UNITED STATES

General Motors Corp said it reached a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand, part of an effort to drop four unprofitable vehicle lines and leave bankruptcy as a leaner company.

Solar power modules maker Energy Conversion Devices Inc. is being guarded about its outlook for 2009 as the credit crunch and economic recession restrains funding for solar energy projects.

The spread of H1N1 flu in Australia, Britain, Chile, Japan and Spain has nudged the world closer to a pandemic, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes shot up by 6.7 percent in April, the biggest monthly gain in 7-1/2 years, according to a report on Tuesday that buttressed views the U.S. recession was easing.

Oil rose on Tuesday as U.S. pending home sales data added to optimism the economy may be turning around, boosting expectations of a rebound in fuel demand.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated Republican congressman John McHugh as secretary of the Army, the latest move to tap an opposition party member for the Democratic administration's top ranks.

General Motors Corp said it reached a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand, part of an effort to drop four unprofitable vehicle lines and leave bankruptcy as a leaner company.

U.S. employers and recruiters have largely given up expectations for an increase in hiring this year, and more are cutting starting salaries, according to a semi-annual survey by Dice Holdings Inc.

T-Mobile, the mobile arm of Deutsche Telekom, said on Tuesday it would start selling its next device running Google Inc's Android operating system in early summer.

Clinton-era Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt has signed on as an advisor to Goldman Sachs Group Inc , the Wall Street firm announced on Tuesday.

The flagship mobile computer N97 will begin selling in more than 75 countries this month, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks reduced earlier gains on Tuesday as financial shares came under pressure after several companies announced stock offerings. Major indexes had been higher in morning action after better-than-anticipated housing data bolstered hopes that the recession is abating.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes in April unexpectedly saw their biggest monthly gain in 7-1/2 years, a report from a trade group on Tuesday showed, buttressing views the U.S. recession was easing.

NASA, which has tiptoed into the new world of social media with Twittering astronauts and Facebooking rovers, is taking the next step with an invitation-only outreach to the twedia to cover a space shuttle launch.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc said on Tuesday it had landed a contract worth up to $700 million over 10 years to provide logistical services to the U.S. Marine Corps.

General Motors Corp expects to have a 'very healthy' cash balance when it emerges from bankruptcy court protection in the next 60 to 90 days as a leaner company, its chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as key housing data provided further evidence the U.S. recession was abating.

The U.S. climate change bill making its way through Congress is the best legislative bet to help the country take the lead in tackling global warming on the world stage, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Monday.

Global consumer confidence is stabilizing after falling for 18 months, providing a glimmer of hope for a shattered world economy in which three quarters of households cut spending, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Japan approved on Tuesday plans for a missile early warning system and some ruling party lawmakers suggested Japan should inspect North Korean ships, as a report said the North was preparing to fire a mid-range missile.

The top item on the Chinese website of Beijing's embassy in Pyongyang is a condemnation of North Korea's nuclear test.