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Reports that IBM Corp. considered making defensive investments in other software makers as a reaction to the hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft Inc. by Oracle Corp. Assessment of the impact of the takeover bid by IBM; Strategies by IBM officials to monitor the company's financial stability.

Reports on the financial performance of Oracle Corp., the software maker, in the first quarter of 2005 in the U.S.

Reports that a federal judge has ruled that Oracle, the nation's second-largest software company, can proceed with its hostile bid for PeopleSoft. How the decision handed the Justice Department a defeat in its legal challenge to the merger; Why the government chose to try to prevent the deal; Antitrust experts who think this case could open the way for more mergers in the software industry; How the European Commission is still investigating the proposed merger; Background and details of the takeover.

Reports on the antitrust trial against Oracle. Testimony of CEO Lawrence J. Ellison, that Microsoft's market strategy of driving down prices was the key reason Oracle moved to take over the PeopleSoft Corporation; Why the Justice Department is seeking to block Oracle's $7.7 billion hostile takeover; Contention by Ellison that his company was considering three or four other acquisitions while its bid for PeopleSoft was pending; Ellison's claim that the acquisition of a software company is vital for his company's survival.