Search

Apple Inc.'s stock price dropped as much as 10% following the news that the company's chief executive, Steven Jobs would take a medical leave until the end of June after saying that his medical condition was found to be more complex than originally thought. Jobs was previously treated successfully for pancreatic cancer.

Apple Inc. is suing Motorola Inc. claiming that Motorola's smartphones and their operating system violate patents held by Apple. Apple wants Motorola to stop selling the products, and seeks damages and attorney's fees.

For the quarter ended September 25, Apple Inc.'s reports a 70% surge in quarterly profit to $4.31 billion. Apple's revenue grew 67% to $20.3 billion. Separately, IBM Corp.'s third-quarter profit increased 12% to $3.59 billion on a 3% revenue increase to $24.3 billion.

The U.S. Justice Department is looking into whether some of Apple Inc.'s practices in the music business violate antitrust laws. Apple may have tried to block Amazon.com Inc.'s access to newly-released music.

Struggling smartphone maker Palm Inc. has been bought by Hewlett-Packard Co. for $1.2 billion in cash and the assumption of debt. Palm will be integrated into H-P's personal-computer business unit.

After failing to turn its business around, hand-held device maker Palm Inc. has hired investment bankers to explore strategic options for the company - including its possible sale. Palm's shares, which have lost 35% of their value in the past year, rose 88 cents on Monday to close at $6.04, giving the company a market capitalization of about $1 billion.

Weeks before the release of its iPad, Apple Inc. is negotiating with media companies and publishers to secure content for its new tablet computer, but providers are hesitant to reduce prices over concerns it might affect revenue.

Research in Motion Ltd.'s third-quarter net profit is expected to increase to $1.04 a share from 70 cents a year ago. Sales will rise 37% to $3.8 billion. RIM's smart-phone shipments will likely increase 43% to 9.6 million units. Similarly, Palm Inc.'s second-quarter sales are projected to rise 39% to $266.2 million while net loss will narrow to 32 cents a share from 73 cents a year ago.

Video game retailer GameStop Corp. reports a second-quarter net profit drop of 32% to $38.7 million from $57.2 million a year earlier. Sales slipped 3.7% to $1.74 billion, while same-store sales fell 14%. GameStop lowered its full-year per-share earnings forecast to $2.40 from a previous forecast of $2.64.

Electronic Arts Inc. reports that its net loss for the quarter ended June 30 widened to $234 million from $95 million a year ago. Revenue dropped 30% to $644 million from $804 million. The company expects full-year per-share earnings of $1 and revenue of about $4.3 billion.

Continuing a trend that began in March, video game sales dropped 29% in June while hardware sales plummeted 38%. Revenue from video games is expected to remain flat or to increase slightly by about 5% from $11 billion in 2008. Some games and equipment makers have announced price reductions to entice shoppers.

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE AND JOANN S. LUBLIN TECHNOLOGY Will Apple CEO Jobs make it to the party? After months of uncertainty about Steve Jobs's health, the Apple Inc. AAPL-Q [...]

Byline: DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI AND YUKARI IWATANI KANE ENTERTAINMENT Gaming giants take different paths to woo players Sony Corp. introduced a smaller and lighter PlayStation Portable game machine and Nintendo Co. [...]

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE With chief executive Steve Jobs out on medical leave, Apple Inc. hasn't announced a major new product this year. That has freed the rumour mill to [...]

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE; WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF The sudden absence of chief executive officer Steve Jobs couldn't come at a more challenging time for Apple Inc. The Cupertino, Calif.-based [...]

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE AND JACOB GOLDSTEIN; WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF Seeking to quell speculation about his health, Apple Inc. chief executive officer Steve Jobs disclosed that he has been [...]

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE AND JUSTIN SCHECK Even Apple Inc. is beginning to suffer in this year's dismal holiday season, and worries are mounting the recession will weigh on its [...]

Boosted by strong iPhone sales, Apple Inc. posts a 26% net profit increase to $1.14 billion for the quarter ended September 27, and a 27% revenue increase to $7.9 billion. Demand for Apple products is expected to remain unchanged by the recent slump in the global economy. After closing at $91.49 on the Nasdaq, Apple's shares reached $101.80 in after-hours trading.

Japanese mobile telephony company NTT DoCoMo Inc. is negotiating with Tata Group to acquire a stake in Tata's Wireless-TT-Infoservices, operator of 14,000 telecommunication towers in India. Wireless-TT-Infoservices is seeking capital to expand its operations. Looking to invest outside the saturated Japanese market, DoCoMo recently acquired a 30% stake in TM International (Bangladesh) Ltd. for $350 million.

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE TOKYO -- Sony Corp. unveiled flat-screen LCD television sets that are thinner and display sharper images than before, as it gears up for what is expected [...]

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE; WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF TOKYO -- Sony Corp. is releasing a new safari game this week for its PlayStation 3 video game console that purposely steers [...]

Signaling a slowdown of Japan's cellular telephony sector, telecom NTT DoCoMo reports a 1.1% drop in total sales and a 20% drop in handset sales for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30. The company's net profit grew 41% to 173.5 billion yen. Article discusses NTT DoCoMo's marketing strategies, efforts to increase market share, share value, and sales prospects for the rest of 2008.

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE In an old seaport city near its Osaka headquarters, Sharp Corp. is building a $9-billion (U.S.) factory complex the size of 32 baseball stadiums to make [...]

Aided by increased sales from its video game business, electronics company Sony Corp. reports a net profit increase to 29.04 billion yen for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31. Sony's net profit for its fiscal year almost tripled to 369.4 billion yen while sales rose 7% to 8.87 trillion. Article discusses sales of Sony's video game console PlayStation 3, and competition from other video game manufacturers.

Mobile operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to market cell phones designed by fashion house Prada to Japanese consumers. Article discusses the sale and marketing of foreign-made mobile phones in Japan.

Byline: SARAH McBRIDE AND YUKARI IWATANI KANE As Toshiba Corp. prepares to formally surrender to Sony Corp. in a long and brutal format war over high-definition DVDs, the movie studios [...]

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE AND SARAH McBRIDE TOKYO AND LOS ANGELES -- Toshiba Corp. is expected to pull out of the HD DVD business early this week, people familiar with [...]

Investment company Dubai International Capital, property of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, acquires stake in Sony Corp. Article discusses foreign investment trends in the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries.

Byline: YUKARI IWATANI KANE; Jay Alabaster contributed to this article TOKYO -- Sony Corp. said it plans to sell a device in Europe that lets users record television programs onto [...]