Whatever the jury decides at the end of Apple Inc.’s trial against Samsung Electronics Co., Apple’s deep ties to Samsung are becoming more apparent even as the two companies clash in court.

The mathematical insight that turned Google Inc. into a multibillion-dollar company has the potential to help the world avert the next financial crisis. If only banks made public the data required to do the job.

The new General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) could be undone by a lawsuit that pits general creditors against hedge funds including Elliott Management Corp. and Fortress Investment Group LLC over $3 billion, the car company said in a lawsuit that went to trial Tuesday.

Bridgepoint Education, the San Diego-based for-profit education company that has been struggling with accreditation problems, said Tuesday its second-quarter net income fell 9 percent as costs for marketing and other expenses outpaced an increase in enrollment and revenue.

A New Jersey judge will likely decide by the end of the week whether to throw out a lawsuit filed by the state's two NFL teams against the developers of a megamall near their stadium.

Larrone Brown has been dodging foreclosure since losing his job in December 2010.

Consumer borrowing rose less than forecast in June, restrained by the second decline in credit-card debt in the last three months.

The NCAA and the four major professional leagues sued New Jersey on Tuesday, saying the state's plan to allow sports betting violates federal law and threatens the “character and integrity” of sporting events.

It was a day of milestones for the stock market.

More than 20,000 AT&T workers in California, Nevada and Connecticut started two-day strikes Tuesday to protest what the union called harassment by the company.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Oil rose to the highest level in more than two months, advancing with equities on optimism that economic growth will accelerate and as tension increased in the Middle East.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is making progress in his effort to cool Toronto’s overheated condo market with tougher mortgage lending rules.

Stronger corporate earnings reports and expectations that central banks in the U.S. and Europe will act to support the economy powered the Standard & Poor's 500 index past 1,400 for the first time in three months.

The politics of renewable energy is heading the agenda in battleground Nevada, where Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is hosting a fifth annual green energy conference at a Las Vegas Strip resort.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., which lost part of a court fight with Eastman Kodak Co. this month when a federal judge denied its ownership claim of two digital image patents, is seeking a swift appeal of his decision.

U.S. employers posted the most job openings in four years in June, a positive sign that hiring may pick up.

The S&P 500 index breached the 1,400 level for the first time since May as financial markets around the world retained their optimistic tone on Tuesday.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traded near its highest in two weeks in New York on forecasts that crude inventories fell in the U.S., the world’s largest consumer of the commodity. Brent surpassed $110 a barrel for the first time in 11 weeks.

Union leaders told King Juan Carlos on Tuesday they opposed an international bailout for Spain and said government austerity measures to reduce the bloated deficit are suicidal for the country.

Greece has still to find up to (euro) 4 billion ($5 billion) worth of cuts to satisfy the demands of its international creditors, the country's finance minister said Tuesday.

Italy's recession has deepened with its economy shrinking for the fourth quarter in a row.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Export-Import Bank signed an agreement to lend South Africa’s Industrial Development Corp. $2 billion to fund clean-energy projects, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Look out KFC. Here comes Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.

The Pantry jumped in trading Tuesday after the convenience store beat Wall Street expectations for the third quarter.

Maximus Inc., which sells health consulting services to state and federal governments, said Tuesday its fiscal third-quarter net income rose 3 percent, boosted by a large order that occurred during the quarter.

Sherwin-Williams has found itself the target of a below-market offer from an increasingly common source, TRC Capital, of Toronto.

MGM Resorts International on Tuesday posted a second-quarter loss double what Wall Street forecast, but that didn't rattle investors. They focused instead on the casino and resort operator's surging revenue, driven by better-than-expected results in China and higher revenue for hotel rooms.

Pfizer has agreed to pay the federal government $60 million to settle allegations that its employees bribed doctors and other foreign officials in Europe and Asia to win business and boost sales.

July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese energy giant Cnooc Ltd., whose efforts to buy a U.S. oil company in 2005 sparked an outcry over foreign ownership, hired two Washington lobbying firms just before announcing its plan to buy Nexen Inc.

Acquisitions gave a boost to aircraft parts maker TransDigm Group Inc.'s fiscal third quarter and its net income surged 61 percent as revenue improved.

U.S. magazine sales fell nearly 10 percent in the first half of 2012, a troubling sign for print publishers that suggests Americans are still being careful about discretionary spending.

Shares of Akorn Inc. rose Tuesday after the generic drugmaker posted strong second-quarter results and raised its expectations for the full year, pointing to revenue from its new version of the antibiotic Vancocin.

Spectrum Brands saw its third-quarter net income more than double as it introduced new products, boosted its prices and expanded in markets for items such as batteries and appliances.

Consulting and professional services firm Marsh & McLennan Cos. said Tuesday that its second-quarter net income rose 17 percent, boosted by investment gains and higher revenue.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Former Apple Inc. graphics designer Susan Kare, who invented the smiling computer icon for the original Macintosh, was called to testify in the company’s patent infringement trial against Samsung Electronics Co. in federal court in San Jose, California.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Express Scripts Holding Co., the largest U.S. processor of drug prescriptions, raised its 2012 profit forecast as gross margins improved last quarter following its April acquisition of Medco Health Solutions Inc.

Norwalk, Conn. (AP) -- Shares of Priceline.com are falling in after-hours trading after the discount travel website offered a disappointing outlook for third-quarter earnings.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Priceline.com Inc., the biggest U.S. online travel agency by market value, forecast third-quarter earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates as turmoil in Europe curtailed trip reservations in the region.

Express Scripts Holding Co. said Tuesday its earnings fell 49 percent in the second quarter, its first after wrapping up its $29 billion acquisition of competitor Medco Health Solutions. However, the pharmacy benefits manager boosted its profit expectations based on better-than-expected savings from the combined businesses.

The Walt Disney Co.'s profit for the third-quarter beat analyst estimates but revenue failed to meet expectations due to unchanged revenue at its movie studio despite a surge in profit from “The Avengers.”

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- A gauge of U.S. company credit risk fell for a third day as data showed euro-area economies are weakening further, increasing pressure on policy makers to stem the region’s fiscal turmoil.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. shares extended a decline, marking their steepest one-day drop in a week, days before the lifting of a ban on stock sales by some of the company’s biggest investors.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co., the world’s largest entertainment company, posted better than expected third-quarter profit, buoyed by the film hit “Marvel’s The Avengers.” Revenue fell short of analysts’ estimates.

McDonald's Corp. is turning breakfast into a late-night meal.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Fraser & Neave Ltd. received an unsolicited bid from a family member of Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi for a stake in Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd. that’s 10 percent higher than Heineken NV’s offer.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- CVS Caremark Corp., the largest provider of prescription drugs in the U.S., reported second- quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates, helped by customers it gained from Walgreen Co.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The euro rose against the yen and dollar after Germany backed European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s proposals to stem the region’s debt crisis.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries dropped for a third day as the U.S. prepared to sell $72 billion of coupon-bearing debt this week, starting with an auction of three-year notes today.

Industrial orders in Germany fell by an unexpectedly large 1.7 percent in June from the previous month, led by a slide in orders from other countries that use the euro, official data showed Tuesday. However, the Economy Ministry said recent figures show no “clear trend.”

Fossil's second-quarter net income climbed 12 percent, buoyed by growing demand in Asia and strong watch sales. The performance topped analysts' estimates, and shares gained 19 percent before the market open.

Shares of Leap Wireless International Inc., the nation's sixth largest cellphone carrier, hit an all-time low Tuesday after it reported the loss of a record number of subscribers.

NASA's Curiosity rover has beamed back its first color photo from the ancient crater where it landed on Mars and a video showing the last 2 1/2 minutes of its white-knuckle dive through the Martian atmosphere, a sneak peek of a spacecraft landing on another world.

Government-controlled mortgage giant Freddie Mac posted net income of $1.2 billion for the second quarter and isn't requesting any additional federal aid for the period.

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley & Co. was accused in a lawsuit by Hong Leong Finance Ltd. of Singapore of deceptively selling investments it had designed to fail.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Four U.S. professional sports organizations, including the National Football League and Major League Baseball, sued to block sports wagering in New Jersey, saying it would raise doubts about the integrity of games.

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Low Tuck Kwong, the founder of Indonesian coal producer PT Bayan Resources, told a Singapore court he had been defamed in letters to the regulator and stock exchange in Jakarta by his former friend Sukamto Sia.

State legislatures passed 20 percent fewer immigration laws in the first half of this year than at the same time last year, according to a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Roomy Khan, a key government informant who twice pleaded guilty to passing inside information to Galleon Group fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, took the stand as a witness in the trial of Whitman Capital LLC’s Doug Whitman.

His community under attack, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin president Satwant Singh Kaleka fought back with all his strength and a simple butter knife, trying to stab a murderous gunman before taking two fatal gunshots to the leg.

Russia's space pride suffered another blow Tuesday when a booster rocket failed to place two communications satellites into target orbits, a mishap that came a day after NASA successfully landed a robotic vehicle on Mars.

Prosecutors say they have charged a 60-year-old German who worked at NATO's air command headquarters at Ramstein Air Base with stealing secret data.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- A travel tip for the international executive class: If you find yourself doing business in Egypt and you feel the urge to insult your interlocutor, 1) try not to insult your interlocutor; and 2) if you must, cast aspersions on the chastity of the person’s mother or sister. This insult will be taken hard, but it may eventually be forgiven.