Luxembourg: Skype Technologies chief executive Tony Bates will fuel growth by adding corporate partnerships and hiring engineers to build new products as the company readies for an initial public offering.

Oil worries and a raft of economic uncertainties plagued Wall Street today, sending stocks lower as investors collected profits after the strong gains of the previous two sessions.

MEDIA mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is understood to have held talks with internet telecom software company Skype.