IBT Staff Reporter

The French Development Agency (AFD) signed a subsidized loan agreement on Wednesday with top South African bank, Nedbank, for $50.1 million (€40 million) to provide housing loans for low-income households.

The company behind the Bratz series of fashion dolls is partnering with a Canadian designer to bring a new series of Haute Couture dolls to the local market.

The Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin reported on Wednesday that manufacturing production has grown by around 1.9 percent compared to August levels.

The semiconductor market is showing strong signs of growth, new research shows, with global sales expected to rise to $255.7 billion in 2006, up 7.8 percent from the previous year.

Samsung Electronics announced a 10-megapixel camera phone to the South Korean market on Wednesday.

Companies that do not refine their remote-working policies will incur increasing information-technology expenditures, seeing costs multiply up to 10 fold by 2010, new research indicates.

WTO members began negotiating Vietnam's membership to the trade body on Monday. The talks are aimed at concluding the final terms of agreement and completing the deal by the end of the month.

Despite recent massive recalls of batteries by major PC manufacturers, the world wide battery demand is projected to rise at nearly 7 percent per year, reaching $73.6 billion by 2010.

Jewelry sales in the U.S. are expected to rise 6.3 percent from 2005 to reach $62.6 billion by the end of the year, according to the Bureau of Economic analysis.

On Monday, Google announced its acquisition of online video leader YouTube in a $1.65 billion stock deal, an amount unprecedented in Google's acquisition history. Despite the high price, however, experts believe the move strategically places the firm ahead of its rivals.

Nokia donated $1.25 million (€1 million) to Plan, an international children's organization, the company announced on Monday. The funds will be used to modernize communications technologies in Africa and raise children's awareness of their rights and opportunities.

The market for software that allows one machine to host multiple operating systems rose in 2005 by 67 percent, topping the previous record set in 2004 of 63 percent growth new research indicates.

Internet search giant Yahoo Inc. is creating an electronic time-capsule - comprising electronic data submitted from internet users - which the company will use to commemorate the year of 2006.

Deutsche Telekom AG, the venture capital division of Motorola Inc. T-Online Venture Fund will invest $16 million in Ruckus Wireless Inc., a wireless equipment manufacturer that designed Wi-Fi routers that can beam various forms of media around the home.

The biggest ever EU investment conference got underway on Monday with the start of a four day meeting in Brussels. A total of 30 European countries will prepare around 300 regional development programs for the next seven years worth $630 billion (€500 billion).

The world's largest online search firm announced today that it will buy the largest online video site for $1.65 billion in stock. Google will combine its advertising and data organizing expertise with Youtube's video sharing prowess and traffic.

Sony Pictures will release its first 50GB Blu-ray disc on Tuesday, making it the first to release a film in the next-generation DVD format on any disk at that capacity.

Denmark announced a donation of $2.37 million (DKK 14 million) to support the WTO's technical assistance and training activities in developing countries.

One of the world's largest diamonds, the 603-carat “Lesotho Promise Diamond,” was sold on Monday for $12.36 million, announced Gem Diamonds, the former owners of the diamond.

Most employees working away from the office say they are aware of security risks surrounding them and their data, however a new report released on Monday indicates they still engage in risky online behavior.

Following more than 3 months at the helm of the embattled Airbus jet-making division of parent company EADS, the division's CEO, Christian Streiff resigned on Monday. The EADS board announced that his replacement would be Louis Gallois, the current Co-CEO of the company.

The South Korean UN Secretary-General nominee said on Monday he would work towards resolving the North Korea's nuclear bomb test crisis.

The world's largest software maker, Microsoft Corp., released a more matured version the pre-release version to its Windows Vista operating system on Friday, prompting some experts to restate their confidence that the anticipated software will not face further delays.

The Wall Street Journal reported this Friday that search leader Google is in active talks to acquire online video site, YouTube, for $1.6 billion; a move some analyst believe is in Google's best interests.

The Kyrgyz Republic has made impressive progress since its economic and political transition to a market-based economy, but some continued reform remains important, the WTO Secretariat reported on Monday.

Google announced a number of partnerships on Monday in an effort to expand its Google Video service, adding music videos from two major record labels through an ad-supported model.

Sony Electronics introduced high-definition technology for medical surgery on Monday, rolling out equipment allowing practitioners to see details of patients at never-before resolutions.

Not all online social networks are the same, according to new research released this week. Internet research firm, comScore Networks, said on Thursday that significant age differences exist between the user bases of these websites.

Revenue from disk storage in the Czech Republic is expected to surge in 2006 according to market research firm, IDC.