IBT Staff Reporter

Zynga Inc, developer of popular Facebook games such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars, could be the best proxy for investing in Facebook until the world's largest social network goes public itself.

Facebook Inc is on course to generate $1 billion in revenue this year from social gaming, according to Kevin Ryan, a leading Internet entrepreneur and former chief executive of online advertising giant DoubleClick.

Google Inc's Chrome Web browser has grabbed more than 20 percent of global market share, while Microsoft Corp's long-time leader Internet Explorer has slipped below 50 percent, according to Internet statistics firm StatCounter.

Google, facing a flood of patent lawsuits, said it was disappointed after losing a multi-billion dollar auction for thousands of telecom, Web and Social Networking patents from bankrupt Canadian company Nortel to a rival group of companies which included Apple and Microsoft.

Two new studies have found that even diet sodas can make you gain weight and become fat.

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest without bail on Friday as prosecutors investigated questions about the credibility of the woman he is charged with trying to rape.

Google Inc's Chrome Web browser has grabbed more than 20 percent of global market share, while Microsoft Corp's long-time leader Internet Explorer has slipped below 50 percent, according to Internet statistics firm StatCounter.

U.S. stocks started July with a bang on Friday with Wall Street scoring its best week in two years, helped by strong manufacturing data that eased concerns about slowing growth.

The auto industry sputtered to its second consecutive month of weaker-than-expected U.S. sales in June, marked by disappointing results from General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and the big Japanese automakers, as the weak economy and tight supply of cars left buyers wary.

If a bankruptcy court approves, Borders Group Inc., the nation's second-largest bookstore chain, will be owned by a direct marketer before the end of the month.

Tag Heuer's latest android smartphone has made the news due to its price tag of $6,700. Users who expect luxurious standard can be pleased to hear that the Swiss watchmakers crafted a high end phone made of 18 carat gold packaged with accented diamonds and wrapped with your choice of calfskin, alligator skin, or carbon leather.

Venture-backed IPOs saw their strongest quarter since 2000 with offerings valued at $5.5 billion coming to the market in the second quarter of 2011, according to an exit poll by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association .

New York Times Co said on Friday it sold more than half its stake in the company which owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and is looking to sell the rest of its share.

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger on Friday stuck by Chinese auto maker BYD <1211.HK>, which has become one of Berkshire's most controversial investments amid poor performance and revelations about its business practices.

European investigators from the European Food Safety Authority are looking to Egyptian fenugreek seeds as a potential culprit in this month's E. coli pandemic.

Zynga Inc filed paperwork on Friday for an initial public offering, the latest in a series of hot social media companies to seek capital in the U.S. public markets.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the social network giant plans to launch something awesome next week, possibly in response to the Google+ release earlier this week.

International banks and insurers attempted to paper over major cracks in a proposed Greek debt rollover on Friday, saying there was broad support to reinvest in the country.

Stocks started July with a bang on Friday with Wall Street scoring its best week in two years on strong manufacturing data that eased concerns about slowing growth.

After a delay of more than two months, AT&T Inc has agreed to support BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd's Bridge application, which lets BlackBerry users see email and other services on RIM's PlayBook tablet without incurring additional charges.

On a recent morning at Master Lock's 90-year-old factory in Milwaukee, a cluster of machinery was whirring, every 2 seconds spitting out one of the combination locks used by American high schoolers as the company readied for the back-to-school rush.

by Danielle RobinsonNEW YORK, July 1 - Bank of America Corp's decision to resolve $14 billion worth of mortgage backed securities-related liabilities might have boosted its stock and bond prices, but it has put it further behind its peers in the race to build up enough capital to be Basel III compliant.

Stocks started July with a bang on Friday with Wall Street scoring its best week in two years, helped by strong manufacturing data that eased concerns about slowing growth.

These celebrities are not yet 30, but they are bringing in the big bucks.

Search giant Google Inc, facing a broad antitrust probe into its business practices, has hired 12 lobbying firms, a spokeswoman from the company said on Friday.

The BlackBerry, once ubiquitous in business, faces deep challenges in that market as more companies allow employees to pick their own smartphones and add third-party security applications.

Citigroup was the top bookrunning underwriter of U.S. municipal bonds in the first half of 2011, according to Thomson Reuters data on Friday.