UNITED STATES

Toyota Motor Corp reported its third straight quarterly loss, but beat expectations and said its annual loss would be smaller than earlier forecast, as deep cost reductions help make up for some of the slump in global vehicle sales.

U.S. retailers could post their 11th consecutive drop in monthly same-store sales this week as cool weather, a weak job market, and a lack of tax-free holidays had shoppers picking through the clearance racks in July instead of buying full-priced back-to-school clothes.

UBS said it remained cautious about its prospects after client withdrawals spurred by protracted U.S. tax litigation dragged the Swiss bank into another big quarterly loss on Tuesday.

Asian stocks climbed to an 11-month high on Tuesday on hopes a V-shaped recovery may be forming in the United States, while the Australian dollar hit its highest since late September after solid housing and retail sales data.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner blasted top U.S. regulators in an expletive-laden tirade amid frustration over President Barack Obama's faltering plan to overhaul financial regulation, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday, citing people familiar with the meeting.

Oil edged back on Wednesday from the previous day's 3 percent gains, as worries about a rise in U.S. crude inventories offset optimism from positive U.S. and Chinese manufacturing data.

President Barack Obama celebrated on Monday the enactment of the new post-9/11 GI Bill providing education benefits for U.S. service members and veterans at George Mason University.

A U.S. bank regulator is expected to move quickly in finalizing guidelines on private equity investments in failed banks, possibly easing one of its most controversial proposals, sources said on Monday.

Hungarian drug producer Richter Gedeon said its second-quarter net profit more than doubled on rising sales, especially to Russia and the United States, muted cost growth and a smaller-than-expected loss.

Bank of America to Pay, Citi chips, Apple's Google Goodbye,

American International Group Inc said it had tapped former MetLife chief Robert Benmosche to be its new CEO, effective next Monday.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it will continue to investigate the relationship between the boards of Apple Inc and Google Inc, after Google's chief quit Apple's board on Monday

The children of Rebiya Kadeer, head of the World Uyghur Congress, have written a letter to their mother accusing her of masterminding the July 5 riots in Urumqi, and which was also signed by other relatives on July 24. The letter was originally written in the Uygur language, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Phibro LLC the energy trading unit of Citigroup may separate from its parent company, according to a report from the New York Times which said Andrew Hall, a senior trader at Phibro has had preliminary talks to other parties about the separation.

U.S. auto sales jumped to the highest level of 2009 in July as Americans rushed to take advantage of the government's Cash for Clunkers program, raising hopes that the battered sector is poised for recovery.

Nissan Motor Co. unveiled its first electric vehicle in Japan on Sunday, a car to be mass produced with an affordable price for consumers in the Japanese, American and European markets, the firm said in a statement.

A plan to increase U.S. troops in Colombia is drawing opposition not just from left-wing populist leaders in the region but from the moderate governments of Brazil and Chile as well.

Shares of UBS rose sharply on Monday as attention turned to details of an agreement ending the Swiss bank's dispute with U.S. authorities over whether it should reveal the identities of thousands of American clients.

Oil rose more than 3 percent to above $71 a barrel on Monday as positive manufacturing data in the United States and China raised optimism for an economic recovery that could bolster energy demand.

General Motors Co said on Monday its U.S. auto sales fell 19.4 percent in July from a year earlier, but retail sales rose from the month before for a fifth consecutive month, supported by the U.S. government's Cash for Clunkers incentives.

Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has quit Apple Inc's board of directors, a move that may help defuse some scrutiny of their relationship as they compete in key markets.