Microsoft Corp is willing to invest up to 10 percent of its operating income in its Internet search business for up to five years, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday, as its "Bing" search engine starts to gain ground with Web surfers. Bing — part of Microsoft's perennially money-losing online services unit — has

Software giant Microsoft Corp is launching a free PC security service next week in what could be the biggest challenge to date for anti-virus companies with billions of dollars in annual revenue. Industry analysts who previewed the service, Microsoft Security Essentials, said its features and quality are on par with anti-virus products from Symantec Corp,

LG Electronics will start selling this month flatscreen monitors that can function as virtual computers, saving costs by allowing multiple users to run programs off a single standard PC. LG's new liquid crystal display SmartVine N-series monitors will include embedded "virtualization" technology from U.S.-based NComputing Inc. Users can connect a keyboard and mouse directly to

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner urged Congress to act quickly on the Obama administration's regulatory reform proposals, saying past efforts had started too late after the will to act had faded. Geithner, in prepared testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, said the administration considered a full range of options and "decided that now is the time

The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 added to gains while the Nasdaq turned positive on Thursday after a reading of business conditions in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region came in much better than expected, suggesting a more stable manufacturing sector. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 55.17 points, or 0.65 percent, to 8,552.35. The

European Union leaders will approve tighter bank supervision rules at a summit starting on Thursday, a day after President Barack Obama unveiled a sweeping reform of U.S. financial supervision. EU leaders will also back Jose Manuel Barroso for a second five-year term as head of the European Commission, although his critics say the EU reacted

British part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland said former chief executive Fred Goodin had agreed to more than halve his widely criticised 703,000 pound pension award. Goodwin will now receive an annual payout of 342,500 pounds, the bank said. Chairman Philip Hampton said Goodwin had voluntarily approached the bank to alter his pension arrangements after