IBT Staff Reporter

China's cooling property market could shave more than 2 percentage points off 2012 growth, forcing Beijing to decide just how badly it wants to keep the economy expanding at more than 8 percent a year.

Fujifilm Holdings would consider supporting Olympus Corp if asked, its president said on Wednesday.

Japan's scandal-hit Olympus Corp will wait until a management overhaul in late April before bringing in a potential strategic partner, its president said on Wednesday, signaling the firm is in no hurry to shore up its finances.

Accel Partners and SplitRock Partners have invested $52.5 million in backup software company Code 42, underscoring venture capital's continued fascination with anything related to the burgeoning field of Big Data.

China will expand real-name registration for microblog users, the government's propaganda and information arm said on Wednesday, in its latest step to better control China's wildly popular Twitter-like websites.

Elpida Memory will seek an equity tie-up with U.S. rival Micron Technology, a newspaper said on Wednesday, as the Japanese firm confronts mounting pressure from approaching debt repayments and a deteriorating memory chip market.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System is selling a portfolio of 28 housing communities to a partnership between San Diego-based developer Newland Real Estate Group LLC and an affiliate of Japan's largest home-building company, Sekisui House Ltd <1928.T>, the Wall Street Journal reported.

China's new home prices fell in December from November, a third straight month of declines, and analysts expect prices will fall further as Beijing sticks to its tightening campaign against the once-hot real estate market.

Yahoo Inc co-founder Jerry Yang has quit the company he started in 1995, appeasing shareholders who had blasted the Internet pioneer for pursuing an ineffective personal vision and impeding investment deals that could have transformed the struggling company.

The Madoff trustee suing the owners of the New York Mets may not appeal last summer's ruling tossing out most of his $1 billion claim, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday, setting the stage for a March trial unless the two sides reach a settlement.

Lionsgate's Hunger Games franchise is moving full steam ahead. While the first film in the planned trilogy won't hit theaters until March 23, work has already begun on its sequel, TheWrap has confirmed.

Louis C.K. is thriving -- his standup gigs are packed, his hit FX show Louie is a critical darling, and his self-produced standup special, Live at the Beacon Theater, turned a very fast profit.

All the hype surrounding British comedian Ricky Gervais's return to host Sunday night's Golden Globe awards and how he might tweak the sensibilities of the stars in attendance failed to boost the TV audience.

The Iranian government sounded a note of caution on Tuesday about the success of A Separation which won a Golden Globe for best foreign film, saying gritty realist films favored by critics showed a skewed version of the Islamic Republic.

Daniel Craig is back as James Bond, and though details of his next adventure, Skyfall, are being kept closely under wraps, Sony did reveal a few tantalizing clues in an official plot summary released this week.

Tommy Lee Jones will play General Douglas MacArthur in Emperor, a thriller/epic directed by Peter Webber (Girl With a Pearl Earring).

British comedian Ricky Gervais said he expects to avoid being persuaded to host the Golden Globe Awards again after calling his gig at Sunday's film and TV honors ceremony his favorite of the three.

After trudging through a rough patch, production is finally set to begin on Disney's Johnny Depp-starring reboot of The Lone Ranger.

Home sales in Southern California jumped in December from November helped by demand from investors but slipped from their year-earlier level as many other buyers remained on the sidelines, a DataQuick report said on Tuesday.

American Idol returns on Wednesday for an 11th season, facing a new wolf at the door as it tries to retain its place as the No. 1 U.S. TV program -- not so much age, but competition.

Billionaire Ron Burkle -- already a high-profile guy -- is significantly increasing his profile in the entertainment industry. After buying concert promoter Artist Group International and a stake in Relativity Media, Burkle has purchased one of Hollywood's favorite hang-outs, the Soho House.

J.J. Abrams' latest offering Alcatraz was off to a good start Monday night, posting encouraging numbers with its two-hour premiere, while Two and a Half Men predictably took the night's top ratings slot, according to preliminary numbers.

From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on February 10-11, participating Target stores will celebrate the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1 on DVD and Blu-Ray by showing a sneak peek of the final installment in Summit's vampire romance franchise.

Courteney Cox will get a whole lot of love from ABC for Valentine's Day.

Lamar Odom failed to produce a game-swinging performance, but what he did get in his return to the Staples Center on Monday was much needed closure.

Netflix's stock has suffered a much-publicized nosedive in recent months, and now a group of shareholders is hitting the subscription service with a class action suit.

Actress Lindsay Lohan, who is on probation after being convicted for drunk driving and theft, has made good on completing her court-ordered community service and therapy on time, pleasing a judge at a progress hearing on Tuesday.

A government watchdog group is suing the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency, claiming the agencies are refusing to release details of their alleged meetings and communications with director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal.

Derek Fisher's game-winning three-pointer put a pretty ribbon on a workmanlike 73-70 victory for the Los Angeles Lakers over the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks Monday.