Deep discounts that failed to coax consumers to shop in December are likely to lead to a number of profit warnings this week, when retailers report sales for the all-important holiday month. With consumers reeling from a recession, job uncertainty, tighter credit and falling stock portfolios, discount giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc could be one of

Britain's top share index was down 1.3 percent early on Wednesday after gaining for six straight sessions, led by miners and banks, but Marks & Spencer rose on relief that its poor trading results were not worse. By 0839 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 61.46 points at 4,577.46, after rising 10 percent in the

Apple Inc said on Tuesday it was dropping copy protection from songs sold on the Internet and debuted its slimmest 17-inch laptop yet, but with no dramatic products or master pitchman Steve Jobs, the company's final Macworld performance disappointed Wall Street. Apple shares slid 0.7 percent, lagging by far the Nasdaq's 1.7 percent gain, reflecting

The age of the desktop PC appears to be over as its more portable cousin, the laptop, surges ahead with consumers clamoring for light-weight computers in funky designs for use at home, in cafes and on the train to work. Not a single desktop model figured on online shopping portal Amazon.com's top 10 selling PC

Motorola Inc unveiled a cell phone made of recycled water bottles on Tuesday, hoping to cash in on the trend for environmentally friendly products. The company, which dropped to No. 4 in the global handset market in the most recently reported quarter due to a weak product line-up, said the W233 Renew eco-friendly phone would

British retailers sold a record combined number of DVDs, games and music in 2008 despite the economic gloom, boosted by the popularity of Nintendo's Wii and single downloads, trade bodies said on Wednesday. The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) said its members sold more DVDs, games and music combined than ever before, up 4 percent on

Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook on Bahrain's sovereign ratings to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’. These ratings are the country's A2 local and foreign currency government bond ratings, the A2 country ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and the Aa3 country ceiling for foreign currency bonds. Bahrain's country ceiling for local currency bank deposits and

The popular mobile internet site Nokia.mobi has extended its offering with the launch of Here and Now, a new section that provides the latest world news, music, celebrity buzz, as well as information on Nokia services and products. Bookmarked in every new Nokia device, Nokia.mobi is accessed by millions of consumers across the globe. "By

Aegon has agreed to acquire Banca Transilvania's 50% shareholding in BT Aegon, the two companies' jointly-owned Romanian pension business. Aegon will pay EUR 11 mln for the stake, which will give it full control of the pension business. Aegon and Banca Transilvania (BT) will remain partners. As part of the transaction, the two companies will