UNITED STATES

Office Depot Inc reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on lower distribution costs and other expense controls, sending shares of the No. 2 U.S. office supplies retailer up 8 percent.

Japan's JFE Holdings , the world's fifth-largest steelmaker, returned to a profit on Tuesday and U.S. Steel posted a narrower loss, but both gave lackluster forecasts, with the Americans complaining of slower order rates.

UBS flagged a return to client inflows this year as strong equities and forex trading gains helped it outdo Deutsche Bank and other rivals, which were hit hard by Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

Weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reversed early stock gains fueled by strong corporate earnings on Tuesday, leaving indexes slightly lower.

United Airlines parent UAL Corp won unconditional EU regulatory approval on Tuesday for its $3.17 billion buy of Continental Airlines Inc that will create the world's largest carrier.

DuPont forecast 2010 earnings well above expectations on Tuesday and said its second-quarter profit nearly tripled as the rebounding global economy continued to fuel the company's recovery, sending it shares up 4.6 percent.

(Corrects layoff restructuring charge in paragraph 5 to 19 million francs from 19 billion)

U.S. single-family home prices rose more than expected in May, still reflecting robust spring sales spurred by homebuyer tax credits, Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes showed on Tuesday.

UBS Wealth Management Americas lost assets and advisers during the second quarter and was UBS AG's only unprofitable division, though it offered some signs that it was on the mend.

Defense contractor L-3 Communications Holdings Inc posted a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday on demand for products that gather and monitor intelligence, but cut its full-year forecast in wake of a contract loss.

CIT Group , the commercial lender that last year emerged from bankruptcy, on Tuesday reported a quarterly profit that dwarfed analysts' estimates.

Oil prices rose toward $80 a barrel to hit the highest level since early May as upbeat corporate results and rallying equities increased risk appetite for the commodity. U.S. stock index futures jumped on Tuesday, setting Wall Street for a fourth straight day of gains, while European shares touched a five-week high.

The euro hit an 11-week high against the dollar and a seven-week high against the yen on Tuesday as solid bank earnings lifted equities and encouraged investors to take on more risk. Strong earnings from Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX) helped lift European shares .FTEU3, with banking stocks .SX7P leading the gains and supporting the market's relief over the results of last week's European bank stress tests.

Upbeat corporate results and a larger-than-forecast increase in home prices lifted U.S. stocks on Tuesday, as Wall Street pursued a fourth straight day of gains.

Occidental Petroleum Corp posted a 57 percent increase in quarterly profit on Tuesday, as higher energy prices gave a big boost to the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, but results still missed expectations.

Many men with low-risk prostate cancer get aggressive treatment, increasing the risk of serious side effects, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

DuPont said on Tuesday that its second-quarter profit nearly tripled due to double-digit sales across all five of its business segments.

European Union competition regulators launched two anti-trust investigations against International Business Machines Corp, suspecting it of abusing its dominant position in the mainframe computer market.

Upbeat corporate results from both sides of the Atlantic lifted U.S. stock index futures on Tuesday, setting up Wall Street for a fourth straight day of gains.

Panic and fears over the future of US and European economies have become the best aphrodisiacs for gold, which has been in an uncertain zone for the past few weeks.

A increase in labour disputes between management and workers in China, mostly at foreign-owned factories in the southeast, has raised questions about the country's future as a low-cost manufacturing centre.