World’s 2 most valuable brands

World’s 2 most valuable brands: Coca-Cola, IBM Consumers lost trust in brands amid downturn, but Coca-Cola, IBM remain world’s most valuable Consumers lost trust in brands this year as the recession deepened, according to an industry report released Thursday, although longtime staples Coca-Cola and IBM retained their spots as the world’s two most valuable brands. […]


There is no NSA “backdoor”

Microsoft: There is no NSA “backdoor” in Windows 7 Microsoft assured users over the weekend that rumors of a secret “backdoor” in Windows 7 which would grant federal authorities access to Windows computers without their users’ permission were completely false. Reacting to the concerns raised by privacy advocates after it was revealed that the NSA […]


American Idol Season 9 finale is a Bowersox lovefest

The final competition of this season’s “American Idol” was a lovefest, with Crystal Bowersox getting a big share of the affection Tuesday. Bowersox sparkled in each of her three song performances, while competitor Lee DeWyze drew praise from the show’s judges for his spirit and voice but fell short, they signaled, of living up to […]


Biography reveals Queen Mum’s private letters

LONDON – She was known for much of her life as the queen mother. And according to her official biography, she detested it. “Horrible name,” she wrote in a 1953 letter to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, died in 2002 at the advanced age of 101. The official account of […]


Bank of America loses $2.24B as loan losses rise

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bank of America Corp. said Friday it lost more than $2 billion in the third quarter as loan losses kept rising, providing further evidence that consumers are still struggling to pay their bills. The nation’s second-largest bank, which lost $2.24 billion after accounting for preferred dividends, said its losses for failed loans […]


Russians Spend Big for a Piece of Facebook

A Russian investment firm, Digital Sky Technologies, has invested $200 million in the social networking company Facebook in return for a 1.96 percent stake, the two companies said Tuesday. The investment values Facebook’s preferred stock at $10 billion, a $5 billion drop from October 2007 when Microsoft paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake. […]


Icahn resigns from Yahoo

Icahn resigns from Yahoo’s board on friendly terms SAN FRANCISCO – Activist investor Carl Icahn has decided his work is done at Yahoo Inc. after muscling his way on to the slumping Internet company’s board nearly 15 months ago. In a resignation letter Friday, Icahn said he felt like it was time to leave Yahoo […]


Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs

The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration. It’s time to start cashing them in. For more than two decades, Social Security collected more money in payroll taxes than it […]