Gfk backs out of deal with TNS
Despite the setback, TNS again rejected WPP's hostile offer, although an analyst said the market research company would have a hard time avoiding its grasp.
- TUI in difficult spot as it tries to sell Hapag-Lloyd shipping unit

Taking soccer to the small screen
Across Europe, the lure of professional soccer is so strong that some mobile operators, especially in Britain, are beginning to report a rise in mobile viewing.

Quest for marketing gold begins in China
The star athletes who competed in the Olympic Games are making their bids to cash in on the country's boom in sports marketing and sponsorship deals.

Europeans retrench on venture investing
Venture capital firms in Europe invested in 167 young companies in the second quarter, 42 percent fewer than in the period last year. Venture dollars invested declined 35 percent, to $1.3 billion.

Hackers attack Facebook
On the Internet, popularity often draws the attention of hackers. So it is not surprising that Facebook has become the target of a spate of attacks.

Disney puts Pinocchio on Blu-ray sales team
Disney, like other media companies, is counting on high-definition Blu-ray discs - and companion technology that connects them to the Internet - to reinvigorate its highly profitable home entertainment business.

Console makers turn to own games
As independent studios avoid exclusive deals for blockbusters, Microsoft and Sony will have to fund their own games if they want publishing rights to a game their rivals cannot get.

'Harry Potter' takes shot at 'Hari Puttar'
Bollywood producers set to release a film called "Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors" are working to fend off a lawsuit filed by Warner Brothers that claims the movie title hews too closely to their megafamous boy wizard franchise.

Rushdie accepts apology to settle libel suit
Lawyers for a former policeman who drove a car for the writer apologized in court, saying the driver's book, "On Her Majesty's Service," contained 11 false statements.

Hands-free becomes rule of road in U.S.
Business travelers to the United States have one more gadget to pack when they visit certain states: a headset.

Tech-savvy Obama outmaneuvering the media
The campaign has all but christened a new era by seizing the medium itself. The network pageantry has been replaced by the network effect - a huge pipe directly to his supporters, no intermediation involved. The press, it seems, just gets in the way.