PALO ALTO, Ca. - Hewlett-Packard announced Tuesday it is buying EDS - the former IT arm of General Motors Corp. - for $13.9 billion, a price that struck analysts as surprisingly high. The deal will create a computer services giant intended to rival IBM in the market for serving business customers. The deal is expected
NEW YORK - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has amassed a stake in Yahoo and could soon launch a proxy contest to unseat at least part of Yahoo's board, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Icahn has bought roughly 50 million Yahoo shares since Microsoft Corp. on May 3 withdrew its unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo,
LANSING - Though no deals have been signed, Michigan stands to benefit from Microsoft Corporation's recent renewal of its Partners in Learning Program, which was worth $4 million over five years when it began in June 2004. Microsoft officials told the State Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday that the success of its programs
LANSING - Michigan Business leaders see rising healthcare expenses as their greatest concern, while fewer expect the economy to improve very much over the next five years, contends a poll released Tuesday by the Detroit Regional Chamber. The poll, traditionally released at the Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference, but this year will be used to drive
LANSING - About a third of the increase in food prices over the last several years can be attributed to ethanol, renewable energy experts said during a Monday meeting of the Renewable Fuels Commission at Michigan State University. "We have had a recent substantial increase in food prices and there are many, many causes of
CHENGDU, China - A massive earthquake struck Western China on Monday, with its epicenter about 55 miles northwest of Chengdu, which has become one of China's top tech centers. Chengdu has attracted tech companies in part through its High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. According to the Chengdu Invest site, the zone has attracted a huge number
WASHINGTON - A new bill in the U.S. Congress would force retailers to card kids attempting to buy video games bearing "mature" or "adults only" ratings. Previous legislative attempts to limit childrens' access to violent or sexually-themed video games, however, have not met with much success in the courts, including Michigan. In addition to the
LANSING - The Michigan House Transportation Committee began its review Thursday of legislation that would prohibit people from using their cell phone while driving, which would make using a cell phone a secondary offense. HB 4982 , HB 5117 and HB 5396 would all make using a cell phone in a moving vehicle a civil
LANSING - Michigan residential customers would see rate increases of as much as 28 percent and commercial and industrial customers as much as 9 percent under the House package that restructures electric regulation and requires energy efficiency and renewables. That message came from Senate Fiscal Agency Director Gary Olson told the Senate Energy Policy and
KIRKLAND, Wa. - Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. are close to announcing a $12 billion joint venture that plans to roll out ultra fast wireless Internet access for cellphones and laptops in coming years, with the backing of an unlikely alliance of technology and cable companies. Sprint has agreed to merge its wireless broadband