Silicon Valley's lead over Europe is narrowing
A conference held in Munich this week provided evidence that Silicon Valley's dominance of Internet-style technology innovation is waning.

Blog by Jason Goldberg, head of Jobster, left employees guessing
Last month, Goldberg knocked down rumors that Jobster was in trouble on his blog. On Jan. 3, he announced that he was cutting 66 employees, or 40 percent of the staff.

Alcatel-Lucent shares plunge on profit warning
Growing pains and tougher competition hit Alcatel-Lucent's revenue and wiped out fourth-quarter profit, the telecom equipment maker warned Tuesday, sending its shares plummeting less than two months after the company's creation in a €8.8 billion (US$11.6 billion) merger.

Lead plaintiff named in Apple shareholder lawsuit over backdated options
A New York pension system will be the lead plaintiff in a shareholders lawsuit accusing Apple Inc. of securities violations over backdated stock options.

LG Electronics 4th-quarter profit drops 85 percent
Fourth quarter profit at LG Electronics, South Korea's largest consumer appliance maker, plunged 85 percent amid falling sales and price declines for flat-screen televisions, the company said Tuesday.

Texas Instruments earnings up 2 percent in fourth quarter
Texas Instruments, the world's largest maker of chips for mobile phones, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 2 percent from a year earlier, due to stronger demand for the company's semiconductor and calculator products.

Eisner and Wenner announce Internet video partnership
Users will be able to watch and upload celebrity-related clips on either Veoh or Usmagazine.com.

Briefing: BBC's Internet plans may hurt its rivals
The BBC's plans to offer programs on-demand via its Internet site may have a negative effect on its commercial rivals, the British telecommunications regulator Ofcom said Tuesday.

Record labels rethink digital rights management at Midem
With the falloff in CD sales persisting and even digital revenue growth now faltering in the face of rampant music sharing by consumers, the major record labels appear to be closer than ever to releasing music on the Internet with no copying restrictions.

Germany floats compromise on mobile-phone roaming charges
Germany is proposing that EU countries limit the roaming fees that cellphone operators charge customers to 49 euro cents a minute for outgoing calls and 25 cents a minute for incoming calls.

BBC talking to Google about providing video on YouTube
The British Broadcasting Corporation said Monday that it was in discussions with the search engine company Google about putting some of the BBC's programming on the online video site YouTube.

The public service broadcaster plans to introduce a series of on-demand services, including the i-player, allowing audiences to watch and listen to British Broadcasting Corp. programming on Internet and cable services. The proposed plans include a catch-up service, allowing viewers to watch any BBC program from the last seven days; a simulcast service, where programs are shown online at the same time as on TV; and a BBC radio audio download service.

The proposals could have a negative effect on investments in similar services, including DVD sales and rentals, audio books and commercial on-demand services, which would not be in the long-term public interest, Ofcom said. (Bloomberg)

German trade show suffers cancellations

HANNOVER, Germany: CeBIT, the biggest technology and telecommunications trade fair in the world, will be a day shorter starting next year because of cancellations from major exhibitors like Nokia and Motorola.

Ernst Raue, one manager of the German fair, said Tuesday that the price structure for exhibitors would be changed after complaints about high costs.

Raue said that organizers would concentrate more on attracting foreign companies. The show is scheduled for March 15 to 21. (Reuters)

MySpace alters policy to increase restrictions

NEW YORK: MySpace, News Corp.'s social-networking Web site, has tightened its rules to deter sexual predators and is distributing alerts for missing children.

The Web site will block users over age 18 from contacting users younger than 18 and will limit instant messaging to users listed on each person's friend list. All users will be required to have a valid e-mail address to sign up, and that address will be used to confirm memberships.

MySpace increased restrictions to protect young users after being sued over claims that five teenage girls were sexually abused by adults they met on MySpace. (Bloomberg)

Brocade Communications Systems, the largest maker of switches for computer data-storage networks, won U.S. antitrust clearance to buy a rival, McData.

The Federal Trade Commission said in a letter that was sent to Brocade's lawyer that it closed its investigation of the $954 million purchase of McData by Brocade. The combined company is expected by analysts to have 73 percent of the market for fiber switches.(Bloomberg)

Yahoo and Reuters Group agreed to make their instant messaging programs work together, letting users exchange messages across the two networks. The feature will made be available in the coming months.(Bloomberg)