BUSINESS

The champion of the European Grand Prix on Sunday was Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari Formula One star leading the pack as the season's first repeat winner after eight races.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is considering splitting its business in two, separating its struggling handset manufacturing division from its messaging network, The Sunday Times reported.

In the 1950s, a consumer who wanted to buy eyeglasses borrowed $40 from the bank. Fast-forward to 2012: how about using your digital wallet to buy those glasses with your mobile phone? Maybe later this year.

The market sentiment is likely to remain subdued in the coming week as increasing expectations of a further global slowdown and economic headwinds from the euro zone will continue to weigh.

With Tropical Storm Debby more or less dead in the water of the central Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimates about 7.8 percent of the gulf's current daily oil production and about 8.16 percent of its current daily natural-gas production are now shut-in.

Treyarch?s upcoming ?Call of Duty: Black Ops 2? has fans and critics alike excited for the next chapter in the franchise. The game is set to take place in futuristic war-torn Los Angeles, but some say that ?Black Ops 2? is more than just a follow-up to the 2010 game: It will change the shooter genre forever.

Galaxy S3, the Korea-based company?s flagship smartphone for 2012, was finally unveiled after much anticipation at a recent launch event on June 20. Although the handset?s release date had been delayed, Samsung has decided to reveal some of the features that make its newest smartphone unique from its competitors.

The state has been barred from using capital punishment, although the court did not specifically rule that lethal injection or the death penalty is unconstitutional.

With all of its contradictions, Azerbaijan is a complex country to fully figure out: Its tangled friendships and autocratic policies are often puzzling as are its relations with the West. But its obsession with oil is as undiluted and unwavering as anything the country has ever done.

The fate of the Obama administration's health care reform law may finally be settled this week, when the U.S. Supreme Court is widely expected to finally announce whether the politically charged law will live or die.

?Halo 4,? which will be released worldwide on Nov. 6, was undoubtedly one of the biggest revelations at this year?s E3 conference. The franchise is considered to be one of Microsoft?s landmark titles for its Xbox console, and fans are eagerly awaiting the shooter-RPG?s next chapter.

Fans have tirelessly campaigned for a new ending to ?Mass Effect 3,? the third chapter in BioWare?s epic space-shooter trilogy. Although the company has denied that there will be an alternate conclusion to the game, a new downloadable content extension will dig deeper into the current controversial ending.

Who said computer guys don't enjoy sports? On Thursday night, Apple's senior VP of Internet software was spotted celebrating with the Miami Heat organization after winning its second NBA Championship, and Twitter user Mike Cragg (@mcragg726) uploaded a photo as proof.

Apple introduced some stunning new products and software at WWDC 2012, but pro users felt particularly neglected at the June event in San Francisco. Despite a few bumps in the specs, the iMac and Mac Pro were largely untouched this year, but Apple CEO Tim Cook promises something really great later next year. We're hearing a new desktop may come even sooner, but sans Retina Display.

Stereo systems. Clock radios. External speakers. In-car entertainment. It's possible that none of these iPhone accessories will be compatible with Apple's upcoming sixth-generation iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 5.

An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold. Does this Chinese proverb ring true in the case of Indians who invest in gold for a 'good time' tomorrow? Or is the craze for the yellow metal ruining the country's economy?

Japan's economy appears to be weakening in the April-June quarter as business conditions deteriorate and exports flatten off, suggesting that the recovery may have lost momentum.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Friday were: Teva Pharmaceutical, Lloyds Banking Group, Thompson Creek Metals Company, St. Jude Medical and Flotek Industries. The top after-market NYSE losers were: Hovnanian Enterprises, MGIC Investment Corp, Astrazeneca Plc, Tejon Ranch and 3D Systems Corp.

Most Asian markets fell this week as investors were worried after the U.S. Federal Reserve refused to announce a further round of quantitative easing and the HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) indicated that China's manufacturing activity was faltering.

The Amazon.com Inc. launch of AmazonSupply in April indicates the shift to online from offline commerce continues apace among industrial consumers, which increasingly prefer to buy goods electronically.

Jerry Sandusky, former assistant coach of the Penn State football team, was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of child sexual abuse Friday night.

Expectations for U.S. company earnings are on a slippery slope down Wall Street as the euro-zone crisis deepens and economic data around the world disappoints. With one week left in the second quarter, it is a good time to measure revisions in earnings estimates for companies in the S&P 500.

A list of winners and losers in the world of business and economics for the week of June 17.

Apple Inc. has become embroiled in controversy after reports that Atlanta-area Apple Store employees refused sale of iPads and other merchandise to Farsi speakers and people of Iranian descent. At the center of the accusations of racial profiling is how the company is interpreting the U.S. embargo on Iran.

A document surfaced last week that had video-game fans guessing about what's in store for Microsoft's next-generation Xbox 720. It quickly circulated around the Internet, leaving gamers wondering whether there was any truth behind the alleged plans in it. One source has contended the paperwork is in fact legitimate.

With prices at all-time lows, here's a look at some of the best beaches in Greece, where you can help out the Greek economy and get a bargain at the same time.

Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) will begin deliveries of test-drivable, production versions of its long-awaited successor to the Roadster electric car, the Model S sedan on Friday.

While coal has powered the 19th-century Industrial Revolution, heated homes and generated electricity, the era of King Coal has come to an end.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel resisted pressure on Friday for common euro zone bonds or a more flexible use of Europe's rescue funds but agreed with leaders of France, Italy and Spain on a ?130 billion ($156 billion) package to revive growth.