UNITED STATES

Stocks headed for a higher open on Tuesday as investors bet U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would shed light on plans to shore up the financial system a day after Wall Street hit a 12-year low.

Oil rose by more than $1 on Tuesday after slumping 10 percent slump in the previous session, but showed little sign of a strong recovery as falling crude demand overshadowed OPEC's production cuts.

Chrysler vice-chairman Jim Press said on Tuesday the auto maker was hopeful the automaker had all the criteria necessary to receive additional U.S. government loans.

A key European Union trade panel approved on Tuesday temporary anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports of biodiesel from the United States, sources with knowledge of the decision said.

Most securitization markets remain closed and some financial institutions remain under pressure despite advances in some financial markets since September, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers on Tuesday.

U.S. companies, consumers and communities may grow so addicted to government financial help that cutting them off could trigger another recession soon after the current one ends.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will order a crackdown on waste and cost overruns in U.S. government procurement that he estimates will save up to $40 billion a year, an administration official said.

A court appearance on Wednesday by accused swindler Bernard Madoff for a hearing over a potential conflict of interest involving his lawyer, Ira Sorkin has been postponed, a judge's clerk said on Tuesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed confidence on Tuesday his economic reforms would work as senior officials began lobbying Congress to support the administration's jaw-dropping budget proposal.

Citigroup Inc said on Tuesday it will allow some newly unemployed homeowners to temporarily reduce payments on their mortgages.

Citigroup Inc said on Tuesday it will allow some newly unemployed homeowners to temporarily reduce payments on their mortgages.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday as investors bet U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would shed light on plans to shore up the financial system a day after Wall Street slid to a 12-year low.

General Electric Co Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt took responsibility for the U.S. conglomerate's tarnished reputation as a growth company, in a letter to shareholders released Monday.

Oil rose above $40 a barrel on Tuesday after a 10 percent slump on Monday but showed no sign of a return to last week's bull run as global equities extended a fall on worries about the global economy and outweighed OPEC's strong compliance with supply curbs.

Blackstone Group LP Co-founder and Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman's pay fell 99 percent in 2008, a year that saw the private-equity firm post a $1.33 billion loss.

The global economic downturn will be considerably deeper than even the International Monetary Fund forecast a month ago, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's chief economist Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel told Reuters.

Citigroup Inc is hoping to create joint ventures with third parties as a way of shedding businesses it does not want, the New York Post reported on Tuesday, citing high-level insiders at the New York bank.

The global economic downturn will be considerably deeper than even the International Monetary Fund forecast a month ago, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's chief economist Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel told Reuters.

Offshore tax havens used by rich Americans in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and other nations are targeted for shutdown by bills offered on Monday by Democrats in both chambers of the Congress.

Chrysler vice-chairman Jim Press said on Tuesday the auto maker was hopeful the automaker had all the criteria necessary to receive additional U.S. government loans.

The Obama administration is not interested in escalating a dispute with Switzerland over bank secrecy laws, Switzerland's top justice official said on Monday after meeting with her U.S. counterparts.