IBT Staff Reporter

Hollywood has long had a weak spot for renegade computer hackers. In the 1983 film War Games, a teenage whiz breaks into military data networks and almost sets off World War III. In The Matrix, the 1999 blockbuster, a rebellious programer fights for humanity against soulless machines. And in this year's model, the hero of Inception hacks into, and manipulates, people's dreams.

Government bond prices in Europe fell on Monday, tracking a renewed slide in U.S. Treasuries, with a figures from the European Central Bank showing it had bought fewer bonds than some investors had anticipated.

As the year is coming to an end YouTube is also ready with the list of most viewed videos that people in US and around the world were searching and watching for in 2010, said YouTube blog post.

Industrial motors company A. O. Smith Corp. has agreed to sell its electric motor segment to Regal Beloit Corp. for $875 million in cash and stock, to focus on its water-products operations.

Two leading international financial institutions faulted Germany for aggravating the euro zone crisis by spooking debt markets, but Berlin seems set to get its way at this week's European Union summit.

Moody's warned on Monday that it could move a step closer to cutting the U.S. Aaa rating if President Barack Obama's tax and unemployment benefit package becomes law.

A U.S. Federal Judge in Washington state has put the kibosh on Paul Allen's sue the Internet patent lawsuit, at least for now.

Swedish police have identified the suspected suicide bomber as Iraqi-born Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly. According to local media reports he was allegedly carrying a backpack and rug sack with bombs and explosives strapped around his waist.

India’s Supreme Court on Monday directed the government to table a copy of the complaint in the court in a sealed cover against corporate lobbyist Nira Radia that led to tapping of her telephonic conversations with a host of people including political leaders, corporate honchos and journalists.

The U.S. Senate will vote today on a bill to extend both the Bush-era tax cuts and unemployment insurance.

Microsoft won a deal with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under which it will move 120,000 of its employees to messaging, conferencing and document sharing over the cloud.

Dell Inc. announced an agreement to acquire data storage company Compellent Technologies Inc. for about $960 million, or about $27.75 per share in cash, to boost its storage presence.

A U.S. district judge dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit brought by a company linked to Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen against a cluster of major corporations, including Internet giants Netflix and YouTube, saying the complaint failed to identify specific products or devices.

Airbus raised its forecast for aircraft demand over the next 20 years, citing the travel needs of 6 billion people in emerging economies as airlines stage a stronger-than-predicted rebound from recession.

The Supreme Court said on Monday that it deadlocked by a 4-4 vote and will not decide a copyright infringement case involving Costco Wholesale Corp over reselling luxury imported Swiss-made watches produced by a Swatch Group unit.

An MIT engineer has created a Minority Report type graphics interface off the Microsoft Kinect

U.S. dollar losses deepened on Monday, with traders chalking up the currency's broad decline to a combination of firmer risk appetite, year-end positioning and some concerns about strained U.S. finances.

British actress and model Elizabeth Hurley used her Twitter account to announce that she had separated from her husband of three years, Indian businessman Arun Nayar.

China is stepping up its efforts to contain inflation, even as the latest economic report indicates that inflation hovers around a 28-year high of 5.1 percent in November.

Sanofi-Aventis has extended its snubbed $18.5 billion cash bid for U.S. biotech group Genzyme by six weeks, buying the French drugmaker time to persuade its reluctant target to talk.

Orange juice prices soared to their highest in 3-1/2 years on Monday after the National Weather Service warned a hard freeze would strike Florida on Tuesday.

Grocery store chain Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, drained of cash by tough competition and a sluggish economic recovery.

Increasing global domination of Google's Android operating system, rapid market share gains by its Chrome browser and the potential of its Chrome OS for PCs position the Internet search giant to benefit from the digitization of human life, Wedbush Securities said.

The former deputy to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is vowing to launch a rival site soon that he says will be more transparent than the original.

India is set to launch its advanced GSAT-5P communication satellite on December 20 that will replace the INSAT 2E to ensure continuity of telecom and television services.

Pepsico chief's sibling finds fame as a vocalist and is nominated for a Grammy

General Electric Co reached a deal to buy Wellstream Holdings Plc by raising its bid for the British oil drilling pipemaker by 6 percent to 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion).

Wall Street rose modestly on Monday with investor appetite for stocks lifted by a flurry of merger deals and the expected congressional approval of a tax-cut extension.

Top executives in the Brazilian capital of Sau Paulo are reportedly earning higher salaries than their counterparts in the global financial powerhouses of New York, London and Hong Kong, but few seem to think so.