addition to paying the equivalent of US$600 mi...

Insider trading laws have been around for a long time, even before the SEC Act of 1934. Martha Stewart's recent trial and incarceration have brought a higher degree of awareness and caution to investors who are potential beneficiaries of insider trading. This article will define insider trading, ex...

The mobile adult services market is set to reach US$5 billion by 2010, according to a new wireless Internet applications service report from Strategy Analytics. Analysts said fear of consumer backlash and government regulation is stalling wireless adult content growth stateside. Jupiter Research ana...

Having rolled out its own search engine in a bid to match rivals Yahoo and Google in terms of technology, Microsoft is now hoping to duplicate their success in the revenue and profit arenas by launching a paid search product. MSN Search is hoping that the use of collected demographics information wi...

As MP3 players revolutionize the portable music device landscape, video download services and device makers are hoping the digital transition will spread from audio to visual presentations. A pair of announcements today from CinemaNow and MediaPass Network set the stage for what content providers an...

The name IBM is the world's most distinct and valuable corporate identity. Its three letters, parked in this unique random arrangement, are worth many billions of dollars. Meanwhile, Lenovo of China is the new owner of IBM PC and will also use the IBM name for the next five years, while IBM will use...

Regulators in Europe have cleared the way for Microsoft and Time Warner to acquire a content-protection company that could accelerate the adoption of digital rights management, reduce software piracy and make it easier for content owners to distribute movies and music on the Internet. The European C...

More than 60 percent of Americans now subscribe to wireless calling plans as the cell phone industry continues to post dramatic growth and readies for the next generation of wireless services, according to new data from an industry association. CTIA, the wireless industry association, said in its se...

Both Yahoo and America Online have struck deals with Research in Motion, the maker of the hugely popular BlackBerry hand-held, to put their respective versions of instant messenger software on the devices. Research in Motion announced pacts with both companies today, saying that devices integrated w...

The Federal Trade Commission has barred an operation that offered bogus spyware detection scans. The free scanner "detected" spyware whether it was present on the user's computer or not in an underhanded attempt to peddle its non-working anti-spyware software, according to the government agency. The...

Targeting a fast-growing company that addresses a growing business concern, IBM today said it had reached an agreement to buy data integration company Ascential Software in a deal worth about US$1.1 billion. Big Blue's first major deal since selling off its personal computer division gives it access...

A court has boosted the chances that Japanese Internet company Livedoor will be able to take over one of the country's largest radio broadcasters in a deal that would also give it a stake in a large television network. Livedoor has positioned the move as a way to leverage its Web users and the liste...

Eager to expand its reach by honing in on opportunities around the world that its auction platform has missed, eBay has said it will launch a worldwide network of local classified sites. In a move being billed as the auction giant's largest expansion outside its core business, eBay said it had opene...

In a move to boost its small business services, Yahoo today announced the launch of its online Yahoo Small Business Resource Center. The center offers more than 1,000 articles on key business issues, including marketing, legal and human resources. "The new Yahoo Small Business Resource Center provid...

IBM's landscape-altering sale of its personal computer business to China-based Lenovo Group has cleared an important hurdle, with the deal found not to pose a threat to national security. The US$1.75 billion sale got the green light from the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United Stat...