IBT Staff Reporter

The recent spike in U.S. bond yields, coinciding with a rally in the dollar against the yen, is flagging a return to the yen to fund carry trades -- the risky strategy of using a low-yielding currency to purchase assets in higher-yielding currencies in the search for better returns.

Intel Corp released a flurry of new computer chips on Thursday as it seeks to maintain its dominance over rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc and prepare for an expected rise in demand.

The nascent smartbook market got a big nudge forward on Friday, courtesy of Hewlett-Packard, the world's biggest personal computer maker.

Green is in like never before at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, with 3,000 square feet of dedicated floor space and companies touting the energy-saving, earth-friendly attributes of their gadgets.

Qualcomm plans to support Chrome, Google Inc's upcoming operating system for small computers known as netbooks, the company's chief executive, Paul Jacobs, said on Friday.

Movie buffs and sports fans looking to 3D televisions for the ultimate home theater experience may want to get their eyes checked first -- or risk a 3D headache, U.S. eye experts said on Saturday.

The world's biggest maker of plasma TVs, Panasonic plans to launch its 3D channels by June 2010 with U.S. satellite TV provider Direc TV Group and looks to sell about 1 million units in the first year of their launch, its U.S. chief said on Friday.

Internet search engine Google Inc is becoming a giant monopoly like Microsoft and could face legal action if it does not become more transparent, Germany's justice minister said.

Google Inc executive Andy Rubin said on Friday that the next version of the Nexus One phone, which was made by HTC Corp, will be for enterprise users and might have a physical keyboard.

Aluminum Corp of China has denied that it is in talks to sell its stake in mining giant Rio Tinto, local media reported on Saturday.

Arsonists in Malaysia struck a fourth church on Saturday as the government tried to soothe tensions arising from a row over the use of the word Allah to refer to the Christian God.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he is ready to return to work on Monday after spending four weeks recovering from an attack that broke his nose.

President Hugo Chavez said he ordered two F-16 jets to intercept a U.S. military plane that twice entered Venezuelan skies on Friday, but Washington said none of its planes flew over the South American country's airspace.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the security forces on Saturday to take firm action against anti-government protesters.

Dubai-based Arabtec confirmed on Saturday that Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments is looking to finalize a deal on January 13 to acquire a 70 percent stake in the company for $1.7 billion.

President Hamid Karzai proposed new names on Saturday to replace an Afghan cabinet line-up rejected by parliament, omitting controversial ex-guerrilla commanders and their allies but still disappointing diplomats and lawmakers.

The suicide bomber who killed CIA agents in Afghanistan had made a video calling on militants to avenge the death of the Pakistani Taliban leader by carrying out attacks in and outside the United States, al Jazeera said.

Six out of 10 Icelandic voters plan to reject a bill on repayment of more than $5 billion owed to Britain and the Netherlands in a referendum on the so-called Icesave deal, according to a poll published by an Icelandic daily on Saturday.

The main creditor banks of Japan Airlines are in the final stages of deciding to accept a plan to put the carrier through bankruptcy as part of a state-led restructuring, three sources familiar with the matter said.

The main lenders to Japan Airlines plan to accept a restructuring package that would require the carrier to file for bankruptcy, sources said, increasing the likelihood of a state bailout this month.

The food industry worldwide is increasing using nanotechnology for use in food and packaging and according to The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, nanotechnology has the power to deliver benefits to the customers. However, the Parliamentary Committee has criticised the food industry for failing to be transparent about its research into the uses of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials.

Stillwater Mining Company, which last year lost its platinum and palladium supply contracts to General Motors, however staged a comeback by announcing and impressive 2009 recovery in platinum group metal (PGM) prices following the collapse in the prices in the fourth quarter of 2008 during the economic meltdown.

Japan's government is set to explain through diplomatic channels the situation of Japan Airlines Corp , increasingly likely to go bankrupt, to some 35 nations the airline serves, Yomiuri newspaper said on Saturday.

Remember the Dell DJ MP3 player? Or Sony's Clie digital assistant? It's likely dozens of the electronic readers debuting at the Consumer Electronics Show may go the way of these defunct gadgets by next year.

The joint venture led by Tishman Speyer and BlackRock Inc that owns New York City's vast Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village apartment complex on Friday said it missed making its full loan payment, moving the deal one step closer toward possible foreclosure.

U.S. judges questioned the FCC's authority to punish Comcast Corp for blocking online file-sharing services on Friday in a case that could wind up curbing the regulators' campaign for a free and open Internet.

The chief whistleblower in the UBS AG tax secrecy probe entered prison to serve a sentence he considered unfair, hours after a Swiss court ruled the bank should not have been forced to turn over client files to government investigators.

Twitter, the popular but money-losing microblogging service, is hiring engineers and specialists who can help turn it into a money-maker.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said on Friday that Verizon Wireless needs to more clearly explain its policies on fees it charges when customers cancel their cellphone services before the end of their contract.