IBT Staff Reporter

Iranians have found their access to major news websites even more restricted than usual as more foreign sites were blocked by a government filter, Reuters witnesses observed on Monday.

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Monday as merger activity and expectations for solid earnings overshadowed concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt to other parts of the Middle East.

[Gold] buying continued on fears the unrest in Egypt will spread across the Middle East, says Richcomm Global Services in Dubai. But Asia's gold market is less sensitive to what happened in Middle East compared to New York, said a Hong Kong dealer in a note this morning.

Google's Android dethroned Nokia's Symbian as the most popular smartphone platform in the last quarter of 2010, ending a reign that began with the birth of the industry 10 years ago.

U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in December to post the sixth straight month of gains as households drew down on their savings to fund purchases, government data showed on Monday.

Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho has dropped a lawsuit against family members in the latest twist of a dynastic tussle over the ailing octogenarian tycoon's multi-billion dollar empire.

After Ferrari unveiled their F160 last week, F1 teams Renault, Sauber and Lotus have also unveiled their new cars for 2011 season.

Mizuho Financial Group's profit shrank in October-December to less than half the preceding quarter's figure on smaller bond trading gains, underscoring the bleak outlook for growth at Japanese banks due to slack loan demand.

The company releases launch specs on its first 4G tablet.

Barnes & Noble's attempt to beat Amazon's Kindle resulted in Nook Color, the Rolls Royce of eReaders on which recently a developer ported the tablet specific Android 3.0 or Honeycomb.

Quoting observers of the Nobel Prize, an international news agency has reported that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be one among the nominations this year.

Affluent women expect to be more active than their male counterparts in retirement, but they are also more worried about outliving their money, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch study.

Gold eased on Monday after posting its largest daily gain in eight weeks on Friday and while the market did encounter some safe-haven buying on the back of the unrest in Egypt, this was expected to be temporary.

Stock index futures were mixed on Monday, with investors in a cautious mood due to the Egyptian political upheaval. Investors are worried about the possibility the unrest could spread to other Arab nations, which could drive up oil prices and potentially dampen growth prospects.

A 53-year old Canadian singer has become the first student to graduate with a unique Masters degree in The Beatles from Liverpool Hope University.

Support is gaining ground in the euro zone for giving Greece more time to pay back its EU bailout to avoid default and ease the worst-indebted EU state's debt burden, although details still have to be pinned down.

BP's Russian partners in its joint venture with TNK tightened the screws on the British company to scrap or modify a rival tie-up with state oil group Rosneft by voting against a $1.8 billion dividend payout.

India's environment ministry approved on Monday South Korean POSCO's plans for a $12 billion steel mill, a boost for the foreign investment climate in Asia's third-largest economy after several setbacks for big ticket industrial projects.

Honda Motor Co is on track for its strongest earnings in three years after raising its outlook above market expectations thanks to a recovery in the United States, where improving profitability is countering a strong yen and sliding Japanese sales.

European banks' total exposure to turmoil-ridden Egypt stands at around $40.3 billion, with banks in France and the United Kingdom being at greatest risk.

Sweeping two major honors at the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) awards, The King's Speech is quickly emerging as a force to reckon with for The Social Network and other best movie contenders at the Oscars.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has confirmed the speculations that the repeated delays of the white version of the iPhone 4 was indeed due to light leakage problems in connection with the phone's camera.

Japan's Toshiba Corp more than doubled its quarterly operating profit on booming sales of NAND flash memory chips and robust demand for LCD panels used in smartphones and tablets.

For pick pockets here's a dare, London's luxury goods firm Dunhill has launched a virtually indestructible biometric wallet, that no one can steal and if by chance they steal, they can't open.

India's environment ministry approved on Monday South Korean POSCO's plans for a $12 billion steel mill, a boost for the foreign investment climate after several setbacks for big ticket industrial projects.

Netflix is set for integration with social networking site.

Mizuho Financial Group's October-December profit shrunk to less than half the previous quarter on smaller bond trading gains, underscoring the bleak outlook for growth at Japanese banks due to slack loan demand.

The founder of U.S. hedge fund firm Barai Capital Management has been drawn into the government's insider trading probe that involves expert network firms, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Japanese PC memory maker Elpida Memory <6665.T> will buy all the DRAM chips made by Taiwan's Powerchip <5346.TWO> as it looks for alliances to bolster its competitiveness in a market torn by oversupply and depressed prices.