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LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones) -- Microsoft Corp. plans to double the amount of money it spends on research and development in its online business, investing as much in the segment as any of its big rivals and focusing on providing software as a service, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Thursday. The world's largest software firm plans to spend $1.1 billion on new products and initiatives related to ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- Ameren Corp., the St. Louis-based power company, turned in sharply lower year-on-year first-quarter results Thursday, saying tepid energy sales during the winter months and rising operating costs overshadowed revenue gains. Ameren (AEE) said that net income for the first three months of 2006 fell to $ 70 million, or 34 cents a share, from $121 million or 62 cents a sh ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- EBay Inc. executives said Thursday the company's Internet-based phone service, known as Skype, has seen explosive growth in China and that the country is now one of Skype's biggest market. Speaking to hundreds of analysts and investors gathered at eBay'sSan Jose, Calif., headquarters, Skype president and former eBay chief financial officer Rajiv Dutta said the servi ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders this year, Chairman Warren Buffett conjured up an unlikely image of himself when explaining his quest for more acquisitions. "If you have a business that fits, give me a call," he wrote. "Like a hopeful teenage girl, I'll be waiting by the phone." The request neatly sums up the two major concerns of som ...

U.S. stocks ended higher Thursday as strong April sales results for retailers and a drop in crude-oil prices to a one-month low lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its best level in more than six years. Gains came even as the latest data showed a rise in labor costs in the first quarter, a worrying development for those investors concerned the Federal Reserve may have to keep raising int ...

Technology stocks largely closed with broad gains Thursday as most bellwethers advanced and the sector seemed to benefit from a broad market rally fueled by upbeat retail data. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose almost 20 points to 2,323, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) added nearly 7 points and the Amex Computer Technology Index (XCI) rose by 5 points. Stocks ...

Treasury prices closed fractionally lower Thursday, sending yields slightly higher, after the first-quarter productivity report showed an unexpectedly steep gain in unit labor costs, a gauge of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve. The fixed-income market abhors inflation because it eats into the value of bonds and increases the chances for a hawkish U.S. monetary policy. Afterno ...

U.S. stocks held onto solid gains in late-day trading Thursday as strong April sales results for retailers and a drop in crude-oil prices to a one-month low put the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track to end at its best level in more than six years. Gains came even as the latest data showed a rise in labor costs in the first quarter, a worrying development for those investors concerned the Fe ...

John Thain and Bob Greifeld are not renowned for agreeing with each other. The chief executives respectively of the NYSE and Nasdaq are fighting for market share and listings in the increasingly acrimonious battle for supremacy in the US equity trading market. // But they do agree on one thing. They believe that Regulation National Market System (Reg NMS), a controversial set of rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission that is set to drastically alter the US equity trading landscape, w ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- A scorching 19% gain in shares of freight forwarder Expeditors International of Washington, lower crude oil prices and better airline passenger traffic numbers for April helped lead the Dow transports index to a record high Thursday. Expeditors (EXPD) shares rose by $16.51 in recent trade to $104.27 after reporting a sharp rise in first-quarter earnings. The company also ...