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DETROIT (AP) - All major automakers except for General Motors Corp. saw their U.S. sales drop in January to start what industry analysts have predicted will be the worst auto sales year in the United States in more than a decade. GM, led by strong crossover vehicle sales, reported an increase of 2.6 percent in January when compared with the same month last year. But Toyota Motor Corp., which ...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - 0201dv--microsoft--yahoo Unable to topple Google Inc. on its own, Microsoft Corp. is trying to force crippled rival Yahoo Inc. into a shotgun marriage, with a wager worth nearly $42 billion that the two companies together will have a better chance of tackling the Internet search leader. Microsoft's audacious attempt to buy Yahoo, spelled o ...

NEW YORK (AP) - It doesn't take highly paid Wall Street analysts to figure out why corporate earnings are trending toward their worst performance in six years. With roughly half the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 having reported fourth-quarter results, banks and brokerage have proven to be the biggest drag on the overall earnings picture. Profit declined 22 percent from the year-a ...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - 0201dv--microsoft--yahoo Unable to topple Google Inc. on its own, Microsoft Corp. is trying to force crippled rival Yahoo Inc. into a shotgun marriage, with a wager worth nearly $42 billion that the two companies together will have a better chance of tackling the Internet search leader. Microsoft's audacious attempt to buy Yahoo, spelled out in an unsolicited offer  ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Consumer groups in four states asked congressional banking and finance committees on Friday to conduct hearings on Bank of America Corp.'s proposed $4.1 billion buyout of struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. The groups sent letters requesting that lawmakers investigate the possible impact of the buyout on Countrywide borrowers. They also want lawmakers to pre ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - Heelys Inc. late Friday said Chief Executive Michael Staffaroni has resigned. Ralph Parks, formerly CEO at FootAction USA, will act as interim CEO. He joined Heelys' board on Jan. 29. Staffaroni had served as CEO at Heelys since 2001. The issue's stock closed the regular session up 39 cents, or 6.5%, at $6.39 but fell 31 cents, or 4.9%, to $6.08 in after-hour ...

(AP) - A chronology of events leading up to Microsoft Corp.'s rich offer for Web search and advertising competitor Yahoo Inc. Microsoft sees the deal as a way to catch up with market leader Google Inc., by far the best at turning Web searches into cash. 1975: Microsoft founded. 1995: Yahoo founded, begins serving ads online. Microsoft launches MSN Web portal. 1998: Google founded. 2000: Yahoo  ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - MicroStrategy Inc. late Friday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $17.7 million, or $1.41 a share, versus the $1.74 mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial. In the same period last year, the McLean, Va.-based software company posted net earnings of $22.4 million, or $1.68 a share. Revenue in the three months ended Dec. 31 rose 5% to $97.6 mi ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Walt Disney Co. said on Friday it signed Chief Executive Robert Iger to a new five-year contract that will pay him an annual salary of $2 million plus bonuses and stock awards that could be worth millions more. Under the deal, Iger could receive an annual incentive bonus of $10 million or more, along with an annual long-term incentive compensation equity award valued at $9  ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Weapon-system errors have cost the government billions, delayed critical launch dates and "decreased capabilities for the warfighter," a federal watchdog agency said Friday. In a study of weapon acquisition and quality, the Government Accountability Office found a pattern of poor systems-engineering at defense contractors and a reliance on designs that weren't ready, p ...