The largest retailer in the world on Internet, Amazon.com has announced its Kindle Fire now is 20% of the sales for tablets in the U.S. The internet retailer said it was joining forces with Finland’s Nokia for its mapping services that will be on the next generation Kindle Fire. The new device will be released next week and will contain location capabilities. Those capabilities require either a WiFi triangulation or a GPS chip. One of the most popular features of most tablets is the mapping services.... 

Lowe’s $1.8 billion takeover offer was rejected by Rona, a Canadian rival.  Rona said that it was approached by Lowe’s with a “non binding” offer to pay 14.50 cents a share for the company.  Rona said that it formally rejected the offer.  Lowe’s indicated that it would move forward with its hostile bid two days later. Michelle Laberge, a spokeswoman for Rona, did not directly explain why the company waited for several weeks to announce that it was a takeover target.  She... 

On Wednesday, Sony Corp, looking to reclaim some of its luster that was lost in the consumer electronics market in the past few years, unveiled their new line of products that included the new Xperia tablet brand. Kazuo Hirai, the CEO of Sony showed off the Xperia Tablet S as well as several new smartphones and a new Bravia 84-inch television. The new products were showcased by Sony at the IFA show in Berlin that showcases consumer electronics. In a prepared statement, Hirai admitted Sony was dealing... 

A Secret Service agent left his gun unattended on a charter plane that carried Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney Wednesday, as the GOP candidate flew for a campaign event in Indiana. While the plane was in flight between Tampa and Indianapolis, a reporter from CBS News located the weapon in the plane’s lavatory. The reporter alerted the Secret Service agents on the flight, according to a report that was posted on the internet site for the network. The gun was then immediately retrieved... 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve a new drug for HIV, but the price of the new medication received a great deal of criticism from an AIDS activist. Michael Weinstein, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation president, said the drug would put even more pressure on the health programs that are already strained that pay the majority of the HIV medications. Weinstein called the $28,500 a year cost shockingly irresponsible. He leads the foundation that treats over 100,000 individuals who are infected... 

On Tuesday, a defense attorney said his Amish clients took action due to a concern that members of their religion had strayed from their religious beliefs. His clients have been accused of carrying out hate crimes by cutting the hair of other members of their religion. The attorneys for the Amish defendants did not deny the hair cutting incidents took place. However, they said the Amish are tied to different rules guided through their religion. The lawyers said the government should not become involved... 

IBM Corp is set to buy Kenexa Corp for around $1.3 billion. This will allow the technology giant to go into the human resources software market where it will compete against Oracle Corp and SAP AG. The deal fortifies the importance that slow-growing technology companies place on fast-growing, web-based software firms with products that are less vulnerable to the economic crisis because they don’t have upfront costs for licenses, installation or dedicated hardware. The Germany-based SAP recently... 

The board of directors of the consumer electronics firm Best Buy announced on Monday that it had given Richard Schulze, the company founder, consent to prepare a takeover bid. Schulze now has 60 days to perform due diligence, form an investment group and then present a formal takeover bid in order to return the company back to being privately held. The huge electronics company has been struggling for much of the last year. The board said that if the proposal were rejected then Schulze would not be... 

On Facebook, a new photo was posted by Samsung of what looked like their new tablet that will run with Windows 8. The Facebook page said the tablet would be unveiled during a trade show for consumer electronics in Germany that starts Friday of this week. The South Korean company posted its photo on one of the many different Facebook pages it has. A caption below the photo of the tablet read – Do not worry, it will be here soon. In the photo, the tablet is seen running with the Window 8 system.... 

Individual and corporate travel advocates have urged the Federal Trade Commission in the United States to address drip pricing, a practice that is widespread amongst the hotel industry. Advocates have said to the regulatory agency that it needs to end the scheme that is harmful to individual travelers, business travelers, travel agencies and travel buyers. The drip pricing term refers to the deceptive way the supplier of rooms carves out a part of the real price of its rooms; then labels that part... 

Last Friday, a US jury gave Apple a decisive win in its legal battle against Samsung Electronics. The court awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages after it ruled that the Korean electronic device manufacturer infringed on several of its patents. The verdict was delivered in a San Jose, California courtroom Friday. The ruling stated that Samsung infringed Apple’s patents for its scroll, multitouch, zoom, and navigation features as well as the design patents for the icons and cases. The jury... 

Sony reported a 77% decrease in operating profit for the quarter that ended in June, a result far below analysts’ expectations.  Operating profit for the period fell to ¥6.28 billion, or $80 million.  Analysts had expected a 36% decrease.  Sony reduced its forecast for operating profit in the current financial year to ¥130 billion, from a previous forecast of ¥180 billion.  Analysts forecast annual operating profit of ¥139 billion. The company has been battered by the weak global economy,... 

Royal Bank of Scotland reported a net loss of £1.99 billion, or $3.09 billion, in the first half of the year.  The bank recorded a £1.42 billion loss in the same quarter last year.  Revenue fell 8%, to £13.29 billion.  The bank’s net losses fell to £466 million in the three months through June 30, compared with £897 million during the second quarter of last year.  The British government owns 82% of the bank after it received a bailout during the recent financial crisis. Royal Bank... 

Republicans, undaunted by what could be a huge force of Mother Nature, arrived in throngs in Florida on Sunday, as they prepare for their National Convention. The convention has been reduced from a four day event to just three as Tropical Storm Isaac threatens to soak all the delegates. Tampa was full of sun on Sunday, although winds were starting to pick up as the storm made its way from the Caribbean to Florida. Romney took the day off on Sunday to spend time at his New Hampshire lakeside estate.... 

On Friday, a federal appeals court struck down governmental requirements for graphic warning labels on the packages of cigarettes. The court said the government had not provided enough evidence that the graphic labels would lower the smoking rates. The three-judge panel ruled in a decision 2-1 that federal regulators had fallen short of the constitutional requirements of justifying the rules for the labels. The court ruled that the First Amendment requires that the government not just state a significant... 

A recently released poll shows that President Barack Obama holds a strong lead in Pennsylvania one of the key battleground states. The poll said that Obama’s lead over Mitt Romney the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was 51% to 42% amongst registered voters in the state. With female voters, Obama holds the edge over Romney 55% to 39%. Among male voters, Obama is in front narrowly 47% to 46%. Obama also holds a 47% to 43% lead over the state’s independent voters. Obama also holds an... 

A court in Norway has sentenced mass murderer Anders Breivik to a prison term. The sentencing denied the prosecutors the ruling of insanity they were hoping for in order to show the massacre of 77 people was carried out by a madman, not because of an anti-Muslim crusade. When the ruling was announced Breivik smiled in court with apparent satisfaction. He was sentenced to preventive detention, which means he probably will never leave prison. With the sentence, formal closure of the incident that took... 

Sony announced on Thursday that it would cut 15% of the mobile phone unit workforce, which has had economic troubles. The consumer electronics company said it was also relocating the headquarters of its mobile phone unit. Currently it is located in Sweden, but will be relocated to Tokyo, as the Japanese company looks to dramatically cut its costs. The cut of 15% will eliminate a total of 1,000 employees and takes place only six months after Sony acquired Ericsson’s part of the joint venture the... 

Researchers said they had identified the new mysterious disease that has affected many people throughout Asia, as well as some in the United States, with symptoms that are AIDS-like even though they do not have HIV. The immune system of the patients becomes damaged and leaves them unable to fight off germs as healthy people can. What is triggering this has not been determined, but at least the affliction does not seem to be contagious. This new disease is another type of acquired immune deficiency... 

On Wednesday, Hewlett Packard announced its worst loss in 73 years of business. The huge tech giant has been struggling for the last couple of years and its latest quarterly loss was compounded because of a $9.2 billion write off. The Palo Alto, California based company recorded a loss of $8.9 billion for the quarter that ended July 31, which is the company’s fiscal third quarter. It was the fourth straight quarter the company saw sales fall. HP’s loss was mainly due to the previously announced... 

The Republican platform panel reaffirmed support for amending the constitution that will ban abortion with no exceptions for those who were raped. The platform committee concluded their two days of deliberations in Tampa yesterday. They completed a 60 page draft of political positions and principles that will be deliberated upon when the Republican National Convention starts August 27. Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell is the chairman of the said panel. He, along with other Republican leaders, wanted... 

The platform committee for the Republican Party rejected resoundingly on Tuesday an amendment endorsing gay couples’ civil unions. The GOP said it would maintain its support for an amendment to the constitution that protects traditional marriage as between one man and one woman. The platform for the Democratic National Committee embraced marriage for gays, aided by the decision of President Obama to endorse the same earlier this year. However, during a subcommittee meeting this week of the RNC,... 

Phyllis Diller, who was 95, died on Monday said her manager of many years. One of her closest friends, Joan Rivers the host of a cable television show, said she was with Diller about three weeks ago and she was all dressed up, running around and very happy. Rivers said she enjoyed the time she spent three weeks ago with Diller and she said that Diller had led a full and complete life. Diller died in Brentwood, California in her home where she had been receiving hospice care following a fall. The... 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was warned by President Barack Obama about using chemical or biological weapons in fighting the rebels. President Obama warned that U.S. forces would move against the government of Syria if the regime used the weapons against the rebel forces that have fought to overthrow the Assad regime since 2011. Obama’s statement was one of his strongest towards Syria to date. It comes when United Nations observers have pulled out of the country in a failed attempt to bring... 

BP reported a $1.4 billion loss for the second quarter.  Investors were already discontented with the performance of the company and its first American chief executive, Robert W. Dudley and the earnings report did nothing to assuage their concerns.  Peter Hutton, an oil analyst at RBC Capital Markets in London, said, “This is a very, very disappointing set of results.  They missed across all fronts by a wide margin.” $4.8 billion in write-downs on refineries, shale gas assets, and a project...