UNITED STATES

Democratic hopes for a quick Senate Finance Committee vote on a broad U.S. healthcare overhaul were dashed on Monday as budget experts took longer than expected with their estimate of the bill's cost.

A senior U.S. Treasury Department official said on Tuesday that if Iran fails to demonstrate that it is not seeking nuclear weapons it may face sweeping sanctions from the rest of the world.

Leading Mexican retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico is expected to post a strong 15 percent rise in third-quarter profits as it uses promotions aimed at shoppers with little money to spend trying to beat the recession.

Cisco Systems Inc's overture for Norway's Tandberg puts U.S.-based Polycom Inc in play as it is the only public company now left in the video conferencing market.

The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Tuesday.

Pepsi Bottling Group Inc reported slightly-better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, but revenue fell short of Wall Street estimates, hurt by lower volume in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Playboy Enterprises Inc on Tuesday named an 11-year veteran of the adult entertainment company and magazine publisher as president, a new position that will oversee all of its businesses.

Industrial conglomerate Emerson Electric Co said it would buy network equipment technology provider Avocent Corp for about $1.2 billion in cash to expand its business that ensures the stability of large computer systems.

A senior Palestinian official on Tuesday accused Israel of deliberately creating an extremely dangerous situation in East Jerusalem, to trigger violence, justify a crackdown and tighten its grip on the disputed city.

Minsheng Bank, China's first listed non-state lender, is looking to increase its stake in San Francisco-based UCBH Holdings Inc, in order to bolster the U.S. bank's capital, Bloomberg said, citing two people briefed on the matter.

Police in Uganda have arrested one of the most wanted suspects from Rwanda's 1994 genocide, Idelphonse Nizeyimana, a senior police source said Tuesday.

Stocks rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday on renewed hopes for a global economic recovery after the Australian central bank raised interest rates and in anticipation of the start of an improved U.S. earnings season.

Citigroup initiated coverage of jeweler Tiffany & Co with a buy rating and a $50 price target, citing an expected return to sustained positive same-store sales in the fourth quarter.

North Korea on Tuesday signaled it could return to nuclear disarmament talks it had declared dead six months ago, but a report it was near restoring its atomic plant underlined the secretive state would keep the stakes high.

Toyota Motor Corp is considering working with affiliate Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd to develop its electric vehicles, slated for a global launch in 2012, the Mainichi newspaper said on Tuesday.

NATO forces said Tuesday they had killed more that 100 fighters in a huge weekend battle in eastern Afghanistan in which eight Americans died, the deadliest firefight for U.S. troops in more than a year.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates blamed the Taliban's revival on a past failure to deploy enough troops to Afghanistan and said U.S. forces would not withdraw whatever the result of President Barack Obama's strategy review.

UBS AG said on Tuesday it had hired 18 investment bankers in the United States to focus on lending in the energy sector.

The booming Chinese auto market continues to be one of the few bright spots for German luxury carmakers, which have drawn few benefits from a flurry of subsidy programmes like the U.S. cash for clunkers scheme.

U.S. rapper Jim Jones pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanor assault charges related to a fight in Manhattan's Louis Vuitton store last December.

The U.S. apartment market in the third quarter turned in one of its weakest performances ever as the national vacancy rate hit a 23-year high despite being propped up by landlords willing to take lower rent to keep tenants, according to real estate research firm Reis Inc.