It can take your pulse, check your body fat, time your jogs and tell you if you have bad breath. It even assesses stress levels and inspires you with a pep talk.

  Bungie Studios, the "Halo"video game developer acquired by Microsoft Corp. in 2000, is once again operating as an independent company, Microsoft said.

  North Korea must carry out serious reforms to become a viable investment destination for Europe, a top European Union official said Saturday.

  State oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA will expand its work force by more than one-third next year, President Hugo Chavez said Friday.

  Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are negotiating with the United Auto Workers over the amount they would put into a retiree health care trust and may not contribute as much as General Motors Corp. did, two people briefed on the talks said.

  China Digital TV Holding Co.'s shares spiked 75 percent in their first day of trading, as investors embraced the company's initial public offering on the promise of China's growing digital television market.

  Americans have boosted their borrowing at the fastest pace in three months, turning increasingly to their credit cards to replace home equity loans as a source of ready cash.

  Fears that the United States could slide into a recession eased in September as employers created the most jobs in four months and workers'wages grew solidly. The unemployment rate crept up to 4.7 percent, the highest in over a year but still low by historical standards.

  A 54-year-old former Google Inc. manager who claimed he was fired after a supervisor told him his opinions were "too old to matter"had his age discrimination lawsuit reinstated.

  A 54-year-old former Google Inc. manager who claimed he was fired after a supervisor told him his opinions were "too old to matter"had his age discrimination lawsuit reinstated.

  Chrysler's new marketing chief said Friday that the chance to turn around an American icon was an irresistible ?and, some say, nearly impossible ?challenge that lured her away from Toyota.

  Although the prospects for a late October interest rate cut have dimmed, the chances for a yearend stock rally still seem quite good.

  The two leaders of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. plan to increase the amount they will pay to settle with an institutional shareholder over the company's former option-granting policies.

  The dollar was mixed against the major currencies late Friday, falling back from a sharp jump up earlier in the day on the Labor Department's report of September job growth.