Court directed mediation was ordered for the chief executives of Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.  A federal judge instructed Tim Cook of Apple and Choi Gee-sung of Samsung to appear for a two-day mediation to aid in the resolution of the patent litigation between the two companies.  The mediation session was not open to the public. The mediation session was on a magistrate judge’s... 

The name Mondelez International was overwhelmingly approved by the shareholders of Kraft Foods as the name of the snack foods company to be created when the company separates its divisions later this year.  The name is meant to evoke the global ambitions of the new snack business and plays on the words for “world” and “delicious” in a variety of popular languages.  Plans for Kraft to split... 

Hewlett-Packard is finding it hard to keep up as the computer industry makes a shift to new modes of computing.  H.P. is contending with a quicker-than-expected move by consumers and businesses toward mobile phones and tablets.  New systems using millions of servers, all lashed together in remote supercomputing “clouds,” are cheaper and more flexible than personal computers and small racks of... 

Toyota reported that it expects profit for the current year to more than double to ¥760 billion, even as income for the fiscal year that ended in March tumbled.  The company has seen an uneven road to recovery after the company posted a historic loss shortly after the global economic crisis began.  The company has been languishing far below heights hit by the company in 2008, when the company earned... 

Eastman Kodak’s two-year legal fight over a patent for digital image-preview technology against Apple and Research in Motion has received a legal setback.  Thomas Pender, a judge for the United States International Trade Commission, said that RIM and Apple did not violate Kodak’s rights because the patent was invalid.  The six-member commission in Washington has the power to block imports of... 

Google has been accused of abusing its Internet search dominance by promoting its own businesses at the expense of competitors.  The European Commission warned the company to propose changes to its method of answering user queries in “a matter of weeks.”  Google accounts for four out of every five searches in Europe. European regulators issued the ultimatum because they believe Google tips the... 

Opel, the European unit of General Motors, has released its new plan to stem the tide of more than a decade of losses.  The company has been losing market share and reported a first-quarter loss of $300 million.  Opel’s problems are among the most severe of all of Europe’s midprice carmakers. Carmakers in Europe are suffering from a staggering reduction in sales and an overabundance of manufacturing... 

Hewlett-Packard’s chief executive, Meg Whitman, has announced plans to cut 30,000 or more jobs from the company’s global workforce.  H.P. will be seeking layoffs and voluntary retirements from across the company.  The money saved will be reinvested into increasing the efficiency of a better-trained sales force that in turn can generate more cash and on creating new products, according to officials... 

While reverse mortgages can be a great thing for senior citizens, there are still some things that they should know about the process before entering into one. Probably the most important thing to understand is that reverse mortgages can affect Medicaid and SSI. Getting your payout from a reverse mortgage can happen in many different ways such as monthly payments or a lump sum although if you are looking... 

Although General Motors has achieved nine consecutive quarters of profits, the company has found itself hobbled by the weight of remaining under government ownership for the three years since its taxpayer bailout of nearly $50 billion.  The Treasury Department owns a 26% stake in the company. Daniel F. Akerson, G.M.’s chief executive, said he longs for the day that G.M. can say goodbye to its biggest...