EXXON MOBIL

Japan's second-biggest refiner, TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK, said on Monday its $4-billion purchase of a controlling stake in itself from U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp would help speed business decisions.

January has turned out to be strong for stocks with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

French oil firm Total is close to securing exploration rights over several oil-and-gas blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Sunday Times reported. The paper said a deal could be announced within weeks, although it also cited sources close to the situation as saying that the deal could still fall apart.

Japan's second-largest refiner TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK said on Sunday it will buy 99 percent of the shares in the Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Japanese unit, ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha, for 302 billion yen ($3.94 billion) to improve efficiency.

Exxon and TonenGeneral aim to complete the deal around summer, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to sell a large part of its 50 percent stake in TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK back to its Japanese refining partner in a deal that could be worth about $3.9 billion, with an announcement to be made as early as Monday, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

The next generation Apple tablet, dubbed iPad 3, is expected to surface in late February/early March, bringing to a closure the growing rumors about its features and release date. Ever since iPad 2 was unveiled in February last year, Apple fans have been closely watching every move of the tech giant with the hope that they get some hint about the release date and specs of iPad 2's successor.

Apple's first quarter in the post-Steve Jobs era was a success.

Stocks rose on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero through at least 2014 and Apple's spectacular results boosted investor sentiment.

Big profits from Apple and a promise from the Federal Reserve to keep rock-bottom rates for at least two more years powered the U.S. stock market higher on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq rose on Wednesday, powered by a strong earnings report from Apple, while the Dow and S&P 500 turned higher after the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero through at least 2014.

Apple Inc's quarterly results blew past Wall Street's expectations after U.S. consumers snapped up near-unprecedented numbers of iPhones and iPads, sending its shares up 8 percent into record territory.

You may love it or hate it, but you cannot deny that Apple has become a technology empire. And, as the tech giant's market cap hovers around $400 billion and the company threatens to overtake Exxon-Mobil as the most valuable company in the world, everybody must be wondering about what really goes on in Apple, about the corporate culture of the world's most secretive company. Perhaps Adam Lashinsky holds the the answer.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that his country would not recognize a ruling by a World Bank tribunal in a multibillion-dollar arbitration case with Exxon Mobil.

Venezuela's oil minister said on Saturday he does not expect a ruling in World Bank arbitration with the Exxon Mobil Corp. this year, after another tribunal awarded the U.S.-based company $908 million last week.

The Exxon Mobil Corp. and the U.S. government struck a deal on Friday that would allow the company to move ahead with development of a field in the Gulf of Mexico estimated to yield tens of billions of dollars of oil.

Stock index futures fell on Wednesday after a sharp market rally in the previous session, as investors focused again on Europe's debt problems.

ExxonMobil continues to aggressively contend a Venezuelan decision that undervalues the assets in oil fields and refineries seized by the government of President Hugo Chavez.

An arbitration panel has awarded U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp $908 million in compensation for Venezuela's 2007 nationalization of its assets, less than 10 percent of what the company sought in a long legal battle with the OPEC nation.

An international arbitration panel has awarded the U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. $908 million in compensation for Venezuela's 2007 nationalization of assets, less than 10 percent of what the company sought in a dispute.