Roland Li

Barry Diller's IAC/Interactivecorp reportedly has offered more than $300 million to buy information website About.com from the New York Times Co., in a move to expand IAC's Ask.com division.

Argentina, South America's third-largest economy, is "probably" in the midst of a recession and won't register meaningful growth this year amid high inflation and weak industrial output, according to a new report.

The daily deals website Groupon Inc. (Nasdaq: GRPN) suffered another blow Tuesday as Barclays Capital (London: BARC) downgraded the company, citing a move towards lower margin sales.

The real estate erosion has gone global. Home prices are down in 12 of 21 countries tracked by the Economist on an annual basis in July, and five additional countries experienced slower growth.

Just prior to its much-hyped stock market debut, Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) bought the photosharing website Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock. Now, with the world's biggest social network trading at half its IPO price, Instagram's deal doesn't look as nearly as sweet.

Music and celebrity blog publisher Buzzmedia Inc. has hired digital veteran Stephen Hansen as its new president, the company said Monday, a month after it acquired Spin magazine and laid off its top editors.

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB), Germany's largest bank, is being investigated by U.S. officials over ties to Iran and Sudan.

Users of ZeekRewards.com and Zeekler.com are searching for answers -- and their lost money -- after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the sites' owner, Paul Burks, with an alleged $600 million Ponzi scheme. "I was in shock," said a Zeek member who used the site for five months.

Patrick Ricard, who built Pernod Ricard SA (Paris: RI) into the second-largest alcohol beverage company in the world, died Friday, the company said.

The British parliament criticized former Barclays Plc (London: BARC) CEO Bob Diamond in a report released Saturday, saying that he failed to fully disclose the bank?s illegal practices during testimony on the LIBOR scandal.

IBTimes' weekly roundup of winners and losers in the world of business.

The U.S. Treasury is accelerating taxpayer repayments by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies that own or guarantee around 60 percent of the country's housing market, but the strategy will only work if the housing market continues to improve.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX), the fourth-largest media conglomerate by market capitalization, and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.(NYSE:WWE) are hoping an unlikely brand collaboration will create a hit.

With the national housing market showing signs of a rebound, analysts are saying shadow inventory might not be such a threat after all.

Mark Thompson, the new CEO of the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT), faces numerous challenges at the newspaper -- including skepticism from his new employees.

U.S. homebuilder confidence rose in August to the highest level since February 2007 as more buyers entered the market, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT), publisher of the third-largest U.S. newspaper by circulation, named outgoing BBC director-general Mark Thompson its new CEO on Wednesday, bringing in a broadcast journalism veteran as the company expands its video content.

Who was the biggest buyer of U.S. commercial real estate in the past 12 months? It wasn't a big private equity firm or luxury developer. Rather, it was the estate of Lehman Brothers, which is still making deals nearly four years after its demise.

Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) are both benefitting from wealthy consumers, offsetting global economic turmoil and an uncertain U.S. economy, the companies said Tuesday.

Archstone, the largest private U.S. residential landlord, will benefit from a strong urban portfolio and experienced management team as it prepares to go public for the second time, said analysts.

Gasoline production issues and tensions between Iran and Israel have sent U.S. gasoline prices above $4 per gallon in some cities, and prices likely won't fall until October, according to gasoline analysts.

A penthouse at the Laureate, a luxury condo building in Manhattan's Upper West Side, has sold for $11.55 million, according to city records filed Thursday.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said it has "significant concerns" over proposals by local governments to use eminent domain to seize foreclosures and reduce loan balances to provide homeowner relief.

The New York Times Co. is close to a deal to sell its About.com division for $270 million, a move that would shed another non-core asset.

Fannie Mae (OTC: FNMA), the largest government-controlled mortgage backer, reported its second consecutive quarterly profit for the first time in five years Wednesday, but its CEO said the company should cede business to private investors when the housing market finally recovers.

The Chinese government has taken an important step towards breaking the Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and EADS N.V. (Paris: EAD)'s Airbus SAS's duopoly in aerospace manufacturing by successfully testing a new regional plane, the Financial Times reported.

Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage financier, reported a $3.02 billion second quarter profit Tuesday on a stronger portfolio, another sign of an improving housing market.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA), the world's third-largest media company by market capitalization, is expected to have lower fiscal fourth quarter earnings as its cable television and film revenue declines.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), the largest track network in the U.S., reached its highest stock price ever on Friday as it shifts its business to natural gas producers as coal shipments drop.