COMPANIES

Small business exporting can sound intimating, but with the right advice and research, business owners can make thoroughly informed decisions.

Wall Street axed 2,000 workers in December as poor profits led companies to slice expenses, the biggest reduction since last summer when the industry released its summer interns, James Brown, a labor market analyst with the New York Department of Labor, said on Thursday.

There's a new seed stage investor in town. Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, which set up shop at 20 Jay Street in DUMBO, is looking commit up to $500,000 and lead investments in seed and angel stage rounds for new internet-based companies.

Microsoft Corp's fiscal second-quarter profit fell very slightly as lagging computer sales to cash-strapped consumers in the United States and Europe hurt its core Windows business.

American Express Co reported a quarterly profit that topped expectations, as cardholders spent more and expense growth slowed.

Fortune magazine named Google the best company to work for in America in 2012. The search giant, based in Mountain View, Calif., tries to keep a perfectionist attitude about everything it does, which is why it continues to grow: It is never satisfied with its success.

American Express Co reported a quarterly profit that topped expectations, as cardholders spent more and expense growth slowed.

American Airlines (which shares its initials with an anonymous organization that does not serve alcohol) announced on Wednesday that it would ditch its $6 to $7 fees and begin serving free beer and wine in all classes on flights between the United States and Europe, Asia, and select destinations in Latin America.

Shares of Google, the No. 1 search engine swooned nearly 8 percent after the company reported a fourth-quarter revenue miss while earning less than expected.

IBM, the world’s No. 2 computer company, reported fourth-quarter results that met expectations, higher-than-expected revenue and delivered a bullish forecast for 2012.

Extell Development Co., one of the most active builders in Manhattan, has purchased two development sites for a combined $39 million, according to city records.

Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor maker, reported fourth quarter results that blew past estimates despite warnings of slower sales due to floods in Thailand.

Shares of Apple, the world’s most valuable technology company, set a new record high of $431.37 Thursday, as the company introduced a new educational iPad initiative and prepared to report first-quarter earnings next Tuesday.

Marketing guru John Jantsch has built a small empire around his Duct Tape Marketing brand, which dispenses practical small business marketing ideas and tips.

Verizon customers looking to upgrade their phones have a few choices in the $99 range, and the HTC Thunderbolt, Droid 3 and Motorola Droid Incredible are three of the best.

General Electric, the U.S.'s largest industrial manufacturer, is expected to report a 22.3 percent fourth-quarter profit increase when it announces its earnings Friday, driven by strong equipment order and pricing trends and growth in the aviation and energy infrastructure sectors. It marks the seventh straight quarter of operating earnings growth.

The contractors were part of a group who were drilling an exploratory well off the coast of Nigeria.

Founder and CEO of HiiDef Jonathan Marcus is giving people intuitive ways to design and create personal websites. Flavors.me, the original HiiDef product, integrates social networks and other popular web services. Goodsie, launched in May 2011, helps people build an online store in an intuitive fashion.

A teabagging incident after the BCS National Championship game between an Alabama fan and a LSU fan has suddenly gotten very serious as New Orleans police have gotten involved and could charge the Alabama fan with sexual assault.

At the Guggenheim Museum in New York on Thursday, Apple revolutionized the education industry with three new apps, including the new iTunes U app, which lets teachers upload course materials, lessons, syllabi and even books to their students via the iPad.

eBay users have a history of offering popular items such as iPads, Coach handbags and Hello Kitty, but the shutdown of Dublin Dr Pepper created offers on themed merchandise that included the ridiculous: Four six-packs of glass bottles of the beverage for $9,999.

American Express Company (NYSE: AXP), the biggest credit-card issuer by purchases, is expected to beat Wall Street's consensus profit estimates, with earnings gains driven by stronger consumer spending and a diversified business model. This is sharp change from prior quarters when the company grew profits by dipping deeper into the company's reserve funds that were set aside to cushion against future losses.

The move underscores the company's need to provide wireless bandwidth to a customer base increasingly using data-heavy smartphones.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) formally introduced a copyright bill backed by the Internet industry to rival the controversial Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).

At the Guggenheim Museum in New York Thursday, Apple announced it would update its iBooks platform to include textbook capabilities and also added a new platform called iBooks Author, which lets anyone easily create and publish their own e-books.

Rupert Murdoch's company News Group Newspapers is settling with actor Jude Law and more than 30 additional victims of phone hacking practices.

Full transcript of the court's preliminary inquiry into Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino, who crashed the ship on Friday and allegedly fled the scene.

Photography firm Eastman Kodak Company and its U.S. subsidiaries have filed for chapter 11 business to boost liquidity, monetize non-strategic intellectual property and fairly resolve legacy liabilities.

The founder of a French company at the heart of an international health scandal acknowledged on Wednesday that he had used unapproved silicone in breast implants, but said France's recommendation for women to have them removed was criminal.