IBT Staff Reporter

Microsoft Corp.’s Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems have been steadily losing ground during the first half of 2007 as their newer cousin, Windows Vista continues to gain market share, new data shows . Mac OS remained steady.

Raids and arrests in China have been made over the past two weeks in connection with a major software counterfeiting syndicate responsible for more than $2 billion in pirated Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) software.

Fujitsu Limited has developed new 2.5 -inch hard disk drives which are designed for 24-hours of continuous operation and are available in storage capacities of up to 200 GB.

Toshiba Corp., NEC Electronics Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. are considering development of 32-nanometer advanced system to offset research costs and better compete with rivals the companies said on Wednesday.

Volvo AB shares dropped 7 percent on Wednesday after the truck maker said second-quarter net profit fell 14 percent as the North American truck market continued to drag on the firm’s otherwise strong demand in Europe and Asia.

Siemens' new chief executive made his debut on Wednesday with a politically astute disposal, a surprise acquisition but a weak set of third-quarter results, sending Siemens shares down more than 4 percent.

The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share sensitivity index, the Sensex, continued its dream run on Tuesday, rising 137 points from the previous close to a fresh all-time high of 15,869 before ending 63 points higher at a record 15,795.

Boeing Co. on Wednesday reported a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit compared with a year-ago loss, and raised its full-year forecast as it ramped up delivery of its hot-selling commercial planes and defense sales remained strong.

Mortgage applications fell for the first time in four weeks, touching a five-month low and largely reflecting a drop in demand for home purchase loans, an industry group said on Wednesday.

British life assurance company Resolution has agreed an 8.6 billion-pound ($17.7 billion) all-share merger with rival Friends Provident that will almost double its size and open the closed life funds specialist to new business growth.

Oil prices slipped for a fourth day on Wednesday on forecasts of higher refinery production in the United States that would ease worries over fuel supplies during peak summer demand.

Coca-Cola Co. has agreed to take part in LG Household & Health Care's acquisition of the South Korean bottling arm of Australia's Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd., a source familiar with the deal said on Wednesday.

WellPoint Inc. posted an 11 percent rise in second-quarter profit on Wednesday as the largest U.S. health insurer by enrollment increased its membership from a year earlier and better controlled administrative costs.

The dollar rebounded from recent record lows versus the euro on Wednesday, benefiting from rising risk aversion as global stocks fell and investors assessed how far contagion from the U.S. housing market might spread.

World number-two truck maker Volvo AB produced an unexpected fall in second-quarter profit on weakness in its key U.S. market and forecast more slippage there, sending its shares down 7 percent.

Honda Motor Co. beat forecasts with a 16 percent rise in quarterly profit after increased exports and currency gains outweighed higher raw material and sales costs, and it lifted its full-year forecasts to reflect a softer yen.

European stocks hit a one-month low and the yen and government bonds rose on Wednesday after disappointing U.S. earnings results fanned concerns that the U.S. mortgage sector's malaise may hurt the broader economy.

Accounting firm Ernst & Young plans to nearly double its transaction advisory team in Asia over the next three years, to meet rising mergers and acquisition activity in China and India, an executive said on Wednesday.

Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.8 percent on Wednesday as exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. lost ground on a tumble in U.S. stocks and a stronger yen, and lower oil prices hit energy stocks.

Microsoft Corp. said on Wednesday it will pipe advertisements into a slate of popular sports video games from Electronic Arts Inc., including its best-selling Madden football franchise.

Europe's second biggest car maker, Peugeot Citroen, said its recovery had started, reporting an operating profit margin of 2.7 percent in the first half of 2007 up from 2.4 percent a year ago.

German drug and chemical company Merck KGaA reported a 58 percent rise in quarterly operating profit on Wednesday, boosted partly by its acquisition of Swiss biotech firm Serono.

The family that controls Dow Jones & Co expects to decide by early next week if it wants to sell the company to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for $5 billion, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

A surging U.S. market for initial public offerings has intensified competition between the two largest U.S. stock exchanges for new listings, with both markets campaigning for many of the companies that have recently gone public.

Amazon.com Inc. posted quarterly net profit on Tuesday that more than tripled, surprising Wall Street, as U.S. sales jumped, sending shares up 17 percent after-hours. The company also raised its forecast for full-year sales.

UAL Corp., parent of No. 2 U.S. carrier United Airlines, on Tuesday said its quarterly profit more than doubled as it controlled costs during the strong summer travel season.

Bausch & Lomb Inc. on Tuesday requested that rival Advanced Medical Optics Inc. revise its unsolicited $4.23 billion bid to buy the eye care company, which plans to instead accept Warburg Pincus' $3.67 billion offer.

Microsoft Corp has showed early signs of narrowing the gap with Google Inc in its Web business, leading Wall Street to ask whether the world's biggest software company may be able to turn an overlooked unit into a financial powerhouse.

Fallout from a crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage market rattled the auto sector on Tuesday after the debt package for a General Motors asset sale was postponed and borrowing costs on automakers' debt surged.