IBT Staff Reporter

The China hard-landing debate is a classic tail risk story -- an unlikely scenario, but if it materializes the consequences could be catastrophic.

Oracle Corp plans to buy online customer service company RightNow Technologies Inc for about $1.5 billion, sparking speculation of bids for other so-called cloud technology companies that deliver software, data and computing power over the Internet.

FedEx Corp. expects a 12 percent jump in holiday shipments this year and will add about 20,000 workers to handle the record volume driven by online shopping.

Just weeks before fallen hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison for insider trading, U.S. prosecutors pressed him to turn on his friend, former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, The Daily Beast online newspaper reported.

Just weeks before fallen hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison for insider trading, U.S. prosecutors pressed him to turn on his friend, former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, The Daily Beast online newspaper reported.

Angela Merkel's supporters praised her for getting France to drop demands to use the European Central Bank to leverage euro crisis funds, but looked like making a meal out of the German parliament's new right to be consulted on how these are used.

A Minnesota farm is issuing a recall after its organic eggs were linked to six cases of salmonella.

In a panel Friday, three startup founders discussed how their companies will challenge the large financial institutions.

Caterpillar Inc far exceeded analyst expectations on Monday, reporting a 44 percent quarterly earnings increase due to record revenue, and the company signaled tempered optimism in its 2012 outlook.

Brent crude oil rose above $110 a barrel on Monday after stronger Chinese manufacturing data suggested China's economy may not be in as much danger as feared, supporting fuel consumption and outweighing fears over weak European data.

Apple on Monday quietly upgraded its MacBook Pro line with up to twice faster processors and graphics.

Health insurer Cigna will buy HealthSpring for about $3.8 billion to jump-start its business selling Medicare plans for the elderly.

Airport security failed to detect a loaded .38 caliber gun that fell out of a checked bag at Los Angeles International Airport while loading Sunday.

Steve Jobs called long-time rival and Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates as unimaginative and not really a product person, according to a biography of the deceased Apple Inc chief executive.

NASA agents confront a 74-year-old woman at a Denny's to recover moon artifact.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the massive advisory fee involved in Olympus Corp's takeover of a British company, a media report said, in a deepening scandal that has wiped out more than half the company's value.

David Prend is one of the most respected investors in green technology - but even he picks some losers.

E-commerce will drive record holiday shipments this year for FedEx Corp., the world's No. 2 package delivery company said on Monday.

- The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a global public authority and a central world bank to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises.

Stocks extended their gains on Monday and the Nasdaq rose 1 percent, helped by strength in big-capitalization technology names.

Mitt Romney may face even more scrutiny for Romneycare.

Asia's PC makers, already grappling with the prospect of subdued year-end holiday season consumer demand, are faced with a likely further slowdown in the lunar new year sales season as Thailand's floods cut the supply of hard disk drives.

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Monday as strong earnings from Caterpillar offset concerns European policymakers were struggling to narrow differences in tackling the region's debt crisis.

This season Stanford University football players are adding a new piece of equipment to their gear. Seattle-based firm X2Impact has developed a line of mouthguards and headbands for contact-sport athletes designed to aid in gathering data about concussions and other brain-related sports injuries.

Many are still skeptics to the global warming phenomenon, but a new Berkeley study appears to confirm the existence of the climate change.

Some changes to the Battlefield 3 Multiplayer modes.

Walter Isaacson's biography on the Apple co-founder will be released Monday. The 630-page book shows us a different side of Steve Jobs-up to moments before his death.

Top 5 video trailers for the new Battlefield 3

New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Monday the U.S. economy still faces serious headwinds, including spillover effects from Europe, adding the central bank will continue to do everything within its power to help.