IBT Staff Reporter

Micro-blogging site Twitter plans to introduce tools and services by year-end to help businesses serve their customers, and may charge fees for such services, co-founder Biz Stone said on Monday.

The number of people displaced by fighting in Pakistan's northwestern Swat valley has risen to more than 1.4 million, U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said on Monday.

Tamils and their supporters demonstrating outside Britain's parliament on Monday refused to believe that Sri Lanka's long civil war was over or that separatist Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated.

U.S. President Barack Obama set a rough timetable for his diplomatic outreach to arch-foe Iran for the first time on Monday, saying he wanted to see serious progress by the end of the year.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday pressed a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict but failed to win a public commitment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Palestinian statehood.

Oil prices rose nearly 4.8 percent to a six-month high on Monday as violence in Africa's top crude exporter Nigeria and a fire at a key U.S. East Coast refinery revived concern about supplies.

The greenback relinquished some of its overnight gains versus the major currencies, slipping back toward the 1.35-region against the euro on the heels of a stronger start to the week by US equities.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday that borrowing costs were falling as credit markets gradually thaw, but warned a painful period lies ahead for American consumers.

Oil prices rose nearly 4.8 percent to a six-month high on Monday as violence in Africa's top crude exporter Nigeria and a fire at a key U.S. East Coast refinery revived concern about supplies.

An eight-month pregnant 66-year-old businesswoman, Elizabeth Adeney, is on her way to become the Britain’s oldest mom.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Monday its new Prius had received pre-sale orders for 80,000 vehicles in Japan, kicking off what promises to be a fierce battle against hybrid rival Honda Motor Co.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment jumped to its highest level in eight months in May, a private survey showed on Monday, supporting views that the three-year housing slump might be close to an end.

Palm Pre fans now have some good news to rejoice about. Sprint Nextel will launch the Palm Pre in the first week of June, according to a report in the New York Times.

Apple Inc could offer lower-cost versions of the iPhone, and without the obligatory monthly data service plan, in hopes of significantly boosting sales, according to one influential technology analyst.

A analyst has speculated that a Apple could soon offer lower-cost versions of the iPhone -- without the obligatory monthly data service plan -- in an effort to boost sales.

With all the results declared Monday in India’s General election, the Congress-led alliance won 262 seats, just 10 seats short of a parliamentary majority while the rival Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 159 seats, much less than it expected.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment jumped to its highest level in eight months in May, a private survey showed on Monday, supporting views that the three-year housing slump might be close to an end.

AT&T Corp. is considering to launch a cheaper data plan for its popular iPhone handset, according to a report over the weekend.

State Street Corp said it plans to sell $1.5 billion of stock and will also sell notes to help repay government bailout funds, and took a $3.7 billion charge to move some assets onto its balance sheet at a loss.

Stocks rose on Monday as solid results from the No. 2 U.S. home improvement retailer, Lowe's Cos Inc , fueled hopes the recession was easing and consumer spending stabilizing.

Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, the largest shareholder of MGM Mirage , has acquired more shares of the casino operator, but his overall stake in the company has fallen, according to a securities filing on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday the U.S. economy was beginning to stabilize, but cautioned that consumers will still feel the pain of the current downturn for some time.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment jumped to its highest level in eight months in May, a private survey showed on Monday, supporting views that the three-year housing slump might be close to an end.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched their first White House talks on Monday grappling with rare U.S.-Israeli differences over Middle East peacemaking and how to deal with Iran.

The highly anticipated Wolfram Alpha computational knowledge engine underwent public testing over the weekend to see how well it will respond to a mainstream audience.

Moody's Investors Service stripped the Japanese government of its last triple-A foreign currency credit rating on Monday in a move that could revive market speculation about the creditworthiness of other rich nations, especially the United States.

The wireless chip firms ARM and ST-Ericsson said they expect market to improve in the second quarter, helped by clients restocking, but said the rest of 2009 looked uncertain.

U.S. stocks rose on light volume on Monday as a better-than-expected quarterly profit and upbeat outlook from Lowe's Cos Inc , the No. 2 U.S. home improvement retailer, fueled hopes the economic slump was easing and spending was stabilizing.

Lowe's Cos Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as it saw some strength in outdoor projects like gardens and lawns in the spring, even as consumers still shunned big home renovations.