IBT Staff Reporter

Sony on Friday introduced its new line of light and thin computers with the VAIO NW notebook, featuring with Blu-ray technology and a ‘powerful high-definition experience.’

As the downturn still hangs over Hong Kong, the number of bankruptcy petitions and orders surged 69.9% and 71.7% by May 2009, the Official Receiver's Office said on Thursday.

For the third consecutive summer, Apple rolled out a new phone, and for the third consecutive summer, crowds headed out to buy it - though the turn out was not as large in number as they had in the past.

Eleven U.S. states on Friday called for a deeper probe into the $165 million of bonuses that American International Group Inc awarded employees in a unit whose losses led to a federal bailout of the insurer.

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President Barack Obama's choice to head the Federal Communications Commission plans to review the exclusive arrangements between wireless carriers and cell phone makers.

The Nasdaq rose on Friday, boosted by positive broker comments on Microsoft Corp, while the S&P 500 and Dow were pressured by energy shares as the price of oil eased.

Robert Allen Stanford, 59, is set to appear in court today, after he and four other associates were indicted on fraud and obstruction charges in an alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme to defraud investors, the U.S. Department of Justice said today.

Switzerland and the United States have reached agreement on a double taxation treaty, the Swiss finance ministry said on Friday, a key step toward removal from a list of tax havens.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc's General Re Corp and other companies have won dismissal of lawsuit accusing them of helping American International Group Inc defraud investors.

The Obama administration's proposed financial regulatory revamp could upend Wall Street brokerages by compelling brokers to put their clients' interests ahead of their own, The Wall Street Journal said on Friday

Stocks rose on Friday as Microsoft lifted technology shares following positive comments from Goldman Sachs, and bets on a recovering global economy.

Deutsche Bank lit a seven-storey-high sign in the middle of Manhattan on Thursday that counts the total amount of greenhouse gases trapped in the Earth's atmosphere.

First Republic Bank - in the news this week after several private equity groups, including Blackstone and the Carlyle Group reportedly expressed interest in buying it from Bank of America Corp. - is a private banking and wealth management firm focused on high net worth individuals and their businesses.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday as the rightful winner of Iran's presidential election and called for an end to the biggest street protests in Iranian history.

The new strain of H1N1 flu is causing something different to happen in the United States this year -- perhaps an extended year-round flu season that disproportionately hits young people, health officials said on Thursday.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday demanded an end to street protests that have shaken the country since the disputed presidential election a week ago and said any bloodshed would be their leaders' fault.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig said on Friday that the U.S. central bank was thinking seriously about its exit strategy, but inflation was not yet an imminent danger.

Switzerland and the United States have reached agreement on a double taxation treaty, the Swiss finance ministry said on Friday, a key step toward removal from a list of tax havens.

House Republicans on Thursday published a study asserting most states in the U.S. will lose under the American Clean Energy and Security Act 2009, also known as the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill which proposes setting a price for carbon dioxide emissions.

Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp has made major progress in talks with anti-trust regulators on its planned takeover of Sanyo Electric Co Ltd, and is considering launching a tender offer for the smaller rival as early as next month, Kyodo news agency said.

China Unicom, one of China's top three mobile carriers, may be close to a deal that would see it become the exclusive seller of Apple's iPhones in China for two years, a Merrill Lynch analyst said.

Swiss-based Glencore's bumpy ride in credit markets may trigger it to raise equity, but a possible public listing is years away, bankers familiar with the commodity trader's thinking said.

As Glencore contemplates a leap into the great unknown of public ownership, it can take comfort from at least one notable peer that has thrived in the listed spotlight -- Asian trading house Noble Group.

Miner BHP Billiton will push for more acquisitions after sealing an iron ore venture with Rio Tinto, while funds from the deal and a linked rights issue could prompt Rio to dip its toes back into M&A.

Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in federal court in Virginia on Friday to answer allegations he orchestrated a massive fraud through his Antigua bank that bilked investors out of billions of dollars.

Following Wednesday's rollout of the iPhone OS 3.0 software update, Apple says they have fixed 46 security holes.

Stocks rose on Friday as a recent spate of improving economic data beckoned investors back into equity markets for a second day, but analysts warned sentiment remained fragile.

Oil firmed toward $72 a barrel on Friday, gaining for a third day, supported by views on equity markets that the economy may be stabilizing and due to geopolitical concerns over key oil producers Iran and Nigeria.