DealBook: Latest Slip for H.P. Forces a New Write-Down

Hewlett-Packard‘s already troubled history with deal-making just got worse.The technology giant said on Tuesday that it had taken an $8.8 billion accounting charge, in part related to accounting problems at Autonomy, the British software company it bought for $10 billion last year. The announcement comes just one quarter after another large write-down by H.P. in relation to Electronic Data Systems,...

Read More..

Hamas Leader Dares Israel to Invade Amid Gaza Airstrikes

GAZA CITY — The top leader of Hamas dared Israel on Monday to launch a ground invasion of Gaza and dismissed diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire in the six-day-old conflict, as the Israeli military conducted a new wave of deadly airstrikes on the besieged Palestinian enclave, including a second hit on a 15-story building that houses media outlets. A volley of rockets fired from Gaza into southern...

Read More..

Europe Seeks More Taxes From U.S. Multinationals

Ralph Orlowski/ReutersStarbucks, which operates in Germany and throughout Europe, has faced criticism on taxes. PARIS — Google reported sales of more than $4 billion in Britain last year. It paid less than $10 million in taxes. Some tax collectors, lawmakers and competitors of Google in Europe say this is unfair. As governments throughout the region seek to close gaping holes in their...

Read More..

News Analysis: Tainted-Drug Deaths Spawn Heated Debate Over F.D.A.’s Powers

If she kept being defensive, Mr. Dingell warned, “I would assure you that you are putting your head in the noose.” Hearings like this may be partly theater, a chance for politicians to strut their righteous indignation and threaten tough new laws. But a public health disaster had occurred on Dr. Hamburg’s watch, one about which she has been mostly silent, and the hearing was a chance for her...

Read More..

News Analysis: Tainted-Drug Deaths Spawn Heated Debate Over F.D.A.’s Powers

If she kept being defensive, Mr. Dingell warned, “I would assure you that you are putting your head in the noose.” Hearings like this may be partly theater, a chance for politicians to strut their righteous indignation and threaten tough new laws. But a public health disaster had occurred on Dr. Hamburg’s watch, one about which she has been mostly silent, and the hearing was a chance for her...

Read More..

News Corporation Looks at Potential Acquisitions

Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesRupert Murdoch, second from left, with his sons, Lachlan, left, and James, second from right, and Chase Carey, News Corporation’s president and chief operating officer, in July in Sun Valley, Idaho. The media conglomerate, which had been on its heels for more than a year because of the phone hacking scandal in Britain, is looking to make acquisitions again. First...

Read More..

Gaza Violence Is Unabating as Outsiders Push for a Truce

GAZA CITY — Israeli forces killed at least 11 people, including several children, in a single airstrike that destroyed a home here on Sunday, as Israel pressed its bombardment of the Gaza Strip for a fifth day, deploying warplanes and naval vessels to pummel the coastal enclave. The airstrike, which the Israeli military said was meant to kill a Palestinian militant involved in the recent...

Read More..

The iEconomy: As Boom Lures App Creators, Tough Part Is Making a Living

Daniel Rosenbaum for The New York TimesShawn and Stephanie Grimes’s efforts have cost $200,000 in lost income and savings, but their apps have earned less than $5,000 this year. ROSEDALE, Md. — Shawn and Stephanie Grimes spent much of the last two years pursuing their dream of doing research and development for Apple, the world’s most successful corporation. But they did not actually have...

Read More..

Ashlyn Blocker, the Girl Who Feels No Pain

Jeff Riedel for The New York TimesAshlyn Blocker, who feels no pain, at home in Patterson, GA. The girl who feels no pain was in the kitchen, stirring ramen noodles, when the spoon slipped from her hand and dropped into the pot of boiling water. It was a school night; the TV was on in the living room, and her mother was folding clothes on the couch. Without thinking, Ashlyn Blocker reached her right...

Read More..

Ashlyn Blocker, the Girl Who Feels No Pain

Jeff Riedel for The New York TimesAshlyn Blocker, who feels no pain, at home in Patterson, GA. The girl who feels no pain was in the kitchen, stirring ramen noodles, when the spoon slipped from her hand and dropped into the pot of boiling water. It was a school night; the TV was on in the living room, and her mother was folding clothes on the couch. Without thinking, Ashlyn Blocker reached her right...

Read More..