UNITED STATES

The U.S. military commander in northern Iraq defended on Tuesday a new policy imposing strict penalties, including possible jail time, for troops who become pregnant or get other soldiers pregnant.

A survivor of the Nazi death camp at which John Demjanjuk is accused of helping to kill 27,900 Jews recalled in court on Tuesday losing his wife after a three-day train journey to the extermination center.

Your roving Whiskey reporter just came back from the Big Apple last week after a short afternoon's jaunt to the Japan Society. Lest you think I'm going to tell you to invest in kimono (like carry trade sweethearts did a few years back), don't be fooled.

Apple's plan of offering television subscription via the Internet might receive a boost with U.S. media companies CBS and Walt Disney's probable participation in the venture, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

U.S. consumers headed online to take care of last-minute holiday shopping, with shoppers on the East Coast spurred by a snowstorm that kept many home from stores, analytics firm comScore Inc said on Tuesday.

Stocks rose on Tuesday, briefly lifting the S&P 500 to a 14-month high, as a surge in existing home sales indicated more stabilization in housing, increasing optimism about the economic recovery and prospects for profits.

Singer LeAnn Rimes and her husband, Dean Sheremet, have reached a confidential divorce settlement which will be finalized in June 2010 according to reports from PEOPLE.

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the threat of sanctions Tuesday, claiming his government is now 10times stronger than a year ago.

The chief financial officer of CIT Group Inc is retiring, adding another executive search for a board that is already looking for a chief executive officer.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a computer security breach targeting Citibank in which a gang of Russian hackers stole tens of millions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Australia promised to press on with its carbon trade plan on Tuesday despite the U.N. climate summit's failure to set emissions targets, but the Copenhagen outcome has cooled chances an early election on climate policy.

highway travel fell in October by 0.5 percent from a year earlier, the first decline in five months, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Tuesday.

Prices for European carbon emissions futures on Tuesday clawed back a little of Monday's 9 percent falls, as bearish sentiment waned over a watered-down deal at the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen. EU Allowances for December 2010 delivery closed 2.01 percent higher at 12.70 euros ($18.17) a tonne, with volume at 4,378 lots.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co, 2350.SE, a unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp 2010.SE (SABIC) has received four bids in a retender to build a petrochemical plant at its complex in Jubail, industry sources said on Tuesday.

A U.S. court of appeals on Tuesday upheld a $290 million jury verdict against Microsoft Corp for infringing a patent held by a small Canadian software firm, and affirmed an injunction that prevents Microsoft from selling versions of its Word program which contain the offending software.

OPEC agreed on Tuesday to keep supply curbs unchanged but faces a battle to crack down on those in its ranks who are failing to comply with quota restrictions if it wants to drain bulging global fuel inventories.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing a computer hacking that targeted Citigroup Inc and resulted in the theft of tens of million of dollars, The Wall Street Journal said, citing U.S. government officials.

American International Group Inc has halted efforts to sell a stake in Chartis, as Chief Executive Robert Benmosche focuses on expanding the property and casualty unit, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

The chief financial officer of CIT Group Inc is retiring, adding another executive search for a board that is already looking for a chief executive officer.

President Barack Obama has written a private letter to North Korea leader Kim Jong-il, presented by U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth to North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok Ju on Dec. 9 during his visit to the North.

State Street Corp (STT.N), one of the world's largest money managers for institutions, is buying the securities services arm of Italy's biggest retail bank to help expand its footprint abroad.