Qualcomm delivered quarterly results and an outlook for the current quarter that beat analysts’ expectations on Wednesday, sending its shares higher in after-hours trading.

The company, which makes chips used in cellphones and other wireless devices, posted fiscal first-quarter earnings excluding items Continue reading this post…

International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of a 20-30% oil price spike if Iranian exports are disrupted.

The IMF warned that if the West imposed financial sanctions on Iran, it would be tantamount to an oil blockade, and the shock to the Continue reading this post…

The pace of US economic growth increased in the final three months of 2011, according to official figures.

The economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.8%, the Commerce Department said. This was up from the 1.8% annual rate recorded in Continue reading this post…

Facebook will begin the process of becoming a publicly-listed company this week, valuing the social networking site at between $75bn and $100bn.

The company plans to file papers with the US financial watchdog on Wednesday, according to the Financial Times Continue reading this post…

The pace of the US service sector’s growth picked up in last month, according to a new report. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its services index rose to 52.6 last month from 52 in November. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The ISM survey of US services covers industries ranging from Continue reading this post…

Samsung Electronics has said it expects to report a big jump in profits for the final three months of last year, thanks largely to record smartphone sales.

The South Korean firm said it expects operating profits for the period to be $4.5bn, 73% higher than a year a earlier. Continue reading this post…

Chinese oil firm Sinopec has agreed a $2.2bn deal with Devon Energy, giving it access to shale deposits in the US.

Sinopec will get a one-third stake in five new shale projects, with the firms expecting to drill 125 wells this year. Continue reading this post…

World’s largest electronics manufacturer, Samsung, and six other LCD screen manufacturers have settled claims they conspired to fix prices.

The firms were accused in 8 US states of working together to raise the price of screens for TVs and computers. Continue reading this post…

US consumer confidence rose for the second month in a row, to an eight-month high in December, new data suggests.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose almost 10 points to 64.5 in December, up from a revised 55.2 in Continue reading this post…

Sears Holdings, the department store group which owns the two major retail chains, blamed falling sales.

In the eight weeks to Christmas Day, sales at Kmart fell 4.4% and by 6% at Sears. The company, which has 2,200 outlets in the US, says Continue reading this post…