IBT Staff Reporter

Yahoo Inc would consider a business alliance with Google Inc as one way to rebuff a $44.6 billion takeover proposal by Microsoft, a source familiar with Yahoo's strategy said on Sunday. Yahoo management may revisit talks it held with Google several months ago as an alternative to Microsoft's bid.

Billionaire Richard Branson, banker Luqman Arnold and an in-house management team are set to pitch formal offers for Britain's Northern Rock Plc on Monday, the government's deadline for bids. Branson has said his Virgin Group VA.UL will make an offer for the troubled bank ahead of the February 4 deadline, while Arnold's investment group Olivant and the in-house team have also said they will bid.

Internet phone company Vonage Holding Corp. (NYSE:VG) has substantially completed workarounds in its Internet based telephone systems to begin moving away from technology that violated patents.

Tens of thousands of agricultural workers and their union representatives gathered at Mexico City's downtown plaza, the Zocalo, on Thursday to complain about the agriculture provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Portable music players such as the iPod won't cause electronic interference in implanted heart pacemakers, a new study claims.

Google launched a new application programming interface (API)on Friday that is designed to help developers make use of social networking relationship data.

Massachusetts filed a civil complaint on Friday against brokerage Merrill Lynch and two brokers once employed at the firm, accusing the firm of fraud and misrepresentation when it sold complex securities its sold were unsuitable for the city that quickly became illiquid and lost most of their market value.

Sunday's Super Bowl game will have fans glued to their screens with only quick breaks to check updates online, according to a pre-game survey by ComScore.

U.S. stocks markets closed out the week on an up note on Friday, ending Wall Street's best performing week in nearly five years, after Microsoft Corp's $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo Inc pushing technology stocks ahead of other sectors.

The dollar shrugged off a dismal labor report in early Friday trading – slipping initially following the release, but rallying sharply after traders digested the news. The greenback fell just shy of a fresh all-time low against the euro at

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is taking his company's $45 billion bid to acquire Internet portal Yahoo public after being rejected last year, saying it is in the best interest of both firms to better compete in the online market.

Gold futures dived sharply on Friday, losing the most in two weeks, as the dollar rebounded against the euro and traders moved in to cash in on their gains. Silver fell from the highest it's been since 28 years.

Actor Heath Ledger's former partner Michelle Williams spoke publicly on Friday for the first time since the star's death saying: My heart is broken and asked for privacy for her and daughter Matilda.

Almost two-thirds of TiVo users time-shifted throughout the Super Bowl live game last year which was broadcasted on CBS, according to media agency Starcom, dismissing notions that live sports are TiVo-proof.

Ericsson (ERICb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Carl-Henric Svanberg said on Friday the Swedish firm would eye any assets put up for sale by U.S. rival Motorola Inc (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), but would be very cautious about any deal.

Record gold prices have scared buyers in many parts of the world and left them to watch helplessly the blistering rally that shows no signs of abating.

Below is the text of the letter that Microsoft sent to Yahoo!'s Board of Directors as it made an unsolicited offer for portal and search engine Yahoo, Inc. worth $31 per share, or $44.6 billion:

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer believes Yahoo has not improved its competitiveness in the year since it proposed a merger and now believes the only alternative is to combine the companies in a deal worth $45 billion.

India has put 26 people in isolation with bird flu symptoms and hundreds more people are being monitored, officials said on Friday as Pakistan and Thailand reported outbreaks of bird flu in poultry.

The New England Patriots will beat the New York Giants by a score of 38-30 in the Super Bowl, at least according to the popular Madden NFL 08 football videogame.

The marketplace for bad poetry, purple prose and the occasional artistic treasure has never been so vibrant, thanks to Web sites that let budding Hemingways, Plaths and Steichens reach their tiny yet adoring publics.

Portable media players such as iPods are unlikely to interfere with heart pacemakers, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration researcher reported on Thursday.

The outlook for the economy dipped on Friday as employers cut 17,000 jobs non-farm jobs in January, the first drop in 4 and a half years, which overturned analyst estimates that 69,000 new jobs would be added to the economy.

Microsoft Corp. made a move on Friday to bolster its Web operations against Internet search leader Google by making an unsolicited offer for Internet portal and search engine Yahoo, Inc. worth $31 per share, or $44.6 billion.

Yahoo, Inc's non-executive Chairman Terry Semel is stepping down from its Board of Directors, the company said Thursday, ending ties with the Internet firm after running it as CEO from 2001 to 2007.

Google, Inc shares fell 7 percent on Thursday after Internet search leader reported profit and sales that came in below Wall Street expectations due in part to lower paid ad clicks, and struggles to monetize social networking ad inventories.

Motorola, which has struggled to come up with a profitable successor to its well received Razr line of cell phones, said Thursday it was considering the possibility of selling its mobile devices unit in an effort to strengthen the company.

Recent RealNetwork's RealPlayer media software has been labeled badware or spyware by Stopbadware.org, an industry-academia group which raise awareness over software that violates privacy terms and fair information.

Copper gained on Thursday as markets recovered and winter storms in China disturbed production.