Search engine Google Inc and five Asian telecom and communications companies have agreed to invest about $300 million to develop and operate a trans-Pacific cable network connecting the United States to Japan.

Denmark's GN Resound is banking on a hearing aid packed with bluetooth-like technology that lets users listen to calls and music from their iPhones as it seeks to steal a march on its rivals, its new chief executive told Reuters.

Employment growth at the largest U.S. companies has lagged far behind increases in revenue and operating profit since the start of the century, as firms reaped the benefits of globalization, technology, and other ways to operate more productively, according to a Reuters analysis of corporate data.

Venture Capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is investing $50 million in BuzzFeed, the social news and entertainment website known for producing advertising-sponsored "listicles" that go viral.

World shares and the dollar tumbled on Friday and oil and gold jumped after U.S. President Barack Obama authorised targeted air strikes in Iraq, stoking fears of another drawn-out conflict in the region.

China's buoyant exports pushed its trade surplus to a record in July, fuelling optimism global demand will help counter pressure on the domestic economy from a weakening property sector.

Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab said they have uncovered a cyber espionage operation that successfully penetrated two spy agencies and hundreds of government and military targets in Europe and the Middle East since the beginning of this year.

Chinese authorities say they have blocked messaging apps KakaoTalk and Line as part of efforts to fight terrorism,South Korea said on Thursday, the first official explanation of service disruptions in China that began a month ago.

China's recent probes into Microsoft Corp and car companies including Audi and Chrysler have rekindled concerns that Beijing may be using an anti-monopoly law to support domestic firms at the expense of foreign companies.

European stocks fell on Wednesday while nervous investors took refuge in high-rated bonds as Russia amassed troops on its border with Ukraine, raising concerns among western powers that it could invade.

President Barack Obama will announce on Tuesday that U.S. businesses have committed to investing $14 billion in construction, clean energy, banking, and information technology projects across Africa, a White House official said.

Wall Street banks have found a U.S. review of their junk-rated loans to have yielded similar results to last year, easing some concern among bankers about a crackdown on one of their most lucrative businesses.

General Electric Co (GE.N) on Monday pledged to invest $2 billion in Africa by 2018 to boost infrastructure, worker skills and access to energy, an announcement timed to coincide with a U.S. summit meeting of nearly 50 African leaders.

India has dealt a potentially fatal blow to the World Trade Organization's hopes of modernizing the rules of global commerce and remaining the central forum for multilateral trade deals.

Russia's threatened ban on U.S. poultry imports, the latest move in a sanctions skirmish over Moscow's support of rebels in Ukraine, has agriculture companies alert to the risks of a conflict that's already roiled trading of crops ranging from soy, beef and fruit to California pistachios.

Procrastinating travelers who find it difficult to plan trips in advance could find some spontaneity and even bargains with last-minute travel apps to book flights and hotel rooms. Whether it's finding a flight, or a same-day hotel room, apps are catering to consumers seeking more flexibility.

P2i, a technology spin-off from Britain's Ministry of Defence, is looking to raise as much as 10 million pounds ($17 million) from Singapore investors as it readies the launch of its "Dunkable" or waterproof technology for smartphones and tablets.

U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July and an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate pointed to some slack in the labor market that could give the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates low for a while.

U.S. consumer spending rose for a fifth straight month in June, but a moderation in price increases suggested the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates anytime soon.

Argentina's Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich said on Friday the government held no positive expectations for a court hearing in New York later in the day that will discuss the South American country's debt default.

Seattle audio and video technician Todd Mueller showed up last year for what might have been a routine job except for one thing: Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) was taking notes. As he mounted a flat-screen TV on the wall, an Amazon employee studied how he covered his shoes and used a blanket to protect the hardwood floor.

Argentina defaulted for the second time in 12 years after last-ditch talks with what it called "vulture" creditors failed, though debt insurance prices on Thursday suggested investors believed a deal could eventually be reached.

The United States said on Thursday it was hopeful that differences between India and much of the rest of the world over a major trade agreement could be resolved in time, with only hours remaining before the deal has to be signed.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, but the underlying trend pointed to a continuing strengthening of labor market conditions.

Facebook Inc will shut its 2-year-old Gifts shop on Aug. 12, as the world's largest social network tests other ways to let consumers buy products on its website.

Home genetics startup 23andMe has secured a $1.4 million two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build survey tools and expand its gene database.

Twitter Inc halted a slowdown in user-growth in the second quarter with the help of product tweaks and services built around the summer's World Cup, assuaging concerns for now that the online messaging service had peaked.

Japan's Sony Corp is hammering out plans to rise from the ashes of nearly $10 billion lost in six years by building a future around its last consumer electronics blockbuster - the PlayStation.

Telecoms operator Orange's investment in faster fiber and mobile broadband networks in its French home market has started to pay off, as its high-end focus insulates it from cut- price fixed plans offered by rival Bouygues.

China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said smartphone shipments in the first half rose 62 percent year-on-year, as it targets the more expensive smartphone sector dominated by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc.