UNITED STATES

Those who know wealthy Lebanese Shi'ite financier Salah Ezz el-Din say he is a deeply pious, humble man whose close links to Hezbollah made his credentials impeccable as he allegedly embezzled their savings.

Green building materials start-up Serious Materials raised $60 million in a third round of funding and plans to use the money to accelerate product development.

Privately held smart grid networking company Silver Spring Networks said on Tuesday that it would buy Greenbox Technology, adding energy-management software to its arsenal.

Documents and personal letters from world leaders provide a glimpse of the back drop to key historical events and a new exhibit highlights several from the defining event of the 20th century -- World War Two.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday there was substantial support among the Group of 20 nations for creating a new framework to tackle global economic imbalances.

Kraft and Cadbury CEOs are meeting their investors to seek support in a bid battle after the British confectioner asked the UK Takeover Panel to set a time limit to Kraft's 9.8 billion pound ($16 billion) offer.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as strong commodity prices and a weak dollar before a Federal Reserve meeting gave a boost to Wall Street.

Economy Reviving; Obama's Global Climate Push; Banks Fined Over IPO

A U.S. regulator ordered Citigroup Inc, UBS AG and Deutsche Bank AG to pay up to $845,000 in fines and restitution because of communications breakdowns related to the 2006 initial public offering of Vonage Holdings Corp.

Home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos Inc forecast earnings for its next fiscal year that could fall short of Wall Street expectations, sending its shares down 2.3 percent.

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee opened consideration of its long-delayed healthcare reform bill on Tuesday, with affordability topping the list of concerns for Democrats who control the panel.

U.S. antitrust enforcers plan to hold talks on revamping merger guidelines, they said on Tuesday amid expectations that the Democratic administration will give corporate combinations a tougher review.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday said that the U.S. economy appeared to be picking up steam and G20 leaders gathering in Pittsburgh this week would strive to ensure the recovery was balanced.

Health insurer WellPoint Inc is weighing job cuts as it grapples with enrollment declines stemming from the weak U.S. economy.

U.S. stocks rose slightly on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar hit a 1-year low against the euro ahead of the start of a Federal Reserve policy meeting, boosting oil and metals prices.

The world financial crisis is an opportunity, allowing more creative ideas to come about, Italian designer Donatella Versace said, adding consumers wanted to be stimulated at this time.

The U.S. Energy and Treasury Departments on Tuesday awarded $550 million in cash grants to develop renewable energy projects to help meet the Obama administration's goal of doubling U.S. renewable energy production over the next few years.

President Barack Obama challenged the world on Tuesday to act swiftly to fight global warming but offered no new proposals that could jumpstart stalled talks on a U.N. climate pact.

President Barack Obama Tuesday urged world action to fight climate change, saying a failure to tackle the problem could lead to an irreversible catastrophe in years to come.

U.S. stocks rose slightly on Monday as the U.S. dollar hit a 1-year low against the euro ahead of the start of a Federal Reserve policy meeting, boosting oil and metals prices.

Oil rose above $71 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar and after the oil minister of top exporter Saudi Arabia said he was seeing real evidence of world economic recovery in the form of demand for Saudi crude.