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IBM increased its quarterly dividend by 18% and will look buy back $8 billion worth of stock.

Google targets the popularity of Microsoft and IBM with the launch of its Google Apps Marketplace.

As the Oracle-Sun combo heats up hardware competition, IBM's Power7 servers aim to dominate.

IBM said its board approved an additional $5.0 billion in share repurchases, bringing the company's total stock buyback program to $9.2 billion in a reflection of its strong cash flow.

IBM plans to buy business analytics company SPSS Inc for $1.2 billion in cash to better compete with Oracle Corp. and SAP AG in the growing field of business intelligence.

IBM boosted its quarterly dividend 10% and set aside $3 billion for additional stock repurchases, but an executive said it still has the capability for an acquisition.

IBM's reported plans to lay off thousands of U.S. workers and outsource many of those jobs to India, even as the company angles for billions in stimulus money, doesn't sit well with employee rights advocates.

The merger, if completed, would mark a big consolidation step in the market for server computers used in corporate data centers, one that could prompt an antitrust challenge.