IBT Staff Reporter

South Africa's Reserve Bank Governor, Tito Mboweni, said the country can maintain its growth rate. However he added that price stability would not be without its challenges.

Nortel Network Corporation released its second quarter earnings report for 2006, highlighting a net profit thanks to a litigation victory.

The head of the International Monetary Fund Rodrigo de Rato said Thursday that deflation has, by most measures, ended in Japan and that with more economic reform efforts, Japan will overcome significant challenges to come.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported on Thursday the worldwide sales of semiconductors are up to $19.6 billion in June, up over 9% from June 2005, however Wall Street analysts remain unimpressed.

Sprint Nextel, a global communication services company, announced a lower than expected net profit for the second quarter of 2006.

Google, the internet search company, has taken over 60 percent of all U.S. search volume for the first time this July, according to one research firm.

AOL, the online division of AOL, said on Thursday that it will cut nearly 5000 jobs over the course of the next six months in efforts to restructure.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. said on Thursday it will end its 15-year- old contract with Airbus to supply body panels for A321 aircraft at the end of March.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on Wednesday expressed Washington's intention to press Japan to start importing U.S. beef from cows older than 30 months.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is optimistic for the future of economic opportunities in Africa after returning from an eight-country trip through the continent.

Business confidence is down slightly in July, the South African Chamber of Business said on Thursday.

Tyco International Ltd. has entered into a definitive agreement on Thursday to sell its Tyco Printed Circuit Group (TPCG) business to TTM Technologies Inc. for $226 million cash.

The mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, along with Consolidated Edison urged consumers to conserve energy as a heat wave hits the east coast.

Napster painted a gloomy outlook for its online music service during a conference call with analysts on Wednesday.

Ford Motor Co. today announced a loss of $254 million or 14 cents per share for the second quarter. The new amount is nearly double what the company had previously reported.

IBM plans to spend $740 million to acquire MRO Software, a company that builds applications for managing industrial equipment.

The Bank of England surprised markets on Thursday by raising interest rates for the first time in two years, citing concerns that inflation would stay above its 2.0 percent target for a while.

South African new vehicle sales rose 20.8 percent in July, adding momentum to its steady growth rate over the past months, said the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa on Wednesday.

High crude oil prices have had some impact on U.S. economic growth but the pain is not on the level seen during the energy price shocks of the 1970s, U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Wednesday.

DaimlerChrysler, the third largest U.S. car manufacturer, said on Tuesday that it would retain its employee discount offer in a bid to boost declining sales.

Time Warner, the world's largest media company, released its second quarter earnings on Wednesday, highlighting rapid revenue growth in its cable and network segments.

A Moscow court has declared OAO Yukos, once Russia's largest oil producer, bankrupt as company lawyers appealed the decision handed out on Tuesday.

Over 70 percent of Sub-Saharan African businesses are negatively affected by malaria, while nearly 40 percent reported a serious impact, a new study released on Thursday stated.

For the first time ever, Dell is preparing to sell laptops and desktops computers based on Advanced Micro Devices(AMD) processors, using platforms supplied by Nvidia, according to industry analysts.

Apple Computer, maker of niche computers and portable music players, issued updates for its Mac OS X operating system on Tuesday, fixing 26 errors and vulnerabilities.

Palm Inc. on Friday warned investors that delays in Palm's next operating system are affecting the company's ability to effectively compete in smart phone and PDA markets.

In a bid to boost its subscriber base, AOL, part of the Time Warner media conglomerate, announced today that it will be offering its services, such as e-mail and anti-spam software, for

Time Warner Inc. on Wednesday said its AOL unit will no longer charge high-speed Internet users for e-mail and other Web services in a gambit to attract more viewers and boost online advertising.

Google Inc. on Wednesday said it struck a deal with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. to help the search engine's advertisers automatically insert ads on XM's nonmusic radio channels.