IBT Staff Reporter

A major slowdown in demand for large-screen LCD screens is triggering a big price drops for flat panels, making televisions and computer displays cheaper than ever.

The Beatles and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) ended their long standing trademark dispute, possibly paving the way for the band's music to appear on the Apple iTunes online music store.

General Motors Corp. won't budge from its strategy of reducing rebates and other incentives just because it saw a steep sales drop in January, a top executive said Saturday.GM's sales were off 16.6 percent compared with January 2006.

Communications technology company Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) said this week that it has developed technology that can reduce the size of wireless headsets, while improving the sound quality and energy efficiency.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is facing an investor lawsuit alleging that it improperly accounted for hundreds of millions of dollars in payments from Intel.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is advising Windows customers who use its iTunes music software to delay upgrading to Microsoft's next-generation operating system, as it addresses a number of incompatibilities, one of which may damage a connected iPod.

Demand for consumer electronics helped the global semiconductor market hit a new record in 2006, with sales topping a quarter of a trillion dollars.

Hynix Semiconductor Inc.'s remarkable performance in the lucrative memory market for DRAM surpassed all but one of its rivals, as it rose to take second place in market share growth and revenue in the fourth quarter, and all of 2006.

Rich Templeton, Texas Instruments' (NYSE: TXN) president and chief executive officer, has been visiting engineering students at some of the nation's top universities, encouraging them to raise awareness of their field to next generation of students.

Viacom (NYSE: VIA) informed YouTube on Friday that over 100,000 unauthorized clips on its web site – representing 1.2 billion video streams – must be removed immediately from its site.

Motorola is hoping to be seen on the red carpet for the Academy Awards in Hollywood, announcing it is handing out its latest, not-yet-available in the US cell phone to 25 of the top nominees.

The million dollar club is becoming less exclusive, as the number of millionaire households in the U.S. has risen 56 percent since 2003, reaching 5.4 million, according to a new study.

Just one day after the announcement that the seventh and last book in the Harry Potter series would be released July 21, Pottermania is raging once again, with e-retailer Amazon.com reporting record advance sales of the heavily discounted book.

Cross-town chip rivals Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) and AMD (NYSE: AMD) sparred in the graphics chip market during the fourth quarter of 2006, with most recent data indicating that AMD gained ground in the latest quarter but it wasn't enough to keep Nvidia away from the top spot.

Consumer electronics maker Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and network equipment manufacturer Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) said they have agreed to extend Apple's time to respond to Cisco's lawsuit alleging that Apple's ‘iPhone' name is violating a trademark.

Author J.K. Rowling said the last of 7 books is due on July 21.

The rise of Portable Media Players (PMPs) and downloadable content is forcing car makers to rethink automotive onboard entertainment by adding connectivity to what have traditionally been standalone audio and video systems, new research shows.

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) gained ground in its ongoing battle with chip rival, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) in the most recent quarter, continuing to capture unit share, but slipped in terms of revenue.

Mobile phone maker Sony-Ericsson said Wednesday that it will begin manufacturing low-cost cell phones in India, capitalizing on manufacturing agreements made with Flextronics and Foxconn.

Nigeria continues to rank as the riskiest country to do business with over the Internet a new survey released Wednesday shows, with New York identified as the riskiest city in North America.

Since going public in 2004, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has emerged as the premier name in Internet search and advertising, while rivals have been unable to slow its success or popularity.

The chief executives leading the world's two largest stock markets - the New York Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange - shook hands high above the NYSE trading floor before the opening bell on Wednesday, after announcing that the groups will create an alliance that sets the stage for a possible merger or acquisition.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Sony BMG agreed to settle charges from the commission that it secretly installed software on users' computers that would monitor listening habits for marketing purposes, while also limiting the ability to play the music on certain devices and make copies.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced upgraded features to its rack mounted search appliance on Tuesday, promising improved security and performance for small to medium sized businesses.

Prices are falling and availability is rising for High-Definition Televisions (HDTVs), according to a report released Tuesday.

Robust demand for mobile phones helped Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, ship more phones than its two closest competitors combined in 2006. One report indicates that it will continue to pressure rivals in 2007.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which dominates the market for digital music players, said it begins selling its entry level iPod in four additional colors today, touting the player as a fashion accessory.

Computer software sales declined in 2006 compared to the previous year, due in part to consumers waiting for the release of Windows Vista and diminished purchases of tax software, according to a report.

Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, said that it is investigating a flaw in its Microsoft Word 2000 word processor that may allow remote users with malicious intent to take control of a user's computer.