ANALYSIS

Paraphrasing the late, great writer Mark Twain, the reports of the U.S. manufacturing sector's death are greatly exaggerated -- the nation's factory sector unexpectedly expanded in August, easing concern that the U.S. economy is headed for another recession

Should the United States tolerate slightly higher inflation, in order to have the economy grow at a faster rate and create more jobs?

IBM, the No. 2 computer services company, has snapped up technology players in Canada and the UK -- demonstrating an appetite for new technologies but also for tax advantages.

Almost from the start, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has enjoyed a relatively comfortable lead over his competitors in the GOP presidential race, but it was only a matter of time until someone usurped his title as No. 1. The time has finally come -- and it has come in the form of Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Just call it a tread water week for U.S. jobless claims, as they fell 12,000 last week to 409,000, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday, but the drop is a qualified one because some of the decline stemmed from the fact that initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 421,000 from the initially estimated 417,000.

In terms of electability, Republican primary voters may see Rick Perry -- who is solidly ahead in four recent polls -- as a happy medium between Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann.

Texas A&M officially announced what has long been suspected -- it's leaving the Big 12 conference and will pursue membership in another conference by June 2012.

AT&T and T-Mobile shouldn't have even dreamed of merging; it defies history, technology and consumer interests.

Finally some good news for the American people on the U.S. economy front: Oil is on track to record in August its biggest monthly price decline since May -- something that will put more money in the pockets of consumers and also boost U.S. GDP growth, if the price reduction holds.

Unemployment in the U.S. has been stubbornly high and presents the largest single obstacle to the re-election hopes of Barack Obama. But joblessness among Americans who cannot yet vote – teenagers – are at levels that are both staggering and unprecedented. One labor economist tells IBTimes, “We have never experienced this amount of joblessness among teens.”

Legendary corporate raider Carl Icahn has refused to give up on his pursuit of Clorox, despite the company swiftly rejecting every bid he's made.

Despite tepid U.S. GDP growth, the U.S. job market has not collapsed, as the private sector added 91,000 jobs in August, ADP announced Wednesday.

Though Apple’s App Store has overtaken Android’s market in terms of the total number of apps, Android has defeated iOS by the number of free apps it offers.

Here are the top 10 copied features.

The latest Fed minutes show is that the central bank is well aware that the U.S. economic recovery is underperforming -- it's like a car traveling in the right lane on an interstate highway at 40 miles per hour (barely adequate) -- and it's prepared to take additional action to strengthen the recovery, should the tepid growth conditions continue.

The initial reaction to Steve Jobs' resignation as Apple's CEO was speculation on just how far Apple's stock price would drop the next day. So just how far could another company, like Berkshire Hathaway, drop when Warren Buffett finally retires?

As the world gears up for 60 million tablets shipments, how will the contract manufacturers make money? Robots.

U.S. home prices dipped just 0.1 percent in June from May, according to Case-Shiller -- providing a ray of light that the U.S. housing market may be stabilizing.

Connecticut's utilities, maintenance, and emergency crews continued to play catch-up Tuesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, reducing the number of customers without power to about 420,000.

Below are the reasons that might help you make up your mind.

Amid a sluggish U.S. job market, a patch-work recovery in the housing market sector, and now damage from Hurricane Irene, it's understandable if U.S. investors are hesitant regarding deploying new money to the stock market. Where's the Dow Jones Industrial Average headed from here?

Vermont Monday continued to fight back from what is rapidly becoming the state's worst natural disaster since the historic 1927 flood. Dozens if not hundreds of people remain stranded, provisions for food and water are dwindling in certain areas, and swollen rivers continued to be a threat.

Michele Bachmann claims she was speaking in jest when she said that Hurricane Irene and last week's earthquake in Virginia were signs from God that the United States needed to cut spending. But it seems more indicative of a clever tactic: making an outlandish statement and disavowing it once it has achieved its purpose.

With U.S. job growth sluggish, renewed European debt concerns, and now the damage caused by Hurricane Irene, it’s not surprising that cautious investors are reluctant to deploy additional capital to stocks. However, one moderate-risk way to commit new money to equities is to consider stocks that also pay a decent dividend, and here are three options.

Are angry Netflix customers upset over the company's price hike last month turning to Wal-Mart's Vudu? One subscription service shows Wal-Mart's Vudu is gaining momentum, fast.

President Barack Obama said Monday he is continuing to direct Hurricane Irene recovery and rebuilding efforts, as federal, state, and local officials assess damage in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, even as Northeast states like Vermont and New Jersey continue to get people out of harm's way of rising flood waters.

After finding out that I'd finally get my hands on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt -- but during the weekend of Hurricane Irene's assault on the East Coast -- major concerns filled my head.

Apple's board of directors has moved to lock in new CEO Tim Cook through mid-2021 by awarding him one million share of company stock. Cook is replacing long-time co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who announced his retirement last week. In connection with Mr. Cook's appointment as Chief Executive Officer, the Board awarded Mr. Cook 1,000,000 restricted stock units, Apple said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Hurricane Irene shut down the neon lights on Broadway, and substantially reduced commercial activity over the weekend -- including canceling thousands of flights, but the storm's economic damage will likely be far less than originally predicted. In particular, New Yorkers, for the most part, feel like they were spared.