UNITED STATES

Michael Phelps of the U.S. was upset by Paul Biederman of Germany on Tuesday in the 200-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships in Rome.

Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm Inc are forming a joint venture to offer machine-to-machine wireless services to companies in sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing and utilities.

General Electric Co's finance arm is navigating the current recession more or less as it had predicted in March and does not expect to turn to investors for more capital, company officials said on Tuesday.

Interpublic Group reported a sharper-than-expected drop in quarterly results, sending its shares down 11 percent and making it clear that the advertising industry's troubles are not yet over.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as a drop in consumer confidence and disappointing quarterly results from companies like Office Depot Inc dampened hopes for a strong economic recovery.

A Chinese manufacturer filed a patent infringement suit against U.S. retailer giants, marking a rare case that a Chinese firm seeks to enforce patent rights in a U.S. court.

With no local data releases yesterday the Aussie dollar took direction from equity markets which began their reporting season in Australia.

Oil prices fell 2 percent to below $67 a barrel on Tuesday after data showing a drop in U.S. consumer confidence spurred concerns about the economy and sent investors into safer havens.

U.S. consumer confidence fell more than expected in July, the Conference Board said on Tuesday, recording its second consecutive decline as sentiment remained hampered by a difficult job market.

Consumer confidence drops, US home prices rising, Bank of America to cut branches

Global investor confidence rose for a seventh month in a row in July, hitting the highest level in a year, U.S. financial services firm State Street said on Tuesday.

General Electric Co said on Tuesday most of its finance portfolio was performing as it had expected, and it does not anticipate having to raise additional capital to carry it through the current downturn.

Bank of America Corp said it plans to shrink its 6,109-branch U.S. network modestly over the next three to five years, an about-face for the nation's largest bank by assets after years of expansion.

The largest U.S. bank on Tuesday said it plans to reduce the size of its U.S. branch network over the next three to five years. As of June 30, the Charlotte based bank had 6,109 branches, down 30 from December's number of 6,139.

U.S. home prices rose in May for the first time in three years, suggesting the housing market is stabilizing, but a weakening job market hit consumer confidence in July and could prevent near-term economic recovery.

Tiny ovarian tumors lurk in the Fallopian tubes for an average of four years before they grow large enough to be detected, researchers reported on Monday in a study that explains why diagnosis usually comes too late to save a woman's life.

U.S. and Chinese officials began grappling on Monday with how and when to withdraw the huge economic stimulus spending each has applied and to put in place measures to promote steadier long-term growth.

A large 15-year study of men who had surgery for prostate cancer found only a small percentage died from cancer, adding to evidence that some men might be able to skip radical surgery to treat the often slow-growing tumors, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

A common and safe blue food dye might provide the best treatment available so far for spinal cord injuries, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a visit to Iraq on Tuesday that the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from urban bases was paying off as Iraqi forces assumed the lead for the fragile security.

Health officials trying to make best use of antiviral drugs to fight the new H1N1 flu need to do a better job of tracking and treating cases quickly, Italian researchers said on Monday.