Microsoft revenues hit a record of $69.94 bn Sales of the company’s Xbox 360 videogame console and its Office software helped fuel the growth. Net income at the world’s biggest software maker jumped 23% to 23.15bn for the year.

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Moody may downgrade the US debt rating if Congress fails to increase the US debt limit in the coming weeks and risks default. Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bill to raise the debt limit,

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Rio Tinto agrees $2bn land deal with Australian co. Aboriginals Under the deal, Rio will pay almost $2bn over 40 years to owners in return for access to their resource-rich land. Rio Tinto has been looking to expand its operations and increase

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Glencore International has a set a price range for its initial public offering in London and Hong Kong, enabling the company to raise up to 6 billion pounds ($10 billion). The world’s largest diversified commodities trader had set a price range

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UK’s manufacturing sector grew at its weakest pace for seven months in April 2011, a survey suggests. The Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 54.6 last month from a downwardly-revised 56.7 in March. A

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world’s biggest gold producer Barrick Gold will pay 7.2bn Canadian dollars ($7.4bn, £4.5bn) for Equinox Minerals. The offer, which has been accepted, is 16% higher than a rival bid from China’s Minmetals earlier this month.

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Procter & Gamble is to sell its Pringles snacks business to the owner of Kettle Chips, Diamond Foods. The $2.35bn deal will see Diamond pay $1.5bn for Pringles and take on $850m of its debt.

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Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has offered to dispose of most of the Sky News channel to allay concerns about the planned take-over of all of BSkyB. News Corp would either sell outright, or else separate off, the news

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Unrest in Libya pushes Brent oil price to $111 a barrel price of Brent crude oil has hit $111 a barrel, and US crude also rose in price, as worries persist about the unrest in Libya. Markets are concerned the trouble could worsen in key oil producing countries, affecting supplies and hitting growth.

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US agricultural giant Cargill is to spin off its Mosaic fertiliser business to stakeholders, in a deal worth $24bn. It opens the way to a possible takeover bid for Mosaic, which operates in the same area as Canada’s Potash, which BHP Billiton failed to buy last year.

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