COMPANIES

China Telecom subsidiary Beijing Telecom announced in a local news release and as reported by various media outlets that the CDMA version of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4S would likely become available in late February or early March.

Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's largest oil and natural gas company, posted fourth quarter earnings that despite less than favorable market conditions, exceeded analyst expectations thanks to increased natural gas sales.

Mining group Xstrata and commodities trader Glencore are in talks about an all-share deal that could create a combined group worth more than 50 billion pounds ($79 billion).

Now that the Facebook filing is available, it's pretty clear that before he turns 28, CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be a billionaire. Maybe, if the IPO is as successful as hoped, he'll be worth about $28 billion.

Shares of e-retailer Amazon plunged as much as 11 percent Wednesday after the company reported poor results. The fall sliced more than $1.6 billion from the fortune of CEO Jeff Bezos.

Picture President Barack Obama's reelection campaign as a showroom. Over there, at one stand, is an overall improving economy -- he hopes. And somewhere in the showroom, either as a part of the economy stand or standing on its own, will be the health and restoration of the United States automotive industry. If the past week and a half is any indication, Obama plans to use it as a critical point in his reelection campaign as the industry continues a dramatic recovery from dire straits just mor...

The iPhone Dev-team is currently working on the iPhone 4S unlock.

Samsung Galaxy S3, which has already generated significant interest among smartphone enthusiasts, is all set to carry on the legacy of Galaxy S2 and become the best device in the history of Android phones believe smartphone lovers.

Facebook unveiled plans for the biggest ever Internet IPO that could raise as much as $10 billion, but made it clear CEO Mark Zuckerberg will exercise almost complete control over the company, leaving investors with little say.

Japan's ailing electronics giant, Sony Corp (6758.T), warned investors on Thursday it was heading for a worse-than-expected $2.9 billion annual loss, revealing the daunting task ahead for its incoming chief executive, Kazuo Hirai.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. introduced a shorter, cheaper version of its Swift Dzire sedan on Wednesday as part of efforts to retain its position as the country's largest car maker by sales.

The incoming new chief of Japan's Sony Corp will confront the enormity of his task to turn around the business on Thursday, when the humbled electronics icon is expected to show it is headed for its fourth straight annual loss.

Wall Street's own watchdog filed a complaint against Charles Schwab Corp on Wednesday accusing the online brokerage of requiring customers to waive their rights to pursue class actions against the firm, a violation of industry rules.

Anti-virus software maker AVG Technologies NV priced its initial public offering at $16 per share, at the low end of the expected range, according to a market source.

Federal authorities successfully kept a U.S. businessman in jail Wednesday ahead of his trial for trade secret theft, and argued that it was Chinese government representatives who directed him to obtain valuable technology manufactured by chemical giant DuPont.

Colin Firth has signed on to star as Ron Lax, the private investigator whose detective work helped get three men who had been convicted of murder released from prison in Arkansas, the producers of the Devil's Knot told TheWrap Wednesday.

Qualcomm Inc's quarterly profit easily beat Wall Street forecasts and the wireless chip leader raised its full-year financial targets due to growing demand for smartphones such as Apple Inc's popular iPhone.

Yum Brand Inc's Taco Bell chain has been linked to a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 68 people in 10 states late last year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to drop almost all of a $710 million claim against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's bankruptcy estate, freeing up more money to be distributed to creditors, Lehman said on Wednesday.

GT Advanced Technologies posted quarterly profit above analysts' estimates for the ninth time in a row, partly helped by better performance at its polysilicon segment, but it cut the upper end of its full-year earnings outlook.

Business software company Open Text posted a 28 percent jump in second-quarter profit on Wednesday on solid demand from services, technology and financial customers.

AMR Corp, the parent of bankrupt American Airlines, wants to slash 13,000 jobs and terminate employee pension plans as part of a cost-cutting strategy the carrier says is necessary to compete with rivals.

Officials with Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, and Brazil's environmental protection agency (IBAMA), announced Wednesday that 26 cubic meters of oily water was collected from an offshore oil production column that ruptured the day before.

Ryan Reynolds has put the house he lived in with ex-wife Scarlett Johansson up for sale.

Apple's seventh-generation iPod Nano will reportedly come with a built-in camera. Rumors of this feature were known about a year ago, but with newer photos and Apple patenting the device, it's a near-certainty that the next iPod Nano will record still and video images.

Documentary film maker Josh Fox, famous for his film Gasland, was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a subcommittee hearing of the House Science Committee as an Environmental Protection Agency administrator testified on a controversial EPA draft study.

Shares of London-based Hochschild Mining closed Wednesday up 5.91 percent to £523.50 ($829.24), solidly outpacing the rise in the price of silver.

After four consecutive years of losses, Sony Corp. is replacing chief executive officer Howard Stringer with the head of the company's consumer electronics business, Kazuo Hirai. He'll become Sony's youngest CEO ever as he tries to prop up the deflated brand equity of Sony.

Shares of AOL, the seventh most-visited Website, leaped as much as 16.5 percent Wednesday after reporting improved financial results bolstered by a rise in display advertising.