Global News

"Three executives of Duke Energy Corp have resigned just a week after its merger with Progress Energy Inc. Its chief executive had also been ousted."

"Top chip gear maker Applied Materials Inc has reduced its full-year targets due to a sudden decline in orders from its biggest market towards the end of the current quarter. Concern about a declining trend in global technology spending has also hit Asian chip firms. "

"Nicki Minaj has made pop chart history in the US by becoming the first act to boast 21 successive weeks in the top 10 with one single."

"All good things come to an end! Given the circumstances, it may hold true for Fox, ESPN and Turner but certainly not for Major League Baseball."

"Airbus said that the tactical edge that Boeing was enjoying in relation to the "last phone call" while selling jets to the domestic US airlines would no longer be there. Airbus is also planning to set up an assembly-line in Alabama."

"Peter B. Madoff is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges on Friday in Federal District Court in Manhattan. He has agreed to a prison term of 10 years as part of his plea deal and to forfeit $143 billion. "

"An article printed in a newspaper published through news press release states that there was a time when a printed word in the newspaper was held sacrosanct. Now, the competition is driving the media to give a new meaning to the everyday events by twisting the facts. Stephan Cohens moral panic model explains the methods used by the media top press release sites to exaggerate and distort the event. Moral panic refers to an exaggerated reaction given by the media or people to a particular event. The overreaction leads to exaggerated the seriousness of the event. The people or the group, social deviants who are targeted by the News Press Release driven media for causing the harm in the society are called folk devils, says Cohen."

"Almost out of nowhere, Pinterest has emerged as the third most popular social networking site in February. The traffic on this site increased 50 percent from January to February this year. "

"Shell is likely to receive permits from the Interior Department to begin drilling exploratory wells off the North Slope of Alaska as early as next month. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Tuesday that it is necessary for Shell to meet the new standards for offshore drilling set by the Interior Department. "

"Glencore International Plc's 16.9 billion pound ($26.4 billion) bid for the rest of Xstrata Plc was opposed by the Qatar Holding LLC, the second-largest shareholder in Xstrata asking for the bid to be increased by 16 percent."

"Richard Schulze, the founder of Best Buy, is trying to take the struggling electronics retailer private by working out a bid for the purpose. He is negotiating with Credit Suisse bankers to put up the bid. He is the retailer's largest shareholder with a stake of 20.1 percent. "

"Consumer confidence in the US has come down for a fourth consecutive month in June on rising concerns regarding jobs and incomes that have dampened the outlook for spending. The sentiment index has dropped to 62, which indicates a five-month low, from a revised 64.4 in May."

"Standard Chartered has forecast that it may achieve high single-digit revenue growth in the first half and maintain its targets for the full year. It said revenue from markets including China, Indonesia and Malaysia is expected to grow by 10 percent or more."

"Wall Street's top financial firms have given highly-anticipated assessments of Facebook and they have given approval to the company a month after its rocky initial public offering."

"Sony's dismal performance in the past few years was the subject of shareholders' discussions at its annual meeting at a Tokyo convention hall this week, when shareholders wanted to know whether its new CEO would be able to pull it out of the deep abyss of losses. "

"Mixed ratings have been given to Facebook's stock by Wall Street analysts at the end of the 40-day quiet period after its IPO. Some have given it "Neutral" and others "Buy" ratings Wednesday."

"The chief executive of Barclays Bank is coming under increased pressure from politicians to resign after the bank was fined $450 million for manipulating interest rates at which banks lend to each other. He has agreed to give up his bonus this year. "

"Although, the demand for long-lasting manufactured goods sprang back more than expected in May with an increase in a gauge of planned business spending, this momentum is not likely to be sustained due to a staggering global economy."

"A total fine of $452 million was levied on British bank Barclays PLC on Wednesday by US the and UK regulators for "misconduct" related to Libor and Euribor, which are benchmark rates that refer to the amount that banks levy for lending to each other. "

"The field conditions have been hot and dry from early spring similar to what happened 24 years ago leading to significant crop losses. The US corn prices have risen 17 percent this month due to the drought and over concerns that crop losses will badly impact the United States. "