IBT Staff Reporter

125761-125790 (out of 154976) Our writers adhere to IBT's Editorial Guidelines.

Midday minute August 5 â€“ Finance

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said on Wednesday the government has queried its compensation practices and the use of credit derivatives. Goldman in July reported robust net earnings of $3.4 billion for the second quarter, soon after repaying a $10 billion bailout received from the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Aug 05, 2009

Mortgage demand boosted by refinancing as rates drop

Demand for U.S. home loans rose last week as a decline in 30-year fixed mortgage rates to a three-week low boosted applications for refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Aug 05, 2009

Jarvis Cocker writing songs for comedy

Jarvis Cocker has written three songs for the upcoming film

Aug 05, 2009

Sony scales Everest mystery

Mount Everest hides as many great stories as it does buried bodies. George Mallory was both.

Aug 05, 2009

Mid-Day Minute - August 5 Tech

Sony Corp will begin selling this month the cheapest digital book reader for the United States, heating up the competition with Amazon.com Inc in the small but fast-growing market for electronic readers

Aug 05, 2009

Google buys On2 video firm to bolster YouTube

Google on Wednesday took another step in its Web video strategy by announcing it will acquire On2 Technologies, a creator of high-quality video compression technology in order to boost its YouTube site.

Aug 05, 2009

Market slips on weaker July service sector data

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after data showed the economy's service sector contracted in July at a faster pace than June, heightening concerns about the strength of the recovery.

Aug 05, 2009

Chris Brown to be sentenced today

R&B singer Chris Brown will today be sentenced after he pleaded guilty in June for assaulting his former girlfriend Rihanna.

Aug 05, 2009

Oil falls below $71 after inventory data

Oil fell toward $70 a barrel on Wednesday after U.S. government inventory data showed a build in crude stocks and weak economic data raised doubts about oil demand recovery in the world's largest energy consumer.

Aug 05, 2009

Service sector shrinks faster in July: ISM

The U.S. service sector contracted in July at a faster pace than in June, adding to worries that any economic recovery may still be a long way off, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Aug 05, 2009

China on the prowl for smaller Oz miners

Who ever said China's loss of face over Chinalco's collapsed $19.5 billion Rio Tinto tie-up bid would curb the country's hunger for Australian natural resources?

Aug 05, 2009

Marines banned from Facebook, Twitter and MySpace

The U.S. Marine Corps banned use of social web sites such as Twitter, MySpace and Facebook on its networks, citing security risks, while the Pentagon also said it will consider implementing similar bans.

Aug 05, 2009

Merck, Schering in $41.5 mln drugs settlement

Merck & Co and Schering-Plough Corp will pay $41.5 million to settle class-action lawsuits over their shared cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia, the companies said on Wednesday.

Aug 05, 2009

Petrobank Energy to buy TriStar in C$2.24 bln deal

Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd said it would buy TriStar Oil & Gas Ltd in a cash and stock deal worth about C$2.24 billion, to form PetroBakken Energy Ltd, a Bakken-focused light-oil producer.

Aug 05, 2009

Platinum Equity wins EU's OK to take over Delphi

U.S. private equity firm Platinum Equity won permission from European Union antitrust authorities on Wednesday to acquire control of bankrupt U.S. auto parts maker Delphi Corp.

Aug 05, 2009

Deutsche Bank eyes stake in Sal. Oppenheim

Deutsche Bank is in talks to take a minority stake in Sal. Oppenheim that could eventually lead to a take over of the embattled private bank and herald further consolidation in Europe's wealth management industry.

Aug 05, 2009

North Korea frees American journalists, arrive in U.S.

The two American journalists that were held in North Korea since March and had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor arrived to the United States today meeting their families in a tearful encounter.

Aug 05, 2009

Malaysia's Maxis set for $2 billion listing

Maxis Communications, Malaysia's top mobile operator, has chosen Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and CIMB advise it on a planned $2 billion listing in Kuala Lumpur, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Aug 05, 2009

Paula Abdul steps down from American Idol

American Idol judge and singer-dancer Paula Abdul will not remain in the show, Abdul and Fox confirmed in separate statements.

Aug 05, 2009

Google to buy On2 Technology in stock deal

Google Inc said it would acquire On2 Technologies Inc, a maker of video compression technology, in a stock deal valued at about $106.5 million.

Aug 05, 2009

Kazakhstan-China $3.3 billion oil deal delayed

Kazakh and Chinese state oil firms' joint $3.3 billion acquisition of a Kazakh private upstream company has been delayed, Kazakhstan said on Wednesday without providing the timeframe or the reason for the delay.

Aug 05, 2009

OMV in $1.2 billion takeover talks on Petrol Ofisi

Austrian energy group OMV is in talks to take control of Turkish fuel retailer Petrol Ofisi from embattled Dogan Holding as it tries to move into emerging markets, it said on Wednesday.

Aug 05, 2009

Private sector loses 371,00 jobs in July: report

U.S. private employers shed 371,000 jobs in July, compared with a revised 463,000 drop in June, a report by a private employment service said on Wednesday.

Aug 05, 2009

U.S. can end Honduras crisis in seconds: Zelaya

The United States can end the political crisis in Honduras in a few seconds and kick out politicians who led a coup in June, deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said on Tuesday.

Aug 05, 2009

Filipinos bid goodbye to ex-leader Aquino

Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, heroine of the 1986 people power movement, was laid to rest on Wednesday after an eight-hour funeral procession that had to inch its way past hundreds of thousands of mourners.

Aug 05, 2009

Politkovskaya murder retrial begins in Moscow

Three suspects in the murder of journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya went on trial for a second time in Moscow Wednesday as supporters questioned the authorities' will and ability to solve the case.

Aug 05, 2009

Tweet tweet: You're not Lithuania's president!

The office of Lithuania's newly elected President Dalia Grybauskaite has a problem with someone else's virtual reality.

Aug 05, 2009

Iran's Ahmadinejad sworn in as president

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as Iran's president Wednesday in a ceremony boycotted by reformist leaders and parliamentarians and marred by street protests over his victory.

Aug 05, 2009

U.S. reporters freed from North Korea return home

Two American journalists freed by North Korea from months of detention returned to U.S. soil early on Wednesday accompanied by former President Bill Clinton, who secured their release in a meeting with the hermit state's leader Kim Jong-il.

Aug 05, 2009