IBT Staff Reporter

Microsoft's Bill Gates made an announcement last month that marked the beginning of the end of an era. For over 30 years Gates has maintained an influential voice in shaping the company that he co-founded. It stands today as the world's largest software maker.

Leading British shares dropped 1 percent on Thursday, as escalating geopolitical tensions, record high oil prices and concerns over U.S. corporate profits sent jitters through global equity markets, while a decline in Aviva Plc shares also weighed.

The head of Honda Motor Co. said on Thursday that sales in North America were stronger than anticipated as customers flocked to its fuel-efficient cars, while demand in the lackluster Japanese market was in line with expectations.

A European fine on Microsoft Corp. will have no effect on the launch of Vista, its next-generation Windows operating system, the U.S. software giant's Japan unit said on Thursday.

Many people dream of taking a hobby and turning it into a successful small business, and many entrepreneurs are lucky and savvy enough to make it happen. But profiting from a passion still takes hard work, and hobbyists-turned-business owners often find they spend more time running the company than enjoying a pasttime.

Crude oil futures rose to record highs on Thursday, hitting European stocks and the dollar, with worries over rising tensions in the Middle East and North Korea affecting sentiment across the board.

Offering yields not seen in years, savings accounts, certificates of deposits and money market funds are enticing investors rattled by the recent gyrations in stocks and bonds.

China's Nanjing Automobile Group, which took control of Britain's collapsed MG Rover last year, on Wednesday said it would build MG-brand cars in Oklahoma, making it the first Chinese automaker to assemble vehicles in the United States.

Software giant Microsoft and South Africa's cellular group Mobile Telephone Networks (MTN) announced on Tuesday a collaboration to provide affordable internet connection services in South Africa.

Sasol Ltd. will hold negotiations in July and August with interested parties to sell several of its foreign chemical units, the company said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Army will discontinue its multi-billion dollar contract with oil services giant Halliburton Co. to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Microsoft is set to transition one of its largest business software suites away from traditional hosting methods to the online arena, pitting its latest offering against entrenched competitors which include Oracle, SAP AG, along with burgeoning Salesforce.com.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran's refusal to accept an international incentives offer to negotiate curbs on its nuclear programme will force major powers to decide on Wednesday to deal with the Islamic Republic at the U.N. Security Council.

Premier Foods has agreed to buy the UK and Irish businesses of Campbell Soup for 460 million pounds ($846 million), adding Oxo stock cubes, Batchelor soups and Homepride flour to its stable of brands. Premier Foods, which already owns household names such as Angel Delight desserts and Smash instant mashed potato, said on Wednesday it would finance the deal mainly from a fully underwritten rights issue to raise 450 million pounds.

Film and television studio Lionsgate said on Wednesday it bought Debmar-Mercury LLC, an independent television distributor with rights to such shows as Comedy Central's popular animated sitcom South Park.

A U.S. Treasury market rally that has driven bond yields below the key inter-bank overnight lending rate may be the strongest signal yet from the bond market that the Federal Reserve has gone too far in its campaign to raise interest rates.

The U.S. Army will discontinue its multi-billion dollar contract with oil services giant Halliburton Co. to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Oil prices are hovering near record highs, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the foreign exchange market.

All eyes are back on Phelps Dodge in a complicated intercontinental bidding war over two Canadian nickel miners.

General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said on Tuesday the proposed alliance between GM, Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA was an interesting idea that would get full consideration from GM leadership.

Recent airplane production delays, the resignation of a pair of top executives and competition from Boeing have seen Airbus shares plunge. However, the manufacturer is moving forward as it undertakes the second half of 2006.

Myspace.com, the social networking phenomenon, ranked as the top U.S web site last week the Internet tracking site, Hitwise stated Tuesday.

South African president Thabo Mbeki said on Saturday that fears regarding the country's financial and logistical ability to host the World Cup 2010 were untrue.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., the maker of Panasonic brand electronics, said on Monday it hoped to start selling the world's largest plasma television by early next year.

Online multimedia site Guba has signed a deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment that makes it the first video-sharing community to distribute Sony Pictures movies online.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is set to report a 7 percent fall in quarterly profit on Friday on shrinking margins in mobile phones and flat screens, but analysts forecast a recovery in the second half.

After years of paltry yields in the high-yield junk bond market, of all places, investors are back in the sector with a vengeance, taking advantage of rising coupons.

Time Warner Inc. estimates its AOL division would lose almost $1 billion in operating profit through 2009 under a plan to offer the unit's services free to some customers, The Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

Lucent Technologies Inc. said on Monday it expects third-quarter earnings to fall due mainly to slower sales of wireless network equipment in North America, in news that pushed down its shares.