BUSINESS

Sony Mobile announced Thursday that it would lay off about 15 percent (approximately 1,000 personnel) of its global workforce as part of its global operational restructure. The company also announced that it would move its corporate headquarters from Lund, Sweden, to Tokyo, Japan in October.

Public sector banks in India were closed for the second day Thursday as thousands of employees boycotted work and participated in the two-day strike called by the United Forum of Bank Employees Union.

Most of the Asian markets rose Thursday amid hopes that the U.S. and China would soon announce stimulus measures to tackle the weakening global economy.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open Thursday as investor sentiment was lifted by expectations that policy makers around the world would announce monetary easing measures to regain the economic growth momentum.

India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram Wednesday approved a proposal to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling in insurance and pension sectors to 49 percent from the existing 26 percent to boost investor confidence.

European markets rose Thursday as investors were hopeful ahead of the meetings between the Greek and other euro zone leaders this week to discuss measures to tackle the economic and financial instability affecting Greece.

Hewlett-Packard Co swung to an $8.9 billion quarterly loss as personal computer sales shrank again and it swallowed a huge write-down linked to its $13.9 billion purchase of Electronic Data Systems Corp.

The top after-market Nasdaq gainers Wednesday were The Hain Celestial Group, Pacific Sunwear of California Inc, Synopsys Inc, Ctrip.com International Ltd and Kandi Technologies Corp. The top after-market Nasdaq losers were DFC Global Corp, XOMA Corporation, Kayak Software Corporation, Semtech Corporation and RF Micro Devices Inc.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Wednesday were Western Asset Mortgage, SunTrust Banks, Best Buy Co, Trinity Industries and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. The top after-market NYSE losers were Guess?, Inc, International Rectifier, Hewlett-Packard, Big Lots and Whitestone REIT.

Asian stock markets were mostly higher Thursday after details from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting suggested that the central bank might act again to bolster the U.S. economy.

China's manufacturing activity fell in August compared to that in July, according to the preliminary HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index released Thursday.

Asian shares rose and the euro hit a seven-week high Thursday as the Federal Reserve's minutes raised the prospect for more U.S. stimulus while uncertainty continued over progress in Europe's debt crisis, including the European Central Bank's bold action.

A Virginia man was indicted Wednesday on federal and local charges for last week's shooting of an unarmed security guard at a conservative Christian lobbying group in Washington, federal authorities said.

A class-action lawsuit was filed Wednesday against Rex Venture Group, ZeekRewards and the company's founder and CEO Paul Burks.

The puzzling circumstances surrounding Hollywood icon Natalie Wood's death from drowning in 1981 have remained a mystery for more than 30 years. Although some followers had hoped for some long last resolution at when the case was reopened in November 2011, William McSweeney, chief of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, says it is very unlikely that any new information will emerge at this point.

A new video offers the clearest view yet of what the 2014 C7 Corvette will likely look like, as it takes all the information, photographs, renderings and rumors about the C7, and combines it into one short video complete with renderings based on an animation firm's hypotheses about its appearance.

In response to this unprecedented level of ad disapproval, Apple on Thursday reportedly pulled all of the "Genius" commercials from its website and from its YouTube channel. Apple would like to believe these three Mac commercials never existed, and so would we.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), the world’s biggest computer company, reported third-quarter financials after the market close Wednesday, taking a record charge of $10.8 billion that resulted in a net loss of $8.9 billion, or $4.49 a share.

The good news for investors in Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social networking site, is that the shares didn’t set a new, post-initial public offering low on Wednesday. But they have come close, trading as low as $18.96 before recovering to $19.40, up 24 cents in late trading.

Traffic on the Mississippi River halted again Wednesday due to a grounded barge near Greenville, Miss., as the nation's main waterway falls toward a record low level because of the worst U.S. drought in over a half century.

Black Isle, the company behind such games as the original post-apocalyptic RPG “Fallout” and “Planescape: Torment” has apparently been revived by Interplay, according to Kotaku.

More than two weeks after the Curiosity rover successfully landed on Mars, NASA on Wednesday finally released a full-resolution video of Curiosity's descent to the red planet. You can view the video here, or at the bottom of this page.

Tasmania, which has one of the highest rates of smoking among youth in Australia, would be the first place in the world to impose such an age-based ban.

Are you entitled or empowered? Do you feel you are owed, or do you feel you own something? This simple choice reflects your view of the world. It stands for your self-image.

At present, the widest wealth gap is found in Guatemala, while Venezuela boasts the most equitable income distribution in the region.

The announcement Wednesday that the notoriously fangless British Financial Services Authority is going after the most blatant fraudsters in U.K. finance opened a window on some of the sleaziest financial hucksterism in Great Britain.

Three websites accused of copyright infringement for allowing the illegal download of Android apps have been taken down. Applanet.net, Appbucket.net and Snappzmarket.com have all been seized by the FBI.

We're less than a month away from the alleged unveiling date for the iPhone 5, and Apple fans can't wait to get their hands on the company's latest model, which promises a new exterior design and hundreds of new features inside. While selling an old smartphone or iPhone before the next one releases has a few benefits, by and large, most users should wait to sell their old iPhones to buy an iPhone 5. We explain five reasons to wait it out.

With rumors swirling that the next generation iPhone will have a Sept. 12 release date and hit stores on Sept. 21, many are wondering what they can do with their old iPhone or recently purchased iPhone. But Gazelle, one of the nation's largest consumer electronics trade-in site, has the answer. Gazelle will extend its iPhone buyback deal with the current August price locked in until October so that consumers can take advantage of the highly anticipated new iPhone. But how exactly does a custo...