Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Friday’s session are Brown-Forman Corp., Big Lots Inc., and Royal Bank of Canada.

Novell Inc. and Guess Inc. shares gain after both companies report earnings after the close of regular trading, while Microsoft edges up after hiring a former Yahoo executive to head its internet services division.

Technology stocks closed lower Thursday, punctuated by chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s warning that it expects to report a decline in its quarterly sales.

Amazon.com shares climb to their highest level in a month after a broker upgrades the online retail giant on the belief that the company's strong competitive position will offset pressures from the slowing economy.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) - Israel stocks rose Thursday on the back of two of the country's heavyweight issues: Israel Chemicals, Teva Pharmaceutical, as well as the banks.

Consumer electronics and medical equipment giant Philips Electronics NV on Thursday warned it wouldn’t meet its target of doubling earnings by 2010 as the economic downturn hurts demand for its products.

Oversized egos and celebrity hype may permeate the executive suites of the entertainment industry, but Bobby Kotick doesn't follow that script.

As the bulls and bears dispute the causes of Research In Motion Ltd.’s fiscal third quarter miss, a lesson for future innovators is underway, writes Therese Poletti.

Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday’s session are Guess Inc., Williams-Sonoma Inc., and Novell Inc.

Adobe Systems Inc. issues preliminary results for its fiscal fourth quarter and a sales outlook for the first quarter that falls short of expectations, while announcing that it will cut roughly 600 jobs.