By Jim Finkle

Oracle Corp <ORCL.O> reported a 27 percent rise in quarterly profit as sales of new software beat expectations, but the company gave a cautious outlook citing economic uncertainties, and its shares fell 3 percent.

Oracle the world's third-largest software maker, reported a higher quarterly profit, beating Wall Street estimates, but it sees software license revenue growth weakening.

Oracle Corp. reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

Software vendor Oracle Corp. said Monday it formed a health sciences global business unit focused on software for health care industries.

Oracle Corp. agreed to buy Skywire Software to boost its software applications for the insurance industry, the company said Monday.

Taking a look at emerging markets such as Brazil and developing economies in Asia, but also at stocks that have not yet roused investors' interest such as Japanese companies could offer fresh buying opportunities, as there still are plenty of good shares around, Charlie Morris, manager of global trend fund at HSBC, told "Worldwide Exchange" on Wednesday.

U.S. and Chinese companies signed 35 business deals in sectors ranging from automobiles to telecommunications on the eve of high-level trade and investment talks between the two countries.

Stocks had a rocky afternoon as the market lost all its initial gains, then rebounded right before the close. Here's what some of the pros were recommending for investors.

Asian stock markets tumbled Friday amid growing alarm as oil prices spiked above $141 a barrel for the first time and Wall Street plummeted overnight.

Carl Icahn's harassment of Yahoo could leave him with a black eye — and a hole in his wallet — if he's wrong about Microsoft's desire to buy the Internet pioneer.

A rocky week for tech stocks and the rest of Wall Street closed Friday with the official end to Bill Gates' full-time tenure at Microsoft Corp.

Stocks finished mixed as an early rally fizzled and weakness crept into techs, retail and housing.

World stocks rallied Monday amid signs investors were becoming more confident that the worst of the economic slump might be over.

Stocks advanced Monday as an uptick in leading indicators offered investors a modest confirmation of the optimism they've been trading on.