BUSINESS

Google Inc.'s Android is dominating smartphone sales in Australia, overtaking Apple Inc.'s iOS for the first time, according to a new research.

Standard & Poor's, the ratings agency that deprived the United States of its AAA rating, is being probed by the Department of Justice over credit ratings of several mortgage securities that led to the financial crisis in 2008.

China Mobile logged its fastest half-yearly profit growth in nearly three years and said it hopes to soon launch Apple's popular iPhones to accelerate uptake of high-end 3G services.

Stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 2 percent, Dow Jones futures down 1.5 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 2.2 percent at 5:17 a.m. EDT.

If the rumors are to be believed then iPhone 6 will arrive in Apple stores worldwide sometime in July 2012.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: Qihoo 360 Technology, CONSOL Energy, Eastman Kodak, CACI International and Brookdale Senior Living. The top after-market NYSE losers are: International Rectifier, MGM Resorts International, Invesco Mortgage Capital, EMC Corp and Guess?, Inc.

European equities followed Asian stocks lower Thursday as investors fretting about the global growth outlook cut exposure to riskier assets, while the Swiss franc fell on talk the central bank was intervening in the forwards market.

A U.S. Secret Service Agent was arrested and charged with drunk driving last weekend in Iowa ahead of President Barack Obama's visit.

Google's $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings probably will not lead Microsoft to respond by buying Nokia, an industry analyst says.

The ViewPad 10pro is one of the first tablets to be powered by the new 1.5GHz Intel Atom processor Z670.

Software giant Microsoft is working on an App Store for Windows 8 whose additional details are expected to be revealed at Microsoft's BUILD Conference in September.

Gold demand fell in the second quarter but is still expected to rise for the full year as Asian buyers add to holdings and investors shift to it as a safe haven, the World Gold Council said Thursday.

Asian stocks fell Thursday on profit-taking by nervous investors, while the Swiss franc stayed firm after plans to curb the currency disappointed those looking for more drastic action.

The technology giant is planning to disclose details and information about its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system on its blog in the coming weeks.

The motive behind the killing of 3-year-old Missouri girl Breeann Rodriguez remains a mystery even after a neighbor arrested Saturday has confessed that he suffocated the child with a plastic bag before dumping her body in a ditch.

Global economic stability rests on the United States and China working together, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told top Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing Thursday.

Netflix will continue its international expansion, rolling out service in Spain in January 2012.

LED maker Cree Inc (CREE.O) on Wednesday said it would pay $525 million for Ruud Lighting Inc, expanding its presence in the market for outdoor lighting systems.

Sony?s decision to cut the price of its already popular gaming console Playstation 3 has brought about a hike in sales at several retail outlets.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he has been "stunned" by the response to his call for a boycott on political donations in response to Washington's poor handling of the debt-ceiling issue.

Google Inc. shocked the technology world with its $12.5 billion all-cash deal to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, valuing each essential patent at about $20 million, to defend its Android ecosystem.

When sheriff's deputies in Southern California raided a suspected drug house they found the expected - guns and methamphetamine. But something else, too: Some two dozen granite tombstones in the backyard.

Motorola Mobility Holdings director William Hambrecht has resigned.

The company has laid out its reasons for asking concessions from its aggrieved workforce.

Microsoft has gained the upper hand in by getting its patent battle with Motorola Mobility moved to its preferred federal court in its hometown of Seattle.

Jared Cano was expelled from the Florida school more than a year ago for an off-campus incident. It is alleged that Cano planned to set off many homemade pipe bombs on the first day of school next week. Two assistant principals were also targets, authorities have told the media.

Google has agreed to buy struggling Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion or $40 a share in cash, making a positive situation for Microsoft as it vies to get back into the mobile phone business.

Steve Jobs' inventions/projects at Apple have shaped how we live, work, and play.

Body of toddler to be examined.