COMPANIES

LinkedIn Corp announced plans to go public this year in what could be a test of investor appetite for social networking websites ahead of a highly anticipated Facebook offering.

Borders Group Inc received a financing commitment from GE Capital, providing a potential lifeline to the troubled bookseller, but said it would also explore options, including an in-court restructuring.

LinkedIn, a social networking site for professionals, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in preparation to for an initial public offering (IPO).

Hulu, the privately owned internet company that provides free, ad-supported television archive, is considering becoming the first web-based cable operator.

A small but increasing flow of cocoa beans is being smuggled out of Ivory Coast as exporters halt shipments from the top grower due to a political crisis, sending global prices to one-year highs.

Goldman Sachs allegedly received $2.9 billion in bailout money from American International Group, which in turn received it from the Federal government as part of the 2008 bailout package.

An American diplomat has shot and killed two Pakistani men riding on a motorcycle in the city of Lahore, apparently in self-defense, according to local police.

Apple became the third largest PC vendor in the fourth quarter of 2010, helped by strong sales of iPad and Mac as well as fast growth in the Asia Pacific region, according to the latest report from Canalys.

Amazon.com announced the launch of Kindle Singles digital books that are longer than a magazine article but shorter than a typical book. Priced between $0.99 and $4.99, each Kindle Single is intended to allow a single killer idea - well researched, well argued and well illustrated - to be expressed at its natural length.

Deceased actress Brittany Murphy's home in the Hills above the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, CA has invited foreclosure and has been slapped with a Notice of Sale with an opening bid of $4,035,666, according to the reports.

Queen Latifah, rapper/record producer/actress, has rented the Hollywood royal Jane Fonda's Atlanta condominium for a short-term period. Fonda recently decided to move back to Los Angeles and bought a one-bedroom in the Sierra Towers, according to the Aol Real Estate.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced slashing World Service program resulting in loss of 650 jobs and listeners to the tune of 30 million.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion on Thursday said there was no possibility of providing India access to corporate emails on BlackBerry devices.

The Silicon Valley giant will invest $100 million to support research in US universities over the next 5 years to drive innovation in computing and communications.

China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group has postponed indefinitely its listing plans for its subsidiaries, said a company source on Thursday.

A battle between large supermarket operators to tap into Southeast Asia's growing consumer wealth could trigger more acquisitions, with Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines seen as the next hot spots.

British private equity firm 3i said it made "some high quality" new investments and had significant realisations from the portfolio at good uplifts in the third quarter. 3i said it invested 183 million pounds ($291 million) during the quarter, up from 59 million pounds in the same period of last year.

Pay-TV firm British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) reported record product sales and strong double-digit growth in profit and revenue for the first half. The company, which lifted its interim dividend by 11 percent to 8.74 pence, said the business has achieved milestone of 10 million customers and total net product growth was 2.193 million.

Japanese auto-maker Toyota Motor Corp said it will recall as many as 1.7 million vehicles worldwide over concerns about a possible fuel leakage problem.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, India's top drugmaker, said on Thursday its chief financial officer had resigned, the third top official to quit after Japan's Daiichi Sankyo took majority control.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fully supports China Mobile's next generation TD-LTE technology and talks are ongoing over a possible iPhone tie up with the carrier, China Mobile's chairman was quoted as saying.

Bankrupt financial company Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc proposed a new plan for dividing up billions of dollars among its creditors and offered a bigger payment to bondholders, provided they sign on.

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) got some bad news and some good news on either side of the U.S.-Canadian border.

Air Mauritius will fly direct to China from July in a move it hopes will help boost tourism in the Indian Ocean island, which is suffering from the downturn in Europe.

Italy's oil and gas major Eni has won an international tender to operate block 35 in deepwater offshore Angola as it pushes to expand on its core African market and boost deepwater development.

Norway's oil and gas producer Statoil told Reuters on Wednesday it saw potential for big discoveries in Angola's ultra-deep water blocks, known as pre-salt blocks, in which it was awarded concessions on Monday.

A Royal Dutch Shell executive said on Wednesday the company could not be held solely responsible for damage to the environment caused by oil extraction in the Niger Delta where it operates.

Canada's Africa Oil Corp said on Wednesday it had completed a farmout agreement for three east African exploration blocks to London-listed Tullow Oil Plc, which now holds a 50 percent stake in each of them.

Impala Platinum, the world's second-largest producer of the precious metal, said on Wednesday its first-half earnings likely increased by up to 65 percent, lifted by stronger sales and higher prices.