Regulators OK accounting rules change, tech companies freed to report gadget sales up front

July 28th, 2009 Canon profits plunge 86 percent in 2QTOKYO — Canon Inc. said second quarter profit sank 86 percent as the global economic malaise weighed on sales of its copy machines, printers and digital cameras while a stronger yen took a bite out of overseas earnings.

October 1st, 2009 No texting at dinner! Parenting in the digital eraHolly Kopczynski always prided herself on raising her kids the right way, teaching them etiquette basics like saying "please" and "thank you." Then it happened. "We were at a restaurant for my mom's birthday.

July 17th, 2009 Toyota making hybrids in UK, Honda sets overtimeTOKYO — Toyota said Friday it will start making hybrids in Europe next year, while its Japanese rival Honda is bringing back overtime to meet demand for small cars, underlining the potential of their green vehicle strategies to underpin recovery from the auto slump. As part of a growth strategy that hinges on its strength in hybrid technology, Toyota Motor Corp.

July 18th, 2009 Report: Porsche near deal with VWFRANKFURT — The struggle over control of Porsche, the heavily leveraged maker of world-class sports cars including the 911, appears to be coming to an end, according to media reports. The German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported on its Web site Saturday that Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen AG would initially get 49.9 percent of Porsche AG and later take the remaining shares.

August 14th, 2009 Chinese carrier in talks with Apple on iPhoneBEIJING — State-owned China Unicom Ltd. said Friday it is talking with Apple Inc.

August 21st, 2009 Apple, AT&T to answer FCC query on Google VoiceSEATTLE — Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc.

May 5th, 2009 Administration addressing ethanol, climate changeWASHINGTON — The Obama administration renewed its commitment Tuesday to speed up investments in ethanol and other biofuels while seeking to deflect some environmentalists' claims that huge increases in corn ethanol use will hinder the fight against global warming. President Barack Obama directed more loan guarantees and economic stimulus money for biofuels research and told the Agriculture Department to find ways to preserve biofuel industry jobs.

April 24th, 2009 Calif. approves nation's 1st low-carbon fuel rule SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California air regulators on Thursday adopted a first-in-the-nation mandate requiring low-carbon fuels, part of the state's wider effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

March 26th, 2009 TORONTO - The shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) fell sharply on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Wednesday after its downgrading by JPMorgan Chase. RIM shares dived 4.4 percent to close at $52.39 after an analysis by the global financial services firm said that the Canadian company will experience slower growth over the next one and a half years.

October 6th, 2009 Big Japanese brands readying 3-D flat-screen TVsCHIBA, Japan — Japan's big-name electronic manufacturers are readying flat-screen TVs that can show high-definition movies and video games in 3-D for launch next year. At the country's biggest consumer electronics show, which opened Tuesday just outside of Tokyo, all the major makers had large 3-D prototypes on display.

July 31st, 2009 LONDON - British people's love for gadgets is set to break the 50-billion-pound barrier for the first time next year, according to a new survey. Retail analysts Mintel have revealed that between 2004 and 2008, sales of gadgets increased almost 13 per cent, and reached about 49bn pounds in 2008.

March 23rd, 2009 CHENNAI - The Madras High Court Monday restrained mobile phone manufacturers Samsung, Mirc Electronics and Spice Mobile and several retailers from manufacturing and selling multiple SIM holding mobile phones. 'On a petition filed by our client Somasundaram Ramkumar, Justice Jaypaul has issued an injunction whereby Samsung Electronics, Mirc Electronics and Spice Mobile were restrained from manufacturing multiple SIM holding mobile phones,' D.

May 15th, 2009 TOKYO - Panasonic Corp suffered its first annual loss in six years because of shrinking demand and harsh price competition amid the global economic downturn, the company said Friday. Panasonic joined other Japanese electronics' companies in reporting a net loss for the year that ended March 31.

August 21st, 2009 AT&T says it was Apple that blocked Google VoiceSEATTLE — AT&T Inc. is telling federal regulators it played no part in blocking the Google Voice phone program from running on Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

April 23rd, 2009 NEW YORK - The economic slump seems to have no impact on Apple Inc. as Cupertino-based electronic and software giant posted a quarterly profit of $1.21 billion on revenue of $8.16 billion Wednesday.