ITUNES

Apple Inc is calling a London news conference next Tuesday as speculation mounts that the consumer electronics guru will unveil long-awaited plans to bring its iconic iPhone cell phones to Europe.

News Corp. will not pull its television shows from Apple's iTunes as rival media group NBC Universal has done over a pricing dispute, President Peter Chernin said in an interview on Tuesday. He said News Corp was not in a dispute with Apple, though it would like a bigger voice in pricing its shows.

Apple Inc's hefty iPhone price cut pits it in direct competition with handsets from Motorola Inc and Palm Inc, which are struggling to convince Wall Street they can turn around their aging brands.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs defended his company's decision on Thursday to cut the price of the iPhone device by $200 this week, but offered existing buyers a $100 store credit and an apology after some complained of the sudden drop.

Apple Inc on Wednesday said the company was cutting the price of its iPhone and was on track to sell one million phones before the end of September.

Getting TV shows iTunes will be harder for Apple as firms avoid the music industry's mistakes.

Apple Inc is expected to unveil new iPods this week, injecting fresh excitement into the product line at a time when defections by partners have shown cracks in its digital music dominance.

NBC Universal has reached a deal for online retailer Amazon.com Inc to sell television show downloads, it said on Tuesday, just days after the media company pulled the plug on a contract with Apple Inc'siTunes.

NBC Universal has decided not to renew its contract to sell television shows on iTunes, becoming the second major media company to challenge Apple Inc's dominance in digital entertainment.

Apple Inc shares rose more than 5 percent on Wednesday on growing expectations that the company will announce a revamped line of iPods next week. The new units may have a large touch screen similar to the iPhone.

Apple Inc shares rose more than 4.5 percent on Wednesday, fueled by excitement over the pending launch of new iPod digital music players, which could entice current users to buy upgraded models.

Apple Inc may sell more than 800,000 iPhones in the current quarter, UBS said in a research note on Tuesday. That suggested the company would easily top its own target of some 730,000.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Tuesday that it was now selling digital music downloads on its Web site without the customary copy-protection technology that limits where consumers can play the songs.

His entire solo catalog will be available. The Beatles have been among the highest-profile holdouts to put tunes online.

Vivendi's Universal Music Group, the world's largest music label, on Thursday said it will test the sale of songs from artists such as Amy Winehouse, 50 Cent and the Black Eyed Peas, without customary copy-protection technology.

Apple Inc.'s shares rose more than 8 percent on Thursday after stronger-than-expected quarterly profits prompted a number of analysts to raise their price targets on the stock.

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.

Shares of Apple Inc fell 4 percent on Tuesday after AT&T Inc issued initial subscriber numbers for customers of Apple's iPhone that were below analyst estimates.

Apple Inc. said in April it expected to announce earnings of 66 cents per share for its quarterly report due on Wednesday but Wall Street analysts are anticipating a significantly higher result.