Reuters - Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Thursday defended Microsoft Corp's need to make heavy investments in its Internet businesses but said the company was "done," for now, with pursuing Yahoo Inc.

Reuters - Stocks tumbled more than 2 percent on Thursday after a report showing yet another drop in U.S. home sales prompted investors to take profits in financial shares, which had rallied over the past week.

Reuters - U.S. investment bank JP Morgan has held talks with potential partners about forming a consortium to break up British bank HBOS , the UK's Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

Reuters - Wachovia Corp , which posted a record $8.86 billion second-quarter loss Tuesday, said Chief Financial Officer Thomas Wurtz will resign from the fourth-largest U.S. bank after a successor is named.

AFP - South Korea's economy slowed substantially in the second quarter as a result of weakened domestic demand because of high prices of oil and raw materials, the central bank said Friday.

AP - Microsoft's CEO defended the software maker's decision to invest heavily in its unprofitable online business, but shed minimal light Thursday on specific steps it will take to challenge Google in the wake of the failed bid to buy Yahoo.