Two top CBS executives have agreed to answer questions from lawyers for Dan Rather, who has accused the network of violating his contract.

I.B.M. reported a higher quarterly profit, beating expectations and buoyed by higher sales in the economically troubled United States and abroad because of growth in services, hardware and software.

Microsoft posted a rise in quarterly profit, boosted by a steady increase of personal computer sales in emerging markets and demand for new computer server software.

Wall Street rose sharply for a second day as oil prices continued to plunge and investors embraced an encouraging earnings report from JPMorgan Chase.

The bank’s dismal second-quarter earnings, far worse than the $1.8 billion loss expected by analysts, mark its fourth straight quarter of losses.

The search giant gave an uncharacteristic disappointment to investors on Thursday, failing to meet at least some of Wall Street’s expectations for its second-quarter performance.

I.B.M. reported a higher quarterly profit, beating expectations and buoyed by higher sales in the economically troubled United States and abroad because of growth in services, hardware and software.

The European Commission said that it had added three new charges against Intel, and warned that it might order Intel to change its behavior under threat of large fines that could total 10 percent of its global revenue.

Wall Street rose sharply for a second day as oil prices continued to plunge and investors embraced an encouraging earnings report from JPMorgan Chase.

As the credit crisis spreads from Wall Street and takes a global toll, Dubai has become an even more powerful beacon for a swarm of deal makers.