Technology

China Mobile Quarterly Profit Rises 3.3% as Mobile-Phone Use Increases China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest wireless carrier by users, posted a 3.3 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit as an economic rebound boosted phone usage, offsetting a slowdown in customer growth.

Malone's Liberty, Elliott Said to Drop Out of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Bidding John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. and hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. have decided not to bid for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. movie studio, according to people with knowledge of the bidding.

Silicon Valley Flocks to Texas Show on `Nerd Birds' to Promote Startups For some Silicon Valley startups, the best place to promote their technology isn’t the Consumer Electronics Show or the CeBit computer expo, it’s a Texas conference that got its start as a music festival.

Google Said to Be Working on TV Software Plan With Intel, Sony, Logitech Google Inc. is working to bring Web software to televisions through a partnership with Intel Corp., Sony Corp. and Logitech International SA, according to two people involved in the discussions with the companies.

Tiger Woods Masters Windfall Nets AT&T, IBM 43% Gain in Advertising Punch Tiger Woods’s return to golf at the Masters Tournament will give sponsors like AT&T Inc. an unexpected boost from their ad dollars, lifting the value of their TV spots by 43 percent, according to a media analyst’s estimate.

Facebook Surpasses Google Search Engine in Weekly U.S. Hits for First Time Facebook Inc., the world’s largest social-networking site, surpassed Google Inc.’s search engine in weekly hits to become the most visited Web site in the U.S. for the first time, according to research firm Hitwise.

Telstra-Split Vote in Australia's Senate Delayed for at Least Two Months Legislation to split Telstra Corp., Australia’s largest phone company, has been delayed until at least May after the government didn’t put the bills up for debate in the Senate on the last sitting day of the session.

IBM Says Its Japanese Unit Paid Taxes in Full , Will Appeal an Assessment International Business Machines Corp.’s Japan unit said it will appeal an assessment by the country’s tax authority, after the Asahi newspaper reported the company was ordered to pay more than 30 billion yen ($332 million) in back taxes.

Australia Introduces Legislation to Ensure Fiber Access in all New Homes Australia introduced legislation for new home developments to ensure buildings are able to deliver high-speed Internet services.