• Microsoft CEO backs Web spending, "done" with Yahoo
  REDMOND, Washington (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.

  

  

  
• Foreclosures rise 14 pct in Q2: RealtyTrac
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home foreclosure filings rose 14 percent in the second quarter, the eighth consecutive quarterly climb, and more than doubled from the same period a year-earlier, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Friday.

  

  

  
• Wall St. futures higher, durable goods data eyed
  (Reuters) Futures for the Nasdaq were up 0.4 percent at 4:17 a.m. EDT on Friday while the the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P were both up 0.1 percent.

  

  

  
• Lehman mulls sale of Neuberger: report
  (Reuters) - Officials at Lehman Brothers Holding Inc have considered selling at least part of its Neuberger Berman asset management unit, CNBC said citing sources.

  

  

  
• JP Morgan discusses breakup of UK's HBOS: report
  LONDON (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.

  

  

  

Coverage includes breaking news, market reports, newsmaker interviews and key company profiles.

• Japan back from Bubble
  Oct. 18 - Japanese real estate prices are rising again, 16 years after its "Bubble" era ended in tears.
• Intel cheers Asian shares
  Oct. 18 - Asian shares rose Thursday on expectations of lower U.S. interest rates and strong results by tech giant Intel.
• New facets for diamond business
  Oct. 16 - The world diamond industry says it wants to rethink its business strategy and give more power to producing countries in Africa.
• Posting for profit
  Oct. 10 - A new service from Blinkx.com allows consumers to take a cut of ad revenue from video on their own websites.
• A380 finally lands in Singapore
  Oct. 17 - Two years later than originally scheduled, the Airbus A380 superjumbo lands in Singapore ready for commercial service.