IBT Staff Reporter

Starbucks Corp., believing the gloomy market in the U.S. will hamper its sales, reduced its earnings forecast for the second quarter and full year on Wednesday.

Apple Inc. on Wednesday reported second-quarter profit rose 36 percent, beating analysts' expectations, while revenue climbed above $7 billion on stronger demand for its Macintosh personal computers and iPhones.

In this article, the third of a three part interview in The Gold Report, Greg McCoach, editor of The Mining Speculator, gives us his top choices for mining equities. Learn why Greg believes we need to do some comparison shopping right now in the junior market and why, although he's bullish on uranium, there are just a few uranium miners he recommends.

Both of China's two stock markets opened lower on Wednesday morning. Then the stocks rose rapidly after a slight fall.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC reported its first-quarter profit fell 13.7 percent from a year ago as sales of the group's main drug for diabetes Avandia fell.

White sugar tumbled on Wednesday in London on concern that increasing output in China and Brazil will add to a global surplus.

The dollar gained against the euro on Wednesday after a top Luxembourg's finance minister indicated unease with currency volatility a day after the dollar crossed the $1.60 per euro mark for the first time and oil rose to record highs.

Gold futures fell sharply on Wednesday to its lowest level in almost three weeks as energy costs decline, coming under pressure as the dollar rose against most other major currencies.

Soybeans gained on Wednesday amid speculation that demand for U.S. supplies will increase as farmers threaten to resume strikes next month in Argentina.

Apple Inc. has agreed to buy P.A. Semi Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., a microprocessor design company known for its high-end, low-power chips, according to media reports.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said on Wednesday he is willing to walk away from a merger with Internet portal Yahoo if shareholders don't accept his company's $44.6 billion offer.

Oil futures rose today after the Energy Information Administration reported crude stocks rose more than forecast.

Craigslist talked back to eBay's claims of stake dilution, saying the online auctioneer's actions were unethical.

We at EIA love a good debate – particularly on issues of energy and prices. Recently, we’ve been trying to figure out: Has a shift or evolution in market forces led to a ‘decoupling’ of crude oil and natural gas prices in the United

Toyota Motor Corp., which came very close to beating rival General Motors last year for total car sales, took the lead from its American counterpart during the first 3 months of 2008.

Crude prices retreated below $118 a barrel as traders speculate a report today will show crude supplies rose last week. Prices were also down on profit taking sells.

U.S. stocks took a slow upturn on Wednesday, on better-than-expected profits airplane manufacturer Boeing Co., while technology and industrial companies also raised investors optimism by releasing positive earning results. The Standard & Poor's index took a downturn at midday trading.

Boeing Co., the world's second biggest commercial airplane manufacturer, said Wednesday its first quarter profit was better expected at $1.2 billion, a 38 per percent gain from last year as it increased deliveries to airlines and built a record backlog of orders.

Delta Air Lines Inc reported a larger than expected loss for the first quarter on Wednesday, as its market value fell by $6.1billion due to soaring jet fuel costs triggered by record crude oil prices.

Dollar fell against the Euro yesterday and touched a new all time low after recent comments by European Central Bank officials stirred talk that the ECB's next move may be to raise interest rates.

Sterling recovered against the broadly weak dollar yesterday after a Bank of England policymaker welcomed the bank's plan to free up market liquidity as a way to keep the BOE focused on inflation risks.

I am getting more oriented towards precious metals I like uraniuml. There are over 550 uranium companies, but only 15 of them worth investing in, says Greg McCoach, Editor of The Mining Speculator.

Semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG on Wednesday reported a wider second-quarter loss because of a weak performance from memory-chip unit Qimonda AG. It was Infineon's fifth consecutive quarterly loss.

Yahoo Inc.'s first-quarter performance was a little like Goldilocks' favorite soup _ not too hot and not too cold, and that has set the table for a bitter battle over Microsoft Corp.'s bid to take over the Internet pioneer.

Craigslist is firing back at its rival and minority owner eBay, scolding the online auctioneer's actions as unethical and smelling of a hostile takeover.

Connaught Plc, provider of integrated services to the private and public sector, said on Tuesday it had delivered record revenue and profit growth in the six months ended on 29 February 2008, thanks to strong organic growth and new acquisitions.

Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) has reported a 5.0 per cent increase in pre-tax profit, taking company profits up to £282 million for the 24 weeks ended 1 March 2008.

The Competition Commission (CC) has said that BAA's common ownership of seven UK airports may not be serving well the interests of either airlines or passengers. The CC made the statement as part of its interim report on an investigation into the market for the supply of airport services by BAA.

Microsoft started testing its new way of selling Office software suite on a subscription basis using the new program that it launched on Friday, which involves packaging the Office suite with security software and free online services.