The U.S. Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew by 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2002. (Reuters)

America Online began offering an online music subscription service to AOL subscribers. (CNet)

Dutch-based Royal Ahold said it had overstated its earnings by at least $500 million over the past two years. Ahold, which operates supermarkets and food distributors in 25 countries, is the world's third-largest retailer. (WaPo, NYT)

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy did not need short-term stimulus and that the budget deficits that would be created by Bush's tax-cut proposals could cause inflation and would be difficult to control. (NYT, WaPost)

Some half-dozen new TV news stations plan to begin broadcasting in the Middle East in the coming year, seeking to capture some of the audience Qatar-based al-Jazeera has created. Al-Jazeera has benefited from broadcasting from Qatar, which has not censored or restricted its news content; it is not clear if its competitors will enjoy the same freedom. Al-Jazeera also has plans to begin broadcasting in English in 2004. (WaPost)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it would seek to make its drug review and approval process more efficient, reducing the time and expense associated with bringing new drugs and medical devices to market. New drug applications and approvals have declined in recent years, but experts weren't sure how large a difference the proposed plan would make. (Reuters)

UAL, the parent company of United Airlines, posted a $1.5 billion loss for the last quarter of 2002. The bankrupt air carrier lost a total of $3.2 billion for the year, and has lost $5.5 billion since the second half of 2000. (MSNBC/AP)

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 0.7 percent annual rate over the last three months of 2002. The GDP rose 2.4 percent over the year as a whole. (WaPost, NYT)

AOL Time Warner reported $99 billion in charges for the year 2002, reflecting accounting rules changes and depreciation of its America Online unit. AOL also reported that Vice Chairman Ted Turner would step down in May. (CNet)

U.S. stock markets rose moderately as investors were reassured by the Federal Reserve's decision not to adjust interest rates in anticipation of further economic concerns or war. The Dow gained 0.27 percent, closing at 8,110.71; the Nasdaq gained 1.19 percent to reach 1,358.11; and the S&P 500 closed at 864.37, up 0.68 percent. (Reuters)

Promising corporate outlooks and consumer confidence reports pushed U.S. stocks higher. The Dow rose 1.25 percent, to 8,089.05; the Nasdaq climbed 1.29 percent to close at 1,342.32; and the S&P 500 finished at 858.56, up 1.31 percent. (Reuters)

A malevolent computer program that overloaded hundreds of thousands of computers on the Internet last weekend by exploiting a known security hole in Microsoft software also affected computers run by Microsoft Corp. itself, the New York Times reported. Microsoft has defended its software by saying that users who properly maintained their software would not have been susceptible to the attack. (NYT)

Stock markets dropped world wide. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.4 percent. European markets fell to near six-year lows, and Britain's FTSE 100 ended at its lowest point since 1995. In the U.S., the Dow dropped 1.74 percent, to 7,989.56; the Nasdaq lost 1.26 percent and closed at 1,325.27, and the S&P 500 closed at 847.48, down 1.62 percent. The price of gold hit its highest point in six years. (Reuters, FT, Reuters)

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Mattel Inc.'s appeal of a U.S. Circuit Court finding that the 1997 pop song "Barbie Girl" did not violate Mattel's Barbie trademark. Mattel brings in some $1.5 billion each year from Barbie products. (Newsday/AP)

Ongoing concerns about the economy and the possibility of war in Iraq drove U.S. stock markets to further declines. The Dow lost 2.85 percent, closing at 8,131.01, a three-month low. The Nasdaq lost 3.32 percent and finished at 1,342.13. The S&P 500 fell 2.92 percent to end the week at 861.40, also a three-month low. (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund formally approved a $6.78 billion loan to Argentina. The money is intended to help Argentina recover from its economic crisis. Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said he blamed richer countries for Latin America's economic difficulties. (UPI)

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Pharmacia Corp. said it would license its AIDS medicine, Rescriptor, to generic pharmaceutical companies that agree to distribute it in poor and developing countries. Most HIV and AIDS treatments are currently too costly for patients in poorer countries to afford. (Reuters)