COMPANIES

Independent Chicago broker R.J. O'Brien, which got more former accounts from bankrupt rival MF Global than any other merchant, built on that success in December, while other brokers lost some of that extra business, data showed on Monday.

Apple Inc once again rewarded shareholders richly as its shares surged to new highs above $500 on Monday. There is, though, one part of the iPhone and iPad company's business that is not exactly humming: Its management of a pile of money now probably exceeding $100 billion.

U.S. and European regulators approved Google Inc's $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility on Monday and said they would keep a sharp eye on the web search giant to ensure patents critical to the telecom industry would be licensed at fair prices.

The Dallas-based company will now charge $36 to upgrade a phone compared to $18 previously.

Ratings agencies Fitch lowered its ratings on four big Spanish banks while Standard & Poor's cut its rating for the industry as a whole on Monday following recent sovereign downgrades and on concerns of funding difficulties and a weak economy.

Social news site Reddit, which hosts a vast range of ever-changing content from puppies to memes to atheist rants, decided on Monday that suggestive or sexual content depicting minors would no longer be welcomed on the site.

Apple made history Monday as shares of the world’s most valuable company exceeded $500 for the first time. They closed at a record $502.60.

A Belgian court has ruled that Tintin in the Congo does not break racism laws and therefore will not be banned in the country

Apple's stock price hit $500 per share for the first time on Monday, peaking at $503.83 in yet another sign that the company's fortunes continue to rise.

Deere & Co., the world's largest maker of farm tractors and combines, is expected to report strong fiscal first quarter results as U.S. farmers flush with cash update aging fleets and Deere's products gain greater acceptance in Brazil.

Shares of C&W closed up 44.51 percent to £28.54 ($45.02) on the London Stock Exchange.

Apple issued a press release on Monday announcing that the Fair Labor Association has begun investigating Foxconn's upon Apple's request. It was a necessary move, but it would never have happened without CEO Tim Cook at the helm.

One of the people hired to transport actress Lindsay Lohan's stuff is planning to sell information and photos on it.

No one really knows about the mystery behind the scenes backstage preparing for a runway show. The International Business Times caught up with members of the back of house -- the makeup and nail teams -- backstage before the Falguni and Shane Peacock show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York who are responsible for adding accessories of their own to the collection: ornate makeup and nail designs.

For the Fall 2012 ready-to-wear collection by Custo Barcelona at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, designer Custo Dalmau focused on the fabric story, mixing ordinary fabrics with tech fabric and playing with colors. View the slideshow to see photos of the Custo Barcelona RTW show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York.

As Apple readies its next-generation tablet -- the iPad 3 -- for a March release date, countless questions about the device still remain. Who made the display? Is it thinner or thicker than the iPad 2? What does it look like?

Apple, under attack for poor labor practices at its Asian contract manufacturers, said it had asked the Fair Labor Association to inspect them.

The voluntary buyouts are for employees who are at least 56 years old and have worked at the McLean, Va.-based company for at least 20 years as of March 31, according to a company memorandum.

Shares of Apple, the world’s most valuable technology company, hit the $500 mark Monday valuing the company at $462 billion. It remains the world's most valuable company.

As the first traces of snow began to fall on day four of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, Falguni and Shane Peacock heated things up in the studio with their Fall 2012 collection that embodies dark, edgy glamour. View the slideshow to see photos of the Falguni and Shane Fall 2012 runway show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York.

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, which was released only a few weeks back, has gained rave reviews for its battery longevity. Motorola with Razr Maxx has successfully addressed the age-old battery problem that smartphone users often complain about. But even before the Moto lovers could explore their new device, the company has launched another version of their flagship Droid - Droid 4! Now Motorola, with their new two great launches, sparked rivalry among the siblings.

Droid 4, which was released Friday (Feb. 10), is Motorola's first 4G LTE smartphone that comes with the QWERTY keyboard.

Skyrim was one of the best games of 2011 and since then the developers have introduced a host of patches to address different in-game issues and improve the overall gameplay. Patch 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 are already there to remove and repair any kind of bugs in the game. However, new DLCs are already on the way and there are speculations about what they will bring. Here are the top five speculated improvements.

Apple Inc raised the stake in an intensifying global patent battle with Samsung Electronics by targeting the latest model using Google's fast growing Android software, a move which may affect other Android phone makers.

Microsoft India's retail website was down on Monday after an apparent hack, with a purportedly Chinese group called Evil Shadow Team posting doctored screenshots that seemed to be of partially obscured customers' usernames and passwords.

Microsoft's online store in India was hacked by a Chinese hacker group called EvilShadow team - 7z1&Ancker Monday morning.

Tom Storrs, who set a small North Carolina bank on the path to becoming one of the largest U.S. financial institutions, died Friday at age 93.

Turn the clock back 13 years to 1999. Seek out the Chief Information Officer of every large business. What was the big worry? Y2K.

The U.S.-Israeli consortium developing the Tamar natural-gas field off Israel's coast said on Sunday it had signed a 15-year deal to supply an Israeli power-plant operator with an estimated $680 million worth of gas.