Venezuela’s tax agency said that it had imposed fines and ordered the temporary closure of several foreign companies, including International Business Machines, due to tax irregularities.

Employees of computer giant IBM are waiting to hear details today of up to 13,000 job cuts, mostly across Europe.

Stocks sank on Wall Street today as strong economic numbers were eclipsed by mixed corporate results, including disappointing earnings from JP Morgan Chase.

Another surge in oil prices and a sharp drop in consumer spending rattled US investors today, sending stocks lower and hitting the technology sector particularly hard.

Blue chip shares pulled back, but most US stocks finished higher today, extending a year-end rally that has propelled major market measures to the highest levels in nearly two years.

Stocks in the United States retreated today after a report on November employment revealed disappointing job growth and Intel Corp issued a forecast that fell short of expectations.

WORLD stock markets rose yesterday in sharp contrast to a year ago when the September 11 triple hijacking disasters in the US sent stock prices tumbling.

NEXT week's flood of corporate earnings may offer the ailing US stock market some relief, if not a cure, after a brutal sell-off that drove stocks to their lowest levels in nearly five years.

International Business Machines and Invensys PLC have signed an outsourcing agreement, in which IBM will assume the management of Invensys' IT systems, and provide helpdesk support for its approximately 29,000 workstations.