THREE homegrown companies picked up almost €3 million in free advertising yesterday as the country’s national newspapers rewarded creativity in advertising.

Prices of technology shares closed relatively unchanged, with the Nasdaq composite's trading range only spanning 11.83 points throughout the shortened session amid very light volume ahead of tomorrow's Christmas holiday.

Yahoo Inc said it was notified by the board of HotJobs.com Ltd, an internet site for employers and jobseekers, that its takeover offer had been judged to be more favorable to shareholders than that of competitive bidder TMP Worldwide Inc.