Derrick Bulawa, who runs a small phone company in North Dakota, was getting worried as he began to lose some of his 6,000 subscribers to cable companies offering bundled TV, Internet and phone services.
Stocks around the world extended gains on Thursday while the yen slipped against the dollar after the Bank of Japan decided not to change interest rates.
The dollar fell on Wednesday as concern crept back into the market that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates again this year to prevent a weak housing sector from damaging the broader economy.
Three banks led by Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland clinched victory in the battle for ABN AMRO on Wednesday, declaring their 70 billion euro ($99 billion) offer for the Netherland's biggest bank unconditional.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), UK retail sales experienced 3% growth this September, a significant increase from the 1.8% growth recorded this August.
On Monday in the UK, postal workers again went on a 48 hour strike after intensive talks over the weekend failed to reach an agreement on issues of pay, pensions and job cuts.
Britain threw a fresh lifeline to Northern Rock on Tuesday, offering to guarantee new retail deposits and extend funding arrangements in a bid to win the bank time to salvage something from its battered business.
The investment bank chose to offer its advice to the unexpected winner of the largest banking takeover ever.
Huge amounts of investment money pouring into commodity markets is increasing the risks for brokers, leaving the market more vulnerable to volatility, the chief executive of brokerage firm Sucden told Reuters.
Eight out of 10 households throw out personal information with the rubbish that could enable fraudsters to steal their identity, researchers say.
A delectable opening in Germany helped Ratatouille take the top spot at the international box office, with estimated weekend ticket sales of $19.7 million from 30 markets.
A Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium is set to claim victory in the takeover battle for ABN AMRO on Monday, shifting investor and market attention to the unprecedented integration challenge ahead.
The researchers who pioneered the creation of "designer mice" to track the role of different genes in human development and disease have won the 2007 Nobel medicine prize, Sweden's Karolinska Institute said on Monday.
Asian stocks outside of Japan hit record highs on Monday, but the dollar headed lower after a solid U.S. jobs report failed to dampen expectations for a further cut in interest rates. European markets were also expected to rise. European stock markets were set to open slightly higher, extending five straight days of gains, but with Japanese markets closed and no major economic data expected out of the United States due to the Columbus Day holiday, trade was expected to be light.
The world moved into 'ecological overdraft' - the point where consumption exceeds the ability of the earth to sustain it.
Britain's Barclays is confident of an independent future, its chief executive said on Friday, dismissing speculation that its failure to win control of ABN AMRO could leave it vulnerable to takeover.
Britain's Barclays has conceded defeat in the seven-month battle for Dutch bank ABN AMRO, as rivals led by Royal Bank of Scotland move in to clinch the world's biggest bank takeover.
World stocks held just below this week's record high on Thursday while the euro was steady as investors bet the worst of the credit crisis is over and looked to the European Central Bank chief for clues on monetary policy.
Spanish-owned O2 UK and U.S. consumer electronics group Apple plan to launch a multi-million pound joint advertising campaign later this month as they get ready to bring iPhone mobile phones to Britain.
An international crackdown on Internet financial scams this year has yielded more than $2.1 billion in seized fake checks and 77 arrests in the Netherlands, Nigeria and Canada, U.S. and other authorities said on Wednesday.
Bear Stearns Cos said on Wednesday it was cutting 310 jobs in its mortgage lending business, making the Wall Street bank the latest to lay off staff as a result of the lingering subprime mortgage crisis.
Belgian-Dutch financial services group Fortis won conditional clearance on Wednesday from the European Commission for its proposed acquisition of parts of Dutch peer ABN AMRO.
