COMPANIES

London's High Court, on Thursday, upheld a decision to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has earned the ire of the U.S. government for releasing secret diplomatic cables, on bail.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Berkeley School District, Illinois, for refusing to grant unpaid leave to a Muslim teacher who wished to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Three pharmaceutical companies have agreed to collectively pay a fine of $421 million to settle charges of inflating drug prices, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Judges in Ohio can be a social media friend to lawyers appearing in their courtrooms but should be careful not to violate ethics rules, the state's apex court has opined.

Former senior U.S. District Judge Jack Camp's judicial decision-making process could have been impaired by drugs or racial bias and aggrieved defendants could request re-sentencing, federal prosecutors have suggested.

Charles Manson, who is serving a life sentence for his conspiracy role in the killing of seven people in the Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles, 1969, has been handed down an extra 30 days on his life term after being found in possession of a contraband cellphone within jail premises.

After being voted 'Person of the Year' by Time magazine Mark Zukerberg's brainchild Facebook is expected to post $2 billion in revenue for the year 2010.

Milwaukee-based Iconic bike maker Harley-Davidson on Wednesday introduced two new models - SuperLow and Iron 883 - priced at Rs. 5,50,000 and Rs. 6,50,000 (ex-showroom), respectively to expand its portfolio in India.

UK retailer Sports Direct International Plc (LON: SPD.L), controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, reported a 73 percent rise in pretax profits for the first half as the World Cup and strong online sales drove revenue growth.

Toyota Motors India said on Wednesday that it has received 12,000 orders for its Etios sedan, even as the production of the low-priced car is yet to begin.

General Motors has paid $2.1 billion to complete the repurchase of preferred shares issued under a federal government bailout, the U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday. With this the auto maker has brought the total sum recouped by taxpayers to more than 23 billion dollars.

Residential real estate in 35 large and medium-sized cities in China is, on average, about 29.5 percent overpriced, according to estimates of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Gain Capital Holdings, which operates retail foreign exchange broker FOREX.COM and other related services like contracts-for-difference trading, will debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday under the symbol GCAP.

HP has bagged a five-year $1.4 billion technology infrastructure outsourcing deal with German utility giant E.ON.

Apple has launched its first iAd for iPad, the upcoming sci-fi Disney flick Tron Legacy, after launching the iAd feature in April.

Registrations of new passenger cars in Europe decreased by 7.1% amounting to 1,069,268 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.

The first Chevrolet Volt attracted a impressive winning bid of $225,000 in an online charity action that ended at 6 pm U.S. time on Tuesday.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) raised its holiday sales forecast to 3.3 percent, or $451.5 billion, from 2.3 percent, saying stock market gains and income growth combined with great deals on merchandise have given consumers the capacity to spend.

Chrysler is recalling 76,000 Dodge Ram pickup trucks to fix a power steering issue that could make brake pedals return slowly after the driver applies them.

Ford Motors on Wednesday said that it plans to build three production versions of electrified vehicles - battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuel efficient gas-powered vehicles on the same assembly line.

General Motors has announced that 52 percent of its worldwide facilities are now landfill-free, meaning all waste generated from normal operations is reused, recycled or converted to energy.

SuperGroup, the owner of Superdry brand, reported a 86 percent rise in pretax profit for the first half on strong sales growth at its retail and wholesale segments. But, the British fashion retailer warned rising raw material prices may affect gross margins in the next financial year.

New York Community Bancorp CFO Thomas Cangemi speaks to IBTimes about the thrift bank industry and private-label mortgages.

IBM's supercomputer Watson is due to star in the upcoming Jeopardy episodes in February pitched against the two most successful Jeopardy players, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings.

Consumers will be spending more on appliances this holiday season, according to an analytics-based forecast made by technology giant IBM earlier this year.

Nissan Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation said on Tuesday that the two companies agreed to expand their current scope of cooperation towards new projects that will further strengthen mutual competitiveness, especially in the Japanese mini car and global commercial vehicle businesses.

Microsoft could demo a host of new tablets at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January.

After a San Francisco Bay Area resident became the first in the United States to receive the delivery of Nissan Leaf, Nissan Motors on Tuesday carried out its first Leaf delivery in the South Carolina region.

Barclays Capital upgraded rating of the data storage equipment maker NetApp, Inc. (NTAP) to 'overweight' from 'equal weight' and increased its price target to $67 from $56.