By JOE McDONALD, AP Business Writer

BEIJING - China's robust economy slowed only slightly in the first quarter despite global gloom while inflation stayed above 8 percent in March, the government said Wednesday, adding to pressure to rein in prices that are battering Chinese consumers.

By Tarmo Virki

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A number of the world's largest technology companies agreed to commit to a licensing framework for their patents for the emerging mobile network technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE).