Business News

NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Moneyrate.com of New York said Friday rates on short term certificates of deposit inched higher during the week ending Dec. 30.

NEW DELHI, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The death toll from the killer tsunamis shot up Friday to 135,000 killed and rendering as many as 5 million homeless as entire new villages are found devastated

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- TrimTabs.com of Santa Rosa, Calif., said Friday investors added about $3.71 billion to stock-based mutual funds during the week ended Wednesday.

DALLAS, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Wyndham International of Dallas Friday said it will sell 25 hotels for $366 million to Goldman Sachs Group and affiliates of Highgate Holdings.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- VeriSign of Mountain View, Calif., said Friday consumer spending online during the holiday season rose 24 percent from a year earlier to $8.8 billion.

SEOUL, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- At the turn of this year, South Korean policy-makers were confident that the country's economy could emerge from the prolonged slump within this year.

MOSCOW, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- In many ways 2004 has marked Vladimir Putin's first real year in power in Russia. For him and his nation, this year has been fraught with tragedy, change and co

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- E-agency of Oakland, Calif., said Friday that China, once considered a third-world country, will take over the Internet in 2005 and never look back.

TACOMA, Wash., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The Russell Investment Group of Tacoma, Wash., said Friday small cap stocks outperformed large cap stocks for the sixth consecutive year in 2004.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- SPX of Charlotte, N.C., said Friday it has sold its municipal water and municipal wastewater valve business to Granite Equity Partners of St. Cloud, Minn.

SINGAPORE, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- While the human tragedy of the Sumatra-earthquake and its tsunami after-shock cast a shadow on year-end mood, the market momentum remain positive as investors b

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" was seen by many believers as the most important religious event of 2004. On that, Catholics, evangelical Christians, and even some moderate Muslims will agree.

Stocks rise slowly in last session of 2004 ... Retailers make gains in Internet sales ... 2004 U.S. album sales set to post rise ... 2004 U.S. album sales set to post rise ... News from United Press International.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Sri Lanka's flag flew half mast Friday as the nation mourned some 30,000 victims of the tsunami that hit the eastern and southern coasts of the island nation, w

NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A U.S. Web site-tracking service says Amazon was the most frequently visited Internet shopping site in 2004, Cox News said Friday.