IBT Staff Reporter

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said third quarter net profits fell 73 percent, hit by falling oil and gas prices and refining margins, and Chief Executive Peter Voser warned of a slow recovery.

Asian shares fell sharply on Thursday after weak U.S. economic data rekindled investor worries about growth, while hedge funds sold risky assets, lifting the yen and supporting the dollar.

Google Inc on Wednesday partnered with Web services Lala and MySpace's iLike to give music fans an easier way to find, sample and buy songs on the Internet, expanding its music industry footprint.

Asian shares fell on Thursday after a set of weak U.S. data rekindled worries about global growth and prompted a shift away from riskier assets, lifting the yen and underpinning the dollar.

Google Wednesday touted its new music search service, saying that it will make it easier for users to find and click on songs, as well as create a possible new revenue stream by putting the new convenience feature high in its search results.

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday announced the launch of PayPhrase, a shortcut for making purchases on the Web, as the online retailer prepares for a rush of holiday season shopping.

Hedge fund firm Galleon Group, whose founder has been charged with insider trading, paid $250 million to its Wall Street banks last year and in return received market information that other investors did not get, the Financial Times reported.

Hedge fund firm Galleon Group, whose founder has been charged with insider trading, paid $250 million to its Wall Street banks last year and in return received market information that other investors did not get, the Financial Times reported.

U.S. regulators are searching for ways to peer into the activities of high-frequency trading, which has blossomed in recent years and now accounts for at least 50 percent of all equity trading in the United States.

Medical device maker Stryker Biotech LLC and top management were indicted on federal charges they conducted a fraudulent marketing scheme for bone-growth products, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Yahoo Inc vowed to triple its operating profit margin in the next three years as the Internet company seeks to reignite its growth and regain investor confidence.

McKinsey & Co and Akamai Technologies Inc launched investigations on Wednesday into accusations by the U.S. government that some of their employees were linked to the Galleon Group insider-trading scandal.

Investors could be disappointed if they anticipate tons of money waiting to get back into the stock market, since cash on the sidelines is much less than estimated, Goldman Sachs analysts said.

Commercial lender CIT Group Inc , teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, said on Wednesday it has secured $4.5 billion of additional financing.

Google Inc said on Wednesday it restricts calls to less than 100 U.S. telephone numbers with its Google Voice service, responding to a query from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Stryker Biotech LLC and top management have been indicted on charges they engaged in a fraudulent marketing scheme for certain medical devices, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

GMAC Financial Services on Wednesday sold $2.9 billion in government-backed debt, ahead of a regulatory deadline next month that will test the company's capital levels and ability to absorb losses.

Google Inc on Wednesday partnered with Web services LaLa and MySpace's iLike to give music fans an easier way to find, sample and buy songs on the Internet, expanding its music industry footprint.

World Series Game 1 between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies kicks off Wednesday 7:57 p.m. EST at the Yankee's stadium.

American Airlines parent AMR Corp and US Airways Group said they would cut jobs and tweak their operations to better match the travel market, which struggles to recover from the economic recession.

Yahoo's Comeback; Wary on Health Reform; Home Buyer Perks

The Australian Dollar opens sharply lower this morning against the greenback at 0.8964 after yesterday's key inflation data.

U.S. stocks tumbled in a broad sell-off on Wednesday, sending the benchmark S&P 500 lower for a fourth straight day, after weak data on new home sales heightened concerns about the pace of the economic recovery.

Blackstone Group's COO Tony James said on Wednesday he foresees a gradual shift in the coming years of capital pools away from the United States to Asia, the Middle East and other areas of the globe.

It's an expensive lesson on the importance of reading your mail.

Michael Jackson fans poured out of cinemas on Wednesday applauding the new This Is It movie of the late pop star's final concert rehearsals and ringing up sales at box offices worldwide.

Britain is to push ahead with a law to clamp down on illegal file sharing, that would start with a series of warning letters and could result in repeat offenders losing their Internet connection.

After weeks of buzz, Verizon Wireless today officially took the wraps off the Droid, a smartphone built by Motorola and powered by Google's Android 2.0 operating system, by confirming the new phone will hit stores on November 6

Twelve of the worst pollution problems in the developing world are being cleaned up, demonstrating that tens of thousands of others also could be improved, according to a report released on Wednesday.