Microsoft has reported a profit increase of 60%, attributed to the widespread success of its new operating system, Windows 7, the fastest-selling operating system ever. Net profit for the last three months of last year is $6.66bn, compared to $4.18bn for the last three months of 2008.

Yahoo announced plans to sell its HotJobs employment search service to Monster Worldwide for $225m, the companies said yesterday. Monster currently controls one third of online jobs postings in the United States.

Toyota has been accused by a U.S. House of Representatives committee with misleading the public and investigators over its recent recalls.
 

According to an announcement made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday, the inflation rate of the United Kingdom measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 3.5% in January 2010, an increase of 0.6% from December 2009. For the UK, this is the second largest month-on-month inflation rate increase on record. The inflation rate for the country has also now reached its highest level since November 2008.