Chinese government officials have made sudden visits to Microsoft Corp offices in China, a spokeswoman for the company said on Monday, but declined to give any reason for the inspections. China's State Administration for Industry & Commerce, which Chinese media reported had made the visits to Microsoft offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, declined to give comment outside of working hours. Microsoft has been a focus of anti-U.S. technology sentiment in China since U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed widespread spying programs, including PRISM, which used U.S. company's technology for cyber espionage. In an e-mailed statement, the Microsoft spokeswoman said: "We aim to build products that deliver the features, security and reliability customers expect and we're happy to answer the government's questions," but declined to give any further information.

Financial data firm Markit said its preliminary services Purchasing Managers Index was 61.0 in July, unchanged from June and above expectations for a reading of 59.8. A reading above 50 signals expansion in economic activity, and June's reading was the highest final reading since the survey began in October 2009. The services sector continued to add employees, though at a slower pace. "Nonetheless, service sector companies continue to perform strongly against post-recession trends, and overall the latest manufacturing and services PMI surveys suggest that the US economy has enjoyed a strong start to the second half of 2014." Markit's final composite PMI, a weighted average of its manufacturing and services indexes, dipped to 60.9 from June's reading of 61, a level that also represented a record high for a final reading.

Britain's Lloyds Banking Group has agreed to pay fines totaling $370 million to U.S. and British authorities investigating its part in a global interest rate rigging scandal and manipulating fees for a government lending scheme. The settlement is the seventh joint penalty handed out by U.S. and British regulators in connection with the attempted manipulation of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, and other similar benchmarks, which are used to price around $450 trillion of financial products worldwide. Lloyds' settlement follows British rivals Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland , which agreed to pay fines of $453 million and $612 million respectively in 2012 and 2013. The FCA said the total UK fine of 105 million pounds include 70 million pounds for attempting to manipulate fees payable to the Bank of England for the firm's participation in the special liquidity scheme, a taxpayer backed government scheme to support British banks during the financial crisis.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday as investors looked ahead to the latest economic data and corporate earnings to give direction to a market near record levels. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.43 points, or 0.11 percent, to 16,942.14, the S&P 500 lost 1.31 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,977.03 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.30 points, or 0.01 percent, to 4,449.86. (Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

(Reuters) - Discount store chain Dollar Tree Inc said it would buy rival Family Dollar Stores Inc for about $8.5 billion, creating North America's biggest discount retailer. Shares of Family Dollar, which has been under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to sell itself, rose almost 25 percent to $75.50 in premarket trading on Monday. Dollar Tree shares were up 8.8 percent at $59. Dollar Tree, whose products cost $1 or less, caters to the middle class.

By Richard Lough BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina will send a negotiating team to New York on Monday for further talks with a U.S. court-appointed mediator in a debt dispute with 'holdout' investors, cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich said, with just three days to go to avert a default. If the deadlock persists, U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa will prevent Argentina from making a July 30 deadline for a coupon payment on exchanged bonds, triggering a new default. Argentina wants a stay of Griesa's 2012 ruling ordering the Buenos Aires government to pay the holdouts. For this reason Argentina wants a stay," Capitanich told reporters.

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The euro was stuck near its lowest level since November and Russian markets tumbled for a third straight day on Monday as new European sanctions for Moscow chilled the already frosty relationship between the two. The 28-nation European Union reached an outline agreement on Friday on its first economic sanctions on Russia. Russia warned the moves would hamper cooperation between the two and undermine the fight against terrorism, although Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow would not impose tit-for-tat measures. Europe's main bourses were flat in subdued trade as strong earnings updates and relief over Russia's response, and that the EU measures had steered away from Russia's gas industry, balanced concerns about the impact of the sanctions.

(Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc TSN.N, the biggest U.S. meat processor, said on Monday it would sell its Mexican and Brazilian poultry businesses to bigger global rival JBS SA's JBSS3.SA Pilgrim's Pride for $575 million. Tyson also reported a 4.4 percent increase in third-quarter profit and forecast sales for the fiscal year ending September 2015 above Wall Street analysts' estimate. Shares in Tyson jumped 3.1 percent in early trading. Proceeds from the sale of Tyson's Mexico and Brazil poultry operations will be used to help pay down debt associated with its $7.7 billion acquisition of Hillshire Brands Co HSH.N, which is expected to close before Sept. 27.

By Yoko Kubota YOKOHAMA Japan (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd aims to boost sales and profitability in the United States, its biggest market, an executive said, after Japan's No.2 automaker posted a 14 percent rise in quarterly U.S. sales, closing in on rival Honda Motor Co . For the April-June quarter, Nissan posted a 4.3 percent quarterly operating profit margin for North America, up from the 3.8 percent it booked the same period a year ago. In the first six months of the year, Nissan's U.S. sales grew 12.8 percent, making it the sixth-best selling carmaker in the country. It surpassed Hyundai Motor Co and is closing in on Honda, whose sales fell 0.8 percent during the same period.

By Megan Davies, Jack Stubbs and Thomas Escritt MOSCOW/LONDON/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Hague's arbitration court ruled on Monday that Russia must pay a group of shareholders in oil giant Yukos $51.6 billion for expropriating its assets, a big hit for a country teetering on the brink of recession. The arbitration panel in the Netherlands said it had awarded shareholders in the GML group just under half of their $114 billion claim, going some way to covering the money they lost when the Kremlin seized Yukos, once controlled by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a decade ago. "The award is a slam dunk. ...

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan's quarterly profit rose nearly 37 percent, helped by a favorable exchange rate and healthy sales in North America and China.

LONDON (AP) — An international court on Monday ordered Russia to pay more than $50 billion to the former majority shareholders of now defunct oil company Yukos, ruling that the state engaged in a ruthless campaign to destroy what was once the country's biggest oil producer.

BEIJING (AP) — A U.S. meat supplier said Monday a Chinese subsidiary embroiled in a safety scandal fell short of its requirements for maintaining high standards.

Twitter is an essential platform for businesses marketing to other businesses and it's morphing quickly to a direct response "buy it now" platform functionality like Pinterest and Facebook. I anticipate "social selling" will accelerate moving forward, as social platforms embrace mobile enabled direct commerce and marketers pour more money into...

As a business owner, mom of two, wife, speaker, and consultant, managing each day effectively can be a challenge. I am sure I don't have to tell you. You know. My mind, like yours, is often filled with to-do lists, schedules, and responsibilities. It's easy to feel overwhelmed sometimes, but my secret to mental serenity in the face of a harried...

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In just three short years Paddle8 an innovative marketplace infusing technology and art has held hundreds auctions with over $100MM in bidding activity and raising over $25MM for charities. They've quickly expanded their reach with members and bidders from hundreds of countries and they are also setting records with their most expensive work,...

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(Refiles to correct spelling of Allston in fourth paragraph) By John McCrank NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been seeking information on 10 registered broker dealers as part of an ongoing investigation into high-frequency trading strategies, according to an internal SEC document reviewed by Reuters. The regulator told its staff in late March that it was interested in seeing any tips, complaints, or referrals that they receive concerning the brokers and high frequency trading. ...

A "Benefit Corporation" (B Corp) is a company that engages in socially beneficial practices and considers how their business decisions will impact their employees, suppliers, community, consumers and the environment. I believe a company doesn't have to be exclusively a nonprofit or a for-profit and a B Corp is the perfect hybrid of the two--a company structured to make a profit while also providing social benefits.

Like most people, I send dozens of emails a day. Pretty much anything that I work on can be dealt with using email. But is that always the right choice?

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