GOOGLE Inc, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, said third-quarter profit increased as businesses spent more on advertising for online consumers.

US stocks rose today after a strong report on new home sales offset mixed news from corporate earnings reports.

Most stocks rose today, extending a two-week jump that has added 11% to the stock market’s major indicators.

Wall Street logged another winning day today as a drop in oil prices and a better-than-expected profit report from technology bellwether Cisco Systems helped corral the market's worries about the financial sector.

Stocks lost more ground in extremely volatile trading today, as investors recoiled at a cautious economic outlook from a Federal Reserve official and the possibility of more financial troubles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Wall Street pulled back today as investors uneasy after a drop in consumer confidence traded cautiously ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.

Wall Street rose moderately today, carving out its fourth straight weekly gain amid a fresh round of corporate takeover news and employment figures that largely met expectations.

Wall Street stumbled lower today as growing concerns over technology companies led jittery investors to pull money out of the market ahead of this week’s earnings reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average briefly swept past 12,000 for the first time today, extending its march into record territory as investors grow increasingly optimistic about corporate earnings and the economy.

Nintendo’s next-generation game console, Wii, will arrive in Japan on time and at prices lower than its rivals, the company said today.

EU regulators said they had received more documents from Microsoft Corp. by a today deadline but had not yet made any decision to levy new fines.

Microsoft Corp. said that the record antitrust fine levied against it in 2004 should be thrown out, or at least greatly reduced, because the punishment outweighed the infraction, the company’s lawyers said today.

Microsoft Corp. today complained that the European Commission had forced it to hand over trade secrets to rivals, effectively giving them a “free ride” on the work the software maker did to acquire new customers and develop new technologies.

Broad-based gains in employment sent stocks higher today, with the Dow Jones industrials gaining more than 104 points as investors regained some confidence in the economy. However, interest rate concerns remain, and the markets finished mixed for the week.

The European Union’s antitrust chief Neelie Kroes said today she had not yet received all information on Microsoft’s offer to share software codes and comply with a 2004 EU antitrust ruling.

A new round of strong earnings reports sent US stocks soaring for a second straight session Friday as investors shrugged off surprisingly slow growth in the nation’s gross domestic product.

Microsoft Corp. said today it will license its Windows source code to comply with a European Union antitrust ruling.

Microsoft Corp.’s legal challenge to the EU’s 2004 antitrust ruling will be heard by the European Court of First Instance on April 24-28, the court said yesterday.

Google today launched the latest version of its famous search engine in China, and defended its decision to self-censor some content as a trade-off that will grant Chinese greater access to other kinds of information.

Wall Street’s hopes of prolonging its year-end rally suffered another blow today as cautious traders sold off stocks and the technology sector posted a steep decline.

Lower oil prices and technology news helped stocks rally today despite a legal dispute that raised questions about Johnson & Johnson’s $25bn acquisition of Guidant Corp.

Several new variants of a computer worm emerged today to attack corporate networks running the Windows 2000 operating system, just a week after Microsoft Corp. warned of the security flaw.

WARREN Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, which is under investigation for its role in improper reinsurance accounting at American International Group Inc, said over the weekend that the American government is inquiring about its own books.

The European Union said its anti-trust regulators might need several weeks to decide whether to slap Microsoft Corp. with huge fines once a midnight deadline on Tuesday for the software maker to comply with a landmark ruling expires.

Stocks were mixed today with blue chip and tech shares rising only modestly despite lower oil prices and several mergers and acquisitions, including Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.’s 1.5 billion dollar bid for several candy brands from Kraft Foods Inc.

There’s a new media king, only he isn’t on the radio or in the movies. His name? Master Chief. His role: Interstellar soldier and star of Halo 2, one of the most anticipated video games ever.

Investors all but ignored another substantial retreat in oil prices today, leaving stocks mixed in a listless and lightly traded session.

Wall Street reversed a three-day slide today as investors returned to the market in search of bargains, shrugging off high-tech profit warnings and an analyst downgrade of Internet stocks.

Fresh questions about the strength of the economic recovery sent stocks lower today as a disappointing report on job creation weighed heavily on investor confidence. All three major indexes lost ground for the week.

German authorities have arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of creating the “Sasser” computer virus, which infected thousands of computers worldwide, an official said today.

Wall Street was unable to shake its malaise over interest rates today, closing mixed despite a rally in technology stocks and a series of upbeat earnings reports from companies, including 3M and Eli Lilly. The Nasdaq composite index broke a four-day losing streak.

The European Commission is set to reveal a new weapon in its enforcement of antitrust rules, by adopting a law which will aim to rip down market entry barriers before potential abuses occur.

Investors set aside their concerns about Iraq today, sending stocks solidly higher on expectations of companies’ robust first-quarter earnings reports. All three major indexes regained the ground they lost last week.

A malicious program attached to seemingly innocuous e-mails was spreading quickly over the Internet, clogging network traffic and potentially leaving hackers an open door to infected personal computers.

Wall Street began the first full week of 2004 with a solid advance today rising on encouraging interest rate news, a strong semiconductor sales report and an upbeat forecast from software firm Siebel Systems.

The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index suffered its biggest one-day point loss in nearly 15 months today after Opec’s surprise decision to cut oil production sent stocks tumbling. The Dow Jones industrials plunged 150 points.

IBM will report net income of 98 cents a share on sales of $21.4 billion, up from three cents and $19.65 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to the average estimates of analysts polled by Thomson.

The US government and private technology experts warned tonight that hackers plan to attack thousands of Web sites Sunday in a loosely co-ordinated ”contest” that could disrupt Internet traffic.

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) reported a 6% rise in Q1 revenues to $6.13bn.

A country in mourning poured its grief into prayer and defiant chants, showing unity in the flicker of thousands of candles at vigils across America.