Splunk may be bought by IBM IBM, the largest computer services provider, or Oracle Corp., the biggest database software company, might consider buying Splunk to expand services for corporate customers, he said. AUTOMAKERSFord will hire 2,200 this yearFord Motor Co. plans to hire 2,200 salaried employees in the U.S. this year, the most in more than a decade, in an expansion that shows the strength of the recovery in the second-largest U.S. automaker's home market. LITIGATIONPost office gave Netflix an edgeNetflix, the mail-order movie-rental service, got special treatment from the U.S. Postal Service, which improperly discriminated against other mail-order companies, a federal appeals court ruled. In a challenge filed by GameFly Inc., the video game rent-by-mail service, a three-judge panel in Washington Friday ordered the Postal Regulatory Commission to cure "all discrimination" against the company or explain why treating GameFly different from Netflix is reasonable.