IBT Staff Reporter

Global recorded music sales fell by more than 8 percent in 2008 to $18.42 billion led by a sharp drop-off in sales in the United States, according to the world music trade body IFPI.

U.S. chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc on Tuesday reported a quarterly loss as it grapples with a dip in computer sales and warned it may be too early to say the technology market has hit bottom.

After one false start, weeks of speculation and roller-coaster swings in its share price, the company once synonymous with the rise of the Internet has finally landed an attractive-looking buyer.

House Energy and Commerce Committee representatives agreed on Tuesday that the U.S. must lead the world in climate change action but uncovered gaps in a proposed climate bill during the opening session of a weeklong series of hearings.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn took exception with Amylin management's statement that he wants to engineer a prompt sale of the biotechnology company to its diabetes drug partner, Eli Lilly and Co , and said he would not consider a sale below $30 per share.

U.S. Bancorp , one of the 10 largest U.S. banks, reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday on record revenue from mortgages, sending its shares up almost 21 percent.

Flash memory maker SanDisk Corp reported better-than-expected results and expressed cautious optimism about the current quarter, sending shares up 8 percent.

Most U.S. banks have enough capital to keep lending but a pile of bad debts is fostering doubts about their health and slowing a recovery, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Corp, its top supplier, discounted a Wall Street Journal report that cyber spies had stolen secrets of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft being built for the United States and nearly a dozen allies.

Lockheed Martin Corp , the top defense contractor, reported a lower first-quarter profit on Tuesday as higher pension costs offset rising sales.

President Barack Obama signed a $5.7 billion national service bill Tuesday to encourage Americans to volunteer, which also expands ways for college students to make money.

U.S. chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc on Tuesday reported a quarterly loss broadly in line with expectations and posted a sharp dip in revenue from a year ago as it grapples with a downturn in computer sales.

Capital One Financial Corp , a leading issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards, reported a first-quarter loss on Tuesday, hurt by growing credit losses, and higher provisions for bad loans.

Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit pledged to repay every dollar the third-largest U.S. bank owes to the government, which has pumped $45 billion of capital into the bank.

White House speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she was committed to pass climate change legislation this year.

U.S. manufacturing bellwethers Caterpillar Inc and United Technologies Corp reported on Tuesday that falling global demand for their big-ticket products battered first-quarter results.

The Umbrella star Rihanna is dating a professional basketball player; she was spotted enjoying an intimate dinner with Los Angeles Lakers' star Andrew Bynum at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills on Friday.

The Treasury Department is considering giving banks and investors billions of dollars in fresh incentives to modify troubled mortgages and save homeowners from foreclosure, sources familiar with official deliberations said.

Today is also Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s. Scoop Shops are serving up a free scoop of your favorite flavor from noon to 8:00 p.m.

A biomedical engineering doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has successfully typed on a computer using his brain with the help of electroencephalography (EEG) using a system called BCI2000.

Belgian scientists are developing a cuddly green robot to help ease the anxieties of children in hospital.

The International Monetary Fund said in a Global Financial Stability Report that quick and coordinated government action is needed to prevent a much more intense and prolonged economic recession.

Astronomers have discovered an Earth-like planet known as Gliese 581d in which European researchers believe is a habitable zone with potential to support life.

Boeing Co., the world's second-largest commercial aircraft maker, said Tuesday its first quarter earnings may fall after its production cut it is set to announce tomorrow.

Investors are looking to Microsoft Corp's earnings report on Thursday for a sign that the worst may be over for the economy and that the recent surge in technology stocks is not pure froth.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner indicated most banks have sufficient reserves to protect against possible losses, sparking a rebound in bank shares.

President Barack Obama nudged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to accept the goal of a Palestinian state, as he pressed Israel and the Palestinians to step back from the abyss.

Chrysler LLC's first-lien lenders have submitted a counter-offer to the U.S. Treasury that would swap some $7 billion in debt for equity in a restructured automaker allied with Fiat SpA , according to a person with knowledge of the closed-door talks.

The motives behind the accused Craigslist Killer remain a mystery but police are eying gambling issues as a possible motive for accused Craigslist killer Philip Markoff’s alleged assaults on Boston-area escorts.