The U.S. Internet operator will “respect the wishes of any Chinese author who hasnt authorized their books to be scanned,” it said in a Jan. 9 letter to the China Writers Association and posted on the groups Web site. It also included an apology for “inadequate communication” with Chinese authors. Google spokeswoman Jennie Johnson confirmed the contents of the letter sent by Erik Hartmann, chief of Google Books in Asia.
Google should submit proposals to compensate Chinese authors whose works it included without approval and immediately stop - - - - >

Prosecutors, using secretly recorded phone conversations for the first time against hedge funds, alleged Oct. 16 that billionaire Raj Rajaratnam and five others made $20 million by swapping material inside information on companies such as Hilton Hotels Corp. and Google Inc. They may charge at least 10 more people soon, people familiar with the matter said last week.
Rajaratnam, founder of New York-based Galleon Group LLC, regularly talked to hundreds of contacts, including other traders, according to people who know him. His arrest rattled hedge-fund managers, who - - - - >

Prosecutors, using secretly recorded phone conversations for the first time against hedge funds, alleged Oct. 16 that billionaire Raj Rajaratnam and five others made $20 million by swapping material inside information on companies such as Hilton Hotels Corp. and Google Inc. They may charge at least 10 more people soon, people familiar with the matter said last week.
Rajaratnam, founder of New York-based Galleon Group LLC, regularly talked to hundreds of contacts, including other traders, according to people who know him. His arrest rattled hedge-fund managers, who - - - - >

The comments from Tom Curley of The Associated Press and News Corp.s Rupert Murdoch come as the media industry struggles in the Internet age. Many news companies contend that sites such as Google have reaped a fortune from their articles, photos and video without fairly compensating the news organizations producing the material.
“We content creators have been too slow to react to the free exploitation of news by third parties without input or permission,” Curley, the APs chief executive, told a meeting of 300 media leaders in Beijing.
“Crowd-sourcing Web services such as Wikipedia, YouTube and Facebook have become preferred customer destinations - - - - >

An agreement may be announced as soon as today, said the person, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. The partnership would involve the companies sharing revenue from Web-search ads, the person said.
Microsoft, the worlds largest software maker, is seeking more users for its Bing Internet search engine, which has about an eighth of Google Inc.s market share in the U.S., according to research firm ComScore Inc. Yahoo, which has posted three straight quarters of sales declines, may be able to save at - - - - >

The stock markets best-known barometer is adding Cisco Systems Inc. and Travelers Cos. and dropping General Motors Corp. and Citigroup Inc. The changes were announced as GM entered bankruptcy protection, a move that was widely expected.
Cisco, which makes computer networking gear, is filling the role left by GM after 83 years as part of the Dow. Travelers, the property and casualty insurer and one-time division of Citicorp, will replace its former parent. The changes to the 30-stock index take effect June 8.
“Cisco makes the paving bricks for the information superhighway and its affecting the culture in kind of the same - - - - >

McLaughlin, who was Googles first public policy executive, built Googles presence in Washington, helping promote the Mountain View, California-based companys position on topics such as online privacy, so-called net neutrality and copyrights.
McLaughlins departure highlights the connections between Google, the most popular Internet search engine, and the Obama administration. Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt is part of the presidents council of advisers on science and technology. Schmidt also campaigned for the governments economic stimulus package, which was passed earlier this year.
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To promote Discovery Channels fifth season of the crab fishing documentary “Deadliest Catch,” Microsoft came up with a package of ideas it has never tried before. Ads will take over the MSN.com and MSN mobile homepages and 90 percent of ad space on MSNBC and Fox Sports sites. Microsoft will run sweepstakes in video-games like Shaun White Snowboarding and send text- message reminders to phones to watch or record the show.
“Microsoft just came in like rock stars on this,” Donna Murphy, the Discovery Channels vice president - - - - >

Since the start of 2008, at least 97 companies have proposed or completed plans that would exchange underwater stock options, according to research firm Equilar Inc. The companies swap options for ones with lower prices, increasing employees chances of making a profit.
The trend creates a dilemma for investors. The option exchanges lift employee morale and help retain valuable workers. At the same time, the programs dont seem fair to some investors, since regular shareholders dont get the same deal. They can also dilute the stocks value - - - - >

Falco, AOLs chief executive, and Chief Operating Officer Ron Grant will leave after a transition, Time Warner said in a statement yesterday. Armstrong joined Google in 2000 and most recently led its North American and Latin American advertising sales and operations teams.
“Were in the first phase of a fundamental shift thats happening in media, and AOL has a global brand,” Armstrong said in an interview. “Its clear that there are strategic areas that AOL can go into and be successful.”
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