IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. network NBC confirmed on Monday that former Saturday Night Live comedian Jimmy Fallon will take over Conan O'Brien's late-night TV slot next year.

U.S. stocks rose the most in a week on Monday, in anticipation of better-than-estimated earnings while oil retreated from record highs, and a late afternoon report that Hewlett-Packard Co. is near a deal to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp. for as much as $13 billion.

Shares if Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. fell on Monday after an earthquake in central China killed nearly 9,000 people.

Shares of Pipex Pharmaceuticals Inc., developer of neurologic and autoimmune diseases treatments, jumped on Monday as it announced it has obtained an orphan drug designation for one of its drugs to cure a deadly pulmonary disease.

Hewlett-Packard confirmed that it is in advanced talks to acquire technology services firm Electronic Data Systems Corp in a deal, with reports saying the deal could be worth between $12 billion to $13 billion.

Apple Inc. said Monday its iPhone's are currently unavailable'' from its online store in the U.S. and U.K. and did not say when it will replenish its inventory, which is fueling rumors that a new improved version of the iPhone will soon be launched.

Crude oil fell on Monday from a record over $126 a barrel as slumping crude imports from China concerned investors that recent high prices may be weighing on demand.

Gold fell in New York as the dollar rose against the euro and a retreat in oil prices reduced the demand for the metal as a hedge against inflation.

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. reported a wider first-quarter loss on Monday in spite of adding more subscribers.

Losses at phone carrier Sprint Nextel grew in the first quarter as the company lost over 1 million contract customers.

Shares of Clear Channel Communications Inc. surged as much as 18 percent on media reports of settlement talks with six banks on a proposal to finance the radio and media company's buyout by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital.

Research in Motion, the smartphone maker behind the Blackberry series, introduced on Monday its newest device called Bold.

Tribune Co. sealed a deal to sell its Long Island newspaper Newsday to Cablevision Systems Corp. for $650 million, the companies said on Monday.

Virgin Mobile USA Inc and Helio LLC, companies that resell wireless services from SprintNextel Corp, are in advanced merger talks, people familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has withdrawn its bid to buy Tribune Co's Newsday newspaper, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Serious mental illnesses became not only a national problem, but costs the United States an estimated $193 billion yearly in lost earnings, according to a recent study examining the consequences of mental disorders.

Technology stocks were mixed on Friday as a pair of video game related firms posted strong gains.

The dollar fell versus the euro and yen on Friday after troubles in the credit market resurfaced with investors shifting assets to commodities.

Cisco Systems Inc., the world's biggest maker of networking equipment, said its data-center chief, Jayshree Ullal will leave the company.

Merrill Lynch & Co's head of structured finance and investments Michael Blum is leaving the company as the brokerage scales back its securitization business, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

From the poorest of Africa to the United States and big business, a breakneck rally that could take oil to $200 a barrel is likely to inflict pain on everyone.

Pierre Avignon is no pirate, but he does not believe in paying for software.

More aid is on the way to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar - but so is the heavy rain. A week after Cyclone Nargis flattened low-lying villages and killed whole families at a time, the military junta finally agreed Friday to allow a U.S. cargo plane to bring in food and other supplies to the isolated country. Myanmar gave the green light after confiscating other shipments, prompting the U.N. to order a temporary freeze in shipments.

Northwest Airlines Corp. said Friday it plans to raise round-trip ticket prices $20 to offset fuel prices, bringing the total surcharge on domestic fares to $65 each way.

Valero Energy Corp., the biggest U.S. refiner, fell on Friday after Goldman Sachs analysts took the company of their conviction buy list.

Activision Inc shares soared to an all-time high on Friday a day after the video game firm reported first quarter sales which far exceeded analysts' expectations.

French pharmaceutical Sanofi Aventis shares slumped near 6 percent on Friday after a generic company in Europe announced it was likely to gain approval for a generic version of Plavix in Germany and Luxembourg.

FedEx Corp. said Friday it will cut its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings forecast, citing a spike in fuel costs on soaring oil prices by at least $100 million more than estimated.

Chevron Corp. said that about 1,100 employees are eligible for severance payments at the end of the first quarter, after eliminating the positions as part of a restructuring and reorganization plan.