UNITED STATES

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., the maker of Panasonic brand electronics, said on Monday it hoped to start selling the world's largest plasma television by early next year.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is set to report a 7 percent fall in quarterly profit on Friday on shrinking margins in mobile phones and flat screens, but analysts forecast a recovery in the second half.

After years of paltry yields in the high-yield junk bond market, of all places, investors are back in the sector with a vengeance, taking advantage of rising coupons.

Time Warner Inc. estimates its AOL division would lose almost $1 billion in operating profit through 2009 under a plan to offer the unit's services free to some customers, The Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

How easily global equities bounce back from May-June losses is in large part dependent on how much of a bargain shares have become for investors, and that depends on what measure you choose to determine value.

As GM, Renault-Nissan prepare to pursue “exploratory” talks about a possible alliance, GM investors are wondering whether the partnership can benefit the world largest automaker, currently in the midst of a major restructuring.

The iPod and a growing need for local news have done the unthinkable: They have cost Chicago, one of America's great jazz cities, its last major source for jazz programming on local radio.

U.S. mortgage applications rose for the first time in three weeks as interest rates on home loans fell from a four-year high during a week when the Federal Reserve raised borrowing costs, an industry trade group said on Thursday.

The $15 billion market for antidepressants, one of the biggest in the pharmaceuticals industry, is in danger of crumbling as generic competition eats away at existing products and drug companies struggle to develop replacements.

More than 14 percent of Americans lacked health insurance last year, a slightly lower share than 2004, according to federal statistics published on Wednesday.

China's efforts to defuse what experts have called its pension time bomb have created a multibillion-dollar opportunity for domestic and international fund managers.

While difficulties related to the war have hampered growth, recent oil-related developments show the nation is on its way to financing reconstruction efforts.

H&R Block Inc. has no plans to break itself up or sell some businesses to private equity firms to improve the company's value to shareholders, Chief Financial Officer William Trubeck said on Wednesday.

An IRS audit is one of those things - like public speaking - that makes most of us sweat by just thinking about it. And unfortunately, the IRS is enforcing the nation's tax laws with renewed vigor, so you can expect a higher statistical chance of being audited in the future. How much higher remains to be seen, but I advise increased caution and attention to detail with your 2005 return.

You've done it - tacked a few vacation days on to the end of a boring business trip. And why not? It's one of the few perks of spending time on the road. But what if you're self-employed and the only one picking up the bill is you? Well, you can still combine tax savings and vacation into the same trip. Consider yourself reimbursed by Uncle Sam.

The European Commission confirmed on Friday it would debate antitrust sanctions against U.S. software giant Microsoft at a regular meeting on Wednesday.

Britain's biggest insurer, Aviva Plc, is in talks to buy U.S. life insurer AmerUs Group Co, valued at about $2.3 billion, in a deal that would boost Aviva's undersized presence in the booming U.S. market.

Global semiconductor sales for May increased 9.4 percent from a year ago to $19.7 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported on Wednesday.

Atlantic City casinos could lose more than $20 million a day in revenue and cut thousands of jobs, an industry executive said on Wednesday, as a New Jersey budget impasse forced operators to close shop.

AT&T says that the initial customers of its latest Internet TV offering have been pleased. But with experts citing a number of problems and limitations, will the new service be embraced?

Britain's BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense company, ordered an audit of Airbus on Wednesday, pushing back its possible sale of a 20-percent stake in the European planemaker into September at the earliest.