M icrosoft Corp. MSFT-Q said Thursday its earnings in the most recent quarter jumped 60 per cent, helped by a rebound in personal computer sales. The PC industry bounced back during the 2009 holiday shopping season after one of its roughest years to date.

C anadian Oil Sands Trust COS.UN-T , which holds the largest stake in the Syncrude Canada Ltd. partnership, said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit fell 23 per cent despite strengthening oil prices as it wrote down the value of some Arctic gas fields. The trust said its net income fell to $96-million, or 20 cents per unit, from $124-million, or 26 cents, in the fourth quarter of 2008