COMPANIES

Everyone knows that black licorice tastes pretty bad, but if you notice that your pack of Red Vines Black Licorice Twists are especially terrible, there's a reason: they're full of lead.

Plaintiffs for the class-action lawsuit filed against Rex Venture Group, ZeekRewards, and the company's found and CEO Paul Burks are being represented by James "Cal" Cunningham, a local politician and former member of the North Carolina Senate.

Salesforce.com's (NYSE: CRM) second-quarter results proved its strategy of adapting its software-as-a-service model to the increased use of the cloud by enterprises can pay off handsomely for investors.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is expanding its immunization offerings in the U.S. to help lift domestic revenue to levels it is achieving outside the U.S.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) is cancelling its order for 35 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, the Australian airline announced Thursday, dealing the U.S. maker of the advanced aircraft an $8.5 billion drop in sales.

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), the world's biggest software company, is getting a facelift at 25. The company unveiled a new corporate logo Thursday that uses color for the first time: red, green, blue and yellow in squares next to the company name .

After beating market expectations earlier this month with its second-quarter earnings, Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) has managed to remain competitive against the king of low prices: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Apple fans can't wait to get their hands on the iPhone 5, and now, they may not have to. Even though some claim to be selling iPhone 5 parts in China, one Chinese company is actually selling modification kits based on the rumored design specs and features of the phone, which allow owners of the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S to make their phone look like the next-gen model. Apple iPhone 5: How To Transform Your iPhone 4/4S With Next-Gen Specs, Features [VIDEO]

Salesforce.com’s (NYSE: CRM)’s second-quarter results are expected to show that its strategy of adapting its software-as-a-service model to the increased use of the cloud by enterprises can pay off handsomely for investors.

According to a lengthy Kotaku article, Nintendo has begun openly discussing its direction with the Miiverse.

On Wednesday, Sept. 12, Apple is expected to debut the new iPhone, unofficially dubbed iPhone 5, as well as a brand-new tablet to its iPad line, the iPad Mini. We may even see a new iPod Nano, and a new 13" inch Retina MacBook Pro. However, it is highly unlikely these products will be released together. In fact, we believe Apple's release date for the iPhone 5 could be a full month before the iPad Mini launch. Will Apple Release The iPhone 5 A Full Month Before The iPad Mini?

As an attempt to increase its subscriber base, T-Mobile is offering unlimited data plan from Sept. 5, after suspending sales last year.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

Platinum rose to its highest level since early May on Wednesday and was set for its biggest weekly gain in 10 months as spreading labor unrest in top producer South Africa cast doubt over output for the year.

Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the western Denmark-based energy company and the world's largest maker of wind turbines, announced Wednesday that it is letting go of 1,400 workers - a 7 percent cut of its entire workforce.

Mac OS X Mountain Lion has out in the wild for a month now, and by and large, users are very happy with Apple's biggest new cat. Apple will address some of the most common issues reported among early adopters of Mountain Lion in the 10.8.1 update, but on Tuesday, it's been reported that the first maintenance upgrade "substantially" improves battery life on MacBook laptops.

Online auctioneer eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) will team with Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) to offer electronic payments in as many as seven million U.S. outlets next year, the companies announced. The move is intended to spur e-payments among users of smartphones.

Shares of Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), the No. 3 PC maker, plunged more than 5 percent after the company reported poor second-quarter results and issued a forecast for lower sales ahead. In pre-market trading, shares fell as low as $11.72, down 62 cents.

Saudi Arabia will begin deep-water drilling in the Red Sea by the end of the year, says Khalid al Falih, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), the world’s biggest computer company, has nowhere to go but up. Scheduled to report third-quarter financials after the market close Wednesday, investors and technologists will be watching for signs that its restructuring and massive write-offs are over.