2009 | featured news

Microsoft Corp. issued a record number of security patches for its software Tuesday as part of its regular monthly update. The software maker plugged 34 holes and designated most of them "critical," Microsoft's most severe rating. Among them are fixes for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000 and even Windows 7, which doesn't go on sale to consumers until Oct. 22 but has been in use by early testers and software developers.

Holy Cow! Marge Simpson is baring it all in Playboy's November issue. It will be the first time that the magazine has offered a newsstand cover and centerfold of a cartoon character The Chicago Sun-Times reports. The paper quotes Playboy's new CEO, Scott Flanders, as saying the move is an attempt to appeal to readers in their 20s, a highly prized demographic. The average Playboy reader is 35, Flanders says. The Marge Simpson centerfold is...

The US trade deficit shrank in August as the weak dollar boosted exports, according to the Commerce Department.

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision that honored the first-year U.S. president more for promise than achievement and drew both praise and skepticism around the world.

The US budget deficit more than tripled to a record $1.4 trillion in the year to 30 September, the US Congress estimates.

The U.S. service sector grew in September for the first time in 13 months, an encouraging sign for the fledgling economic recovery although jobs remain scarce.

A net 263,000 jobs were eliminated in September, pushing the jobless rate to a 26-year high. Stocks fall on the news. The nation's labor market took a turn for the worse in September as employers eliminated a net 263,000 jobs, far more than expected and reversing a pattern of steadily declining payroll losses in recent months, the Labor Department said today.

After months of slow but steady increases in its market share, Bing's share of the search market in the US and globally fell for the first time in September.

U.S. home prices in July rose for the third straight month, surpassing forecasts and suggesting that the housing market is stabilizing after a three-year plunge.

A key measure of consumer confidence fell in September, after a gain in the previous month, raising concerns about retail sales in the upcoming holiday season, a research group said Tuesday.