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Stocks can't find traction Wednesday

NEW YORK, April 18 (UPI) -- U.S. stock markets slipped Wednesday as the latest headline-generating corporate reports were uninspiring.

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Quarterly reports from brand name technology and financial firms put the brakes on Tuesday's 1.5 percent upswing in the Dow Jones industrial average.

International Business Machines beat the forecast on earnings, but not on revenue. Stocks for Big Blue fell 3.53 percent. Intel Corp. shares dropped 1.83 percent.

On the financial slate, JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares slid 1.39 percent. Bank of America was breaking even on the day.

By close of trading, the DJIA shed 82.79 points, 0.63 percent to 13,032.75. The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index dropped 11.37 points, 0.37 percent, to 3,031.45. The Standard and Poor's 500 index gave up 5.64 points, 0.41 percent, to 1,385.14.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,005 stocks advanced and 2,020 declined on a volume of 3.3 billion shares traded.

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The 10-year treasury note was yielding 1.979 percent.

The euro fell to $1.3118 from Tuesday's $1.3126. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 81.26 yen from Tuesday's 80.84 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 2.14 percent, 202.55, to 9,667.26.

In London, the FTSE 100 index slid 0.38 percent, 21.66, to 5,745.29.


Internet ads generated $31 billion in 2011

NEW YORK, April 18 (UPI) -- Internet advertising revenue soared in 2011, hitting $31 billion, a trade group based in New York reported Wednesday.

The Internet Advertising Bureau said revenues for ads rose 22 percent over 2010, putting revenues at a record high two years running.

The report on the industry was prepared by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The report also says the fourth quarter of 2011 produced $9 billion in advertising revenues on the Internet, a record for a three-month span.

For the quarter, revenues jumped 15 percent over the third quarter's take.

The fastest growth segment in the digital landscape was mobile advertising, which rose by 149 percent to $1.6 billion in 2011 from revenues of $600 million in 2010.

The report said display-related advertising brought in $11.1 billion in revenues, 35 percent of the total.

Retailers maintained their spot at the top of the list of industries using the Internet to spread the word about their wares.

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Retailers spent $7.1 billion on Internet ads in 2011, 22 percent of the total, up from 21 percent and $5.5 billion in 2010.


Poll: Consumers would go for Apple TV

LONDON, April 18 (UPI) -- Twenty-five percent of U.S. consumers would be interested in buying an Apple-branded television set if the company introduced one, a poll indicates.

With rumors of an Apple TV rampant, British marketing and research company KAE conducted a survey that had a quarter of U.S. respondents saying they would be ready to buy one now, electrichouse.com reported Tuesday.

In Britain, the figure was 30 percent, and for those who already own at least one Apple device the figure jumped to 38 percent in the United States and 42 percent in Britain.

"Such a move would be an incredibly powerful extension of the iOS platform, accessed via a more compelling device option than Apple's current offering (the Apple TV streaming box), Lee Powney, KAE's chief commercial officer, said.

Market leaders such as Sony, Samsung and LG would most likely suffer if Apple comes to market with a competing TV, he said.


Tablet owners turn to devices for TV

NEW YORK, April 18 (UPI) -- Tablets have become the preferred second-screen alternative to TVs for viewing full-length episodes, ahead of computers, a poll indicates.

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Tablet owners in a study commissioned by Viacom said 15 percent of their TV show viewing happens on the devices, multichannel.com reported Tuesday.

The survey, which polled about 2,500 consumers who own tablets, found the devices did not decrease time spent watching TV, but did reduce time spent with PCs and smartphones.

"It's really increasing their overall consumption of TV," Stu Schneiderman, senior director of Viacom Media Networks Digital Research, said.

About half of tablet owners who subscribe to a cable company that offers streaming apps reported downloading the apps.

Viacom enlisted research firm Kelton to conduct the national online survey in December 2011 and January 2012 of 2,500 people 8 to 54 who own or have access to a tablet.

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