IBT Staff Reporter

Palm Inc has escalated its battle with rival Apple Inc, updating the software on its Pre smartphone so that it can again sync with Apple's iTunes media management software.

Schlumberger Ltd posted a sharp drop in profit on Friday and warned it did not expect a rebound in spending in 2009 by its oil- and gas-producing customers, sending its stock down 4.5 percent.

The number of new offshore oil and gas exploration wells will shrink by about 15 percent in 2009, as lower crude prices curb investments and hit smaller oil and gas producers, according to data from Derrick Petroleum Services.

The United States plans to transfer $200 million to the struggling Palestinian Authority to help cover its budget crisis, an Obama administration official said on Friday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, setting out his election manifesto, vowed on Friday to make foreign troops sign a framework governing how they operate in a bid to limit civilians casualties.

Vaccines should be ready within months for H1N1 flu, which could mutate and become more severe in winter, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Violent riots and threats of a fresh wave of crippling labor strikes may force South African President Jacob Zuma to deliver quickly on election promises and risk scaring investors in Africa's biggest economy.

U.S. retail auto sales are expected to decline 19 percent in July from a year ago, marking an improvement over declines of more than 30 percent in the first half of 2009, an influential industry tracking service said on Friday.

China's Beijing Auto said intellectual property issues were behind its failure to reach a deal with General Motors [GM.UL] over its Opel unit.

Japan has sent a letter of concern to the United States on a bill recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, which contains a provision similar to

South African President Jacob Zuma said police will move swiftly to crack down on rioters after violent protests erupted this week over poor services and jobs.

Representatives of the families that own Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) are set to take up seats on Volkswagen's (VOWG.DE) supervisory board vacated by former Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking and his finance chief Holger Haerter, sources close to Volkswagen said Friday.

Germany called a French idea to slap carbon tariffs on products from countries that are not trying to cut greenhouse gases a form of eco-imperialism and a direct violation of WTO rules.

A court in army-ruled Myanmar heard closing arguments for the defense on Friday in the trial on security-related charges of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the prosecution will have its say next week.

China could take a stake in a $3.3 billion port and rail infrastructure project in Western Australia's Mid-West iron ore belt, one of the firms involved in the project said on Friday.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as disappointing results from Microsoft and American Express curbed sentiment a day after a rally took the Dow industrials above the key 9,000 mark.

A hardline Iranian cleric said on Friday there had been plots in the Islamic state to weaken Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's position after a disputed election last month.

Japanese elections are getting a new look as candidates turn to consultants for help with slogans and a warmer personal style to win over increasingly influential floating voters ahead of an August national election.

Arch Coal Inc posted a second-quarter loss on Friday and cut its production target for a third time this year as weak demand and coal prices hurt sales volumes and forced production curtailments.

Japan's opposition Democratic Party lashed out Friday at what it charged was a misleading negative campaign by the ruling party ahead of an election that Prime Minister Taro Aso's coalition is in danger of losing.

Drugmaker Merck & Co Inc announced a proposed settlement on Friday to resolve litigation challenging its planned merger with Schering-Plough Corp.

President Barack Obama is set to announce on Friday a competition for $4 billion in federal grants to improve academic achievement in U.S. schools, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Roche Holding AG's MabThera cancer drug has received backing from Europe to treat patients whose chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) returns, the Swiss drugmaker said on Friday.

The U.S. Senate's failure to hold to its early August deadline to pass a major healthcare bill could complicate another of President Barack Obama's top policy priorities: the fight against climate change.

President Barack Obama, normally a surefooted salesman, is struggling to convince Americans that the $1 trillion U.S. healthcare system overhaul he is pushing would be good for them.

India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN are expected to extend exclusive talks by at least two to three weeks for a proposed merger, four sources familiar with the deal said on Friday.

Shrugging off delays in a divided Congress, President Barack Obama's administration on Friday said a sweeping healthcare overhaul would still be approved by year end to control costs and expand coverage.

Freddie Mac (FRE.P)(FRE.N), the second-largest U.S. home funding company, said on Friday its mortgage investment portfolio grew by an annualized 9.3 percent rate in June, while delinquencies on loans it guarantees accelerated.

Western nations fret that China is engaged in a grand strategy as it snaps up natural resource assets around the world -- that it is seeking to control the supply of raw materials and dominate manufacturing processes. But could this be a misreading of its motives?