Sponsored by Ibm

U.S. banks, at the center of the world's financial crisis, will command investor focus on Friday with Bank of America and Citigroup results following strong showings from their peers.

Investors were looking to Bank of America and Citigroup for a fresh dose of earnings optimism on Friday, after strong reports from JPMorgan Chase and IBM raised hopes for a global recovery.

IBM sharply raised its full-year earnings forecast as it benefits from focusing more on higher-margin businesses in software and services, sending its shares up as much as 3 percent.

IBM surprised markets by sharply raising its full-year earnings forecast as its growing software and services businesses boosted profit margins, lifting its shares in after-hours trade.

JPMorgan Powers Ahead, CIT Plummets, Cap and Trade and Jobs

Google Inc.'s second-quarter earnings were up 19 percent, but revenue slowed as advertising sales were down from the previous quarter. The search engine giant posted a profit of $1.48 billion, or $4.66 a share, compared with $1.25 billion, or $3.92 a share, in the same quarter last year.

IBM reported a 13 percent slide in revenue as corporate spending fell, but cost cuts and a shift to more profitable businesses helped it trump earnings expectations, and the company raised its profit outlook for the full year.

IBM reported a 13 percent fall in revenue amid a decline in corporate spending, but cost cuts and a shift to more profitable businesses helped it achieve higher-than-expected earnings, and the company raised its outlook for the full year.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, as investors anticipated another round of strong corporate earnings, sending technology shares higher ahead of quarterly results from IBM.

Shares in IBM rose 2.5 percent in afternoon trade, leading the market higher ahead of the company's quarterly results, as investors bet on the possibility of an improved full-year forecast.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower start on Wall Street Thursday, ahead of second-quarter numbers from JPMorgan, Google and IBM.

World stocks hovered around flat on Thursday despite strong Chinese growth data that provided reassurance on the global economy as investors braced for the spate of U.S. and European corporate results due this week.

Intel Corp's quarterly results and outlook blew past Wall Street forecasts on better-than-expected consumer demand for PCs, especially in Asia, setting an auspicious tone for the technology sector.

Sun Microsystems Inc , the computer server maker being acquired by Oracle Corp , issued a revenue forecast that fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Sun Microsystems Inc, the computer server maker being acquired by Oracle Corp, issued a revenue forecast that fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Google reports earning reasults on Thursday after the closing bell. Analysts expect $5.06 a share in profit, up from $4.63 last year.

Patent licensing firm Mosaid Technologies Inc said on Monday it was taking IBM to court for allegedly infringing on six of Mosaid's U.S. patents.

U.S. stocks were set to open higher on Monday after influential bank analyst Meredith Whitney upgraded Goldman Sachs Group shares and gave bullish comments on financial stocks, sparking hopes corporate quarterly results may be surprisingly strong.

Stock futures were little changed on Monday as caution over the latest earnings season weighed and CIT Group Inc grappled with shoring up its finances, offsetting a broker upgrade of Goldman Sachs .

NetApp Inc may itself become an acquisition target after rival EMC Corp foiled its effort to buy Data Domain Inc, a niche player in the $20 billion-a-year data storage equipment market.

Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Talk were all stripped of their beta tags on Tuesday as Google upgraded the pieces of its Google Apps Premier Edition (GAPE) suite to the status of a finished product.

A U.S. judge turned down a request from International Business Machines Corp to bar its former head of mergers and acquisitions from working at Dell Inc over allegations that he would disclose trade secrets.

IBM accused its former mergers and acquisitions chief of misusing resources, as part of a lawsuit that seeks to remove him from his new job at rival Dell Inc.

Stocks gained on Wednesday after software maker Oracle's results beat expectations and durable goods orders jumped unexpectedly, giving more hope that the economy is rebounding.

IBM named one of its executives, a former Morgan Stanley banker, to be its new head of mergers and acquisitions on Tuesday after losing its chief dealmaker to rival Dell Inc, which is beefing up its acquisition efforts.

Intel chips are now used in almost 80 percent of world's fastest supercomputers, while HP and IBM are used in 60 percent according to the 33rd Edition of TOP500 Supercomputer released on Tuesday.

Oracle Corp reported quarterly earnings above expectations as the No. 3 software maker's profit margin hit a record thanks to robust growth in its maintenance business, sending shares up 2.7 percent.

Tennis fans at Wimbledon will be able to keep up with the action using a smartphone application developed by IBM, which it said could transform the way spectators access information at sporting events.

IBM on Thursday said it has unleashed its free of charge Lotus Symphony, an open source alternative of Microsoft Office for viewing documents, spreadsheets, and presentation, which could give companies millions of dollars in savings.