IBT Staff Reporter

Sales of new homes fell 6.6 percent in June to a lower-than-expected level and prices slumped from May, according to a government report on Thursday that pointed to ongoing weakness in the housing sector.

Nintendo Co. Ltd. zipped passed telecoms giant NTT and a major financial group to become Japan's fifth-biggest company by market value on Thursday, propelled higher by a stellar earnings performance on demand for its Wii and DS game gear.

New orders for long-lasting U.S-made manufactured goods rose 1.4 percent in June on a big rise in orders for nondefense aircraft, a Commerce Department report on Thursday showed.

Exxon Mobil Corp. posted a 1 percent drop in quarterly earnings on Thursday, missing expectations, as weaker natural gas prices and output offset higher margins from gasoline and chemicals.

The Indian government confirmed on Thursday that the latest outbreak of bird flu in poultry in the remote northeast of the country was of the dangerous H5N1 strain.

Harry Potter might possess the powers to vanquish evil wizards -- but not Chinese pirates.

One of Shanghai's main business districts is urging office workers to ditch their suits and ties for shorts and T-shirts Friday as temperatures approach 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

Britain is seeking ways to enable clean power sources to be linked much more quickly to the electricity network so that the country can meet carbon emissions targets, the government said on Thursday.

Sony Corp. said its first-quarter profit more than trippled, beating expectations, after strong digital camera sales and a softer yen far outweighed losses on the struggling PlayStation 3 game console.

Suspended in laser light, thousands of atoms pair up and dance, each moving in perfect counterpoint to its partner.

Near record oil prices are expected to keep most investors keen, even though one of the Dutch pension funds that helped to lead an inrush of financial players is reviewing its exposure.

Future Motorola, Inc. mobile devices may include tiny projectors to display images on walls or other surfaces.

Electronic publisher Thomson Corp. reported a higher second-quarter profit on Thursday, as it works to complete its purchase of Reuters Group Plc.

The increased heart risk from Vioxx, Merck & Co's withdrawn arthritis medicine, begins much earlier than after 18 months of use, according to a study that contradicts assertions by the drug maker and its scientists.

Colombia, long known as little more than the world's kidnapping capital and home to Latin America's longest-running guerrilla war, is attracting tourists at record numbers because of better security.c

Apple Inc. on Wednesday said its quarterly profit rose 73 percent from a year earlier, zooming past expectations on strong Macintosh computer sales and helping to send its shares up nearly 10 percent.

Apple Inc. said Wednesday that it sold 270,000 iphones on the first weekend it was available for sale, a figure on the lower end of some initial estimates.

Apple, Inc. reported Wednesday that it earned posted a quarterly profit and revenue higher than consensus Wall Street estimates.

Kushal Pal Singh, chairman of India's leading real estate developer, DLF Ltd. became a trillionaire in rupee terms - the third to do so - as DLF shares rose sharply by 4 percent on Monday, pushing its market value to about Rs. 1,14,744 crore (US$28.5 billion).

Ford Motor Co. is expected to post its eighth straight quarterly loss on Thursday as investors focus on signs of progress in the automaker's turnaround and its sale of luxury brands, analysts said.

India's leading steel producer Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. has inked a $2.1 billion (1.5 billion euros, 1 billion pounds) deal with Bolivia for development of one of the world's largest iron ore deposits, El Mutun, along with steel making facilities.

Indian corporations must play a more proactive role in adoption and implementation of corporate citizenship practices, a top official of state-owned oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said.

Nike, the world's leading maker of sports apparel, shoes and fitness instruments, has rebuffed the claims of its German rival Adidas that it has unlawfully used Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar's images for endorsements while he was not playing for the country.

Chrysler Corp. on Wednesday postponed its $12 billion auto loan deal, while Chrysler Financial Services sweetened the pricing on $6 billion of term loans for the second time, market sources told Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.

Microsoft Corp.’s Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems have been steadily losing ground during the first half of 2007 as their newer cousin, Windows Vista continues to gain market share, new data shows . Mac OS remained steady.

Raids and arrests in China have been made over the past two weeks in connection with a major software counterfeiting syndicate responsible for more than $2 billion in pirated Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) software.

Fujitsu Limited has developed new 2.5 -inch hard disk drives which are designed for 24-hours of continuous operation and are available in storage capacities of up to 200 GB.

Toshiba Corp., NEC Electronics Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. are considering development of 32-nanometer advanced system to offset research costs and better compete with rivals the companies said on Wednesday.

Volvo AB shares dropped 7 percent on Wednesday after the truck maker said second-quarter net profit fell 14 percent as the North American truck market continued to drag on the firm’s otherwise strong demand in Europe and Asia.