IBM offers $4.9 billion for Cognos
The friendly bid comes after SAP and Oracle acquired the Canadian company's two biggest rivals in the business analysis software market.

Publicis to bring ad fields under a single roof with new venture
The new organization will package the creation of advertising, the buying of ad space and time, and the development of digital ad campaigns in a single, agency-like entity.

Using mobile phones as cash is put to the test in Europe
Already a success in Asia, the mobile money concept is undergoing a trial in France, allowing consumers to pay for their croissants with a wave of a cellphone.

British postal service tries to stimulate business with sensory appeal
A new initiative, aimed at marketers who use the mail to reach potential consumers, encourages them to incorporate a scent, taste or sound in their mailings.

Salesforce and Benioff takes on new challenge
The brash entrepreneur wants to turn his customer relations software into a platform as vital as Microsoft's Windows.

Intel says new chips will speed high-definition video online
Sean Maloney, Intel's chief sales and marketing officer, said the chips' increased computing power would begin the transformation of today's stuttering and blurry videos, the staple of YouTube and other video streaming sites, into high-resolution, full-screen quality.

Media: Italian paper faces scrutiny as it prepares an IPO.
The powerful industrial group that owns the financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore is bracing for a new level of scrutiny in a newspaper market already rife with conflict of interest claims as it prepares to sell a third of the company to the public this month.

Google options put masseuse in crowd of multimillionaires
After five years of kneading engineers' backs, Bonnie Brown retired, cashing in most of her stock options worth millions of dollars.
- Google casts a shadow as Firefox plans for the future

Hollywood writers rally as contract talks remain stalled
A thousand protesters converged Friday on the gates of Fox studios for what was shaping up to be the biggest rally yet by striking writers.

Hoping to replicate US success, Apple launches iPhone in Germany, Britain
Customers in Germany and Britain lined up to buy the iPhone as it made its European debut on Friday, with Apple Inc. hoping to replicate overseas the success it has had in the United States.

Le Méridien: Hotels, and now, a lifestyle
The hotel would like to be viewed as a haven for hipsters and other creative types, perhaps a European version of the W Hotels.