Microsoft is making its Xbox Music streaming service available for free on the Web _ even to those who don't use Windows 8.The expansion beyond Windows 8 devices and Xbox game consoles starting Monday is intended to bring new customers into the software giant's ecosystem of devices and services and could help it compete with other digital music offerings like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes. It's also an acknowledgement that the music service hasn't done much to drive sales of the Windows 8 operatin

Sept. 9, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Yahoo received some 29,000 government requests for data on its users this year, with almost half coming from the United States, according to the company’s global transparency report released Friday.Yahoo said in the report, covering the first six months of 2013, that 12,444 of the requests from worldwide governments came from the United States.“At Yahoo, we take the privacy of our users seriously,” general counsel Ron Bell said in a blog post.“We also recognize our role as

Sept. 8, 2013

Russia and China on Thursday said that they had made progress towards agreeing a mega deal for the delivery of Russian gas to its energy-hungry eastern neighbor.Russian gas giant Gazprom and China’s state energy firm signed an agreement after a meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin ahead of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg on the “fundamental conditions” for the gas delivery.Gazprom’s chief executive Alexei Miller said he hoped the final deal ― which has been negotiated for se

Sept. 6, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Companies in the U.S. service sector expanded at their fastest pace in nearly 8 years last month as sales and orders grew and employers ramped up hiring.The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that its service-sector index rose to 58.6 in August from 56 in July. It’s the highest point since December 2005. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.A measure of hiring rose to 57, the most in six months. That’s an encouraging sign for the job market because the service se

Sept. 6, 2013

STOCKHOLM (AP) ― The International Monetary Fund warned Thursday that the Nordic countries’ large, shared banking sector, high household debt and property prices pose a financial risk for the region. The Nordic countries’ “robust social institutions” and sound macroeconomic policies helped them recover more quickly than others from the global financial crisis, the IMF said, though it warned the banking sector is heavily reliant on wholesale funding. Household debt in parts of the area is among t

Sept. 6, 2013

It's time to make Google, Apple and other multinational companies pay more taxes. That's the message from President Barack Obama and the leaders of the world's leading economies at a summit ending Friday.The head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development told The Associated Press that the leaders have signed up to an ambitious new taxes plan at the Group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.The new rules, unveiled by the OECD and debated by G-20 finance ministers in July, wo

Sept. 6, 2013

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi says the eurozone's economic recovery remains fragile and has a long way to go before the bank raises interest rates from their current record low. The ECB Thursday kept its main interest rate unchanged at the record low of 0.5 percent. Recent figures show the 17 European Union member countries that use the euro are only slowly recovering from an 18-month recession. Draghi told reporters Thursday after the monthly meeting of the ECB's governing council tha

Sept. 6, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Global smartphone sales are expected to top 1 billion in 2013, driven by low-cost handsets and gains in emerging markets, a research firm said Wednesday.International Data Corp. said it sees the smartphone market growing 40 percent this year, and will likely grow to 1.7 billion annually by 2017.Overall mobile phone sales will grow 7.4 percent, rebounding from a nearly flat year in 2012, IDC said. Total mobile handset sales are expected to be some 1.8 billion, with more than ha

Sept. 5, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Microsoft’s new Xbox One console will go on sale Nov. 22 in 13 launch countries, the U.S. tech giant said Wednesday.The company had previously said the entertainment and gaming console would be available sometime in November.In June, Microsoft said the launch would be in 21 countries, but last month cut that back to 13, saying the plan had been too ambitious.“We are humbled and gratified by the tremendous interest in Xbox One from game fans everywhere,” said Microsoft vice

Sept. 5, 2013

SAINT-PETERSBURG (AFP) ― The OECD on Wednesday urged G20 leaders meeting in Saint Petersburg to seize a “once in a century” chance to clamp down on tax cheats by agreeing on an automatic exchange of banking data.“Moments like these come once in a century,” Pascal Saint-Amans, who in charge of tax issues for the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, told AFP ahead of the summit Thursday.As many countries in the developed world are seeking ways to boost their state fin

Sept. 5, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. economic growth has held firm at a “modest to moderate” pace since July, with activity steady or gaining in most sectors, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book review said Wednesday.In a report likely to support a move soon toward lower stimulus spending by the Fed, most of its 12 regions reported that consumer spending, travel, manufacturing and demand for services had risen since the previous survey.Job creation was also steady or improved, and inflation was under control ar

Sept. 5, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Apple on Tuesday fired off invitations to a Sept. 10 event at which it is expected to spice up its iPhone line and unveil a low-priced version.In true Apple style, the invitations revealed little. The message, “This should brighten everyone’s day” was below the company logo on a page dotted with brightly colored circles.The design seemed to lend credence to unconfirmed reports that Apple plans to release iPhones in a rainbow of colors, including gold.The special event will

Sept. 4, 2013