COMPANIES

A federal immigration agent died and another was injured in a shootout that followed a confrontation between the U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) officers in Long Beach, California, the latest reports said.

Cisco has said it is challenging Microsoft's $8.5 billion takeover of Skype at the European Union's top court.

Twitter Inc. has officially introduced a service which will permit small businesses to buy and place ads on the online messaging platform.

China's top search engine, Baidu Inc, plans to begin monetizing its mobile search traffic and social media platforms this year in an effort to boost growth outside its traditional PC domain, Baidu's chief executive said on Friday.

One-legged millionaire Thomas Hartmann sentenced to 60 days in prison after hitting woman in the head with his Rolex watch.

Hank Morris, who was convicted for his role in an extensive pay-to-play pension scam, will face at least another year in prison after being denied bail.

A report this week showing rampant foreclosure abuse in San Francisco reflects similar levels of lender fraud and faulty documentation across the United States, say experts and officials who have done studies in other parts of the country.

A U.S. judge intends to schedule a retrial for this June between Oracle Corp and SAP AG over copyright infringement allegations, according to a court filing.

Chip-equipment maker Applied Materials expects a strong recovery in the second quarter, as orders pick up in an industry beset by a year-long slump.

Demand Media, which went public just over a year ago, promised its shareholders that revenue growth would accelerate by the second quarter after it reported a fourth-quarter net loss due to costs for improving its platforms.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, accused each company of violating 15 different patents related to wireless network services, both individually and through interoperability agreements among the wireless carriers.

Baidu, China’s equivalent of Google, reported fourth-quarter earnings rose more than expected due to heavier Internet use and sales.Baidu said net income rose 77 percent to $326.3

Ekaterina Rybolovleva, 22, now owns the most expensive apartment ever sold in New York City, after her billion father, Russian fertiliser magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev on Wednesday, closed the $88 million-deal for the Central Park West pad. He is said to be the 93rd richest man.

If you like searching for travel options on Kayak and reading hotel reviews on TripAdvisor, now you can do both at the same time.

Activist investor Carl Icahn announced Thursday he was sweetening a takeover offer for independent petroleum refiner CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVI), proposing to buy all outstanding shares of the company, in cash, at $30 a share.

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, made available the latest version of its OS, dubbed Mountain Lion, for developers Thursday so that it will be able to ship new products by the third quarter.

Ground workers began striking on Thursday at Frankfurt Airport, Europe's third busiest airport, which has caused more than 150 flight cancellations. The strike took place from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. (CET). Workers are expected to strike on Friday, too. The Financial Times reports that strikes could last until the weekend.

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) has embarked on a study of the working conditions in factories run by eight of Apple's suppliers in China, according reports by Reuters. Auret van Heerden, president of the FLA, noted that the working environment imposed onto the workers, which inevitably perpetuates boredom, could have contributed to the tragic suicides. After several days' worth of visits to the facility, Heerden commended that the conditions were not as slave-like as reported previously....

Josh Powell, who killed himself and his two boys in a Feb. 5 explosion, is still not buried. While his sons Charlie,7, and Braden,5, were laid to rest on Saturday at Woodbine Cemetary, the people of Pierce County, Washington are fighting against Powell being buried next to his children. Before the explosion, Powell took a hatchet to his two boys.

Apple announced its upcoming operating system for Mac computers on Thursday, dubbed Mountain Lion. Here's a breakdown of all of the newest features:

Designers Joshua Cooper and Laurence Chandler of Rochambeau, French for the popular game rock-paper-scissors, focused on the men in the menswear for their inspiration, much to the pleasure of Theophilus London, who snagged a few items for himself. View the slideshow to see photos of the Fall 2012 Rochambeau collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy used his brand new Twitter account to official announce that he would seek re-election during France's 2012 presidential race.

Joanna Mastroianni took attendees of her Fall 2012 collection runway show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York for a journey around the world on Wednesday through the eyes, and wardrobe, of Iris Apfel, an influential textile designer and noted fashion maven. View the slideshow to see photos of the Fall 2012 Joanna Mastroianni show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York.

Moody's Investors Service placed 114 financial firms , as well as 17 banks and securities firms with global capital markets operations, under ratings review due to the ongoing Eurozone crisis.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's new Macintosh operating system, dubbed the Mountain Lion, will use several different features from the iPhone.

Everyone knows that industry consolidation leads to improved shareholder returns. India's mobile market may be the exception. Revocation of 2G licences and now a change in M&A rules are expected to force a long-awaited deal frenzy in this challenging sector.

General Motors Co (GM.N) posted a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as disappointing performance overseas offset strong results in North America.

General Motors Co. posted a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as disappointing performance overseas offset strong results in North America.

Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba may take its Hong Kong-listed unit Alibaba.com Ltd private at about the price of its 2007 initial public offering for about HK$18 billion ($2.3 billion), the Hong Kong Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing sources.