UNITED STATES

Ford Motor Co. is preparing for the risk that higher oil prices and a slowing U.S. economy crimp demand and will cut production as needed to avoid building costly inventories, senior executives said on Tuesday.

Japanese electronics group NEC Corp posted a smaller first-half loss on Wednesday as sales of its IT systems outweighed scaled-back overseas operations, and it stuck to its full-year forecast.

Cities in California, Florida and Ohio dominated the 25 U.S. metro areas with the highest home foreclosure rates, though rates jumped in most of the top regions during the third quarter, RealtyTrac said on Wednesday.

Oil moved higher on Wednesday, after falling sharply for the past two days, supported by expectations of a further fall in U.S. crude oil supplies and as OPEC brushed off U.S. calls to raise output.

Retail sales rose a sluggish 0.2 percent in October, matching economists' expectations, as a housing downturn and steep oil prices constrained consumer spending, Commerce Department data on Wednesday showed.

Maverick book publisher Judith Regan, fired by HarperCollins last year after her O.J. Simpson book was scrapped, filed a $100 million lawsuit on Tuesday against her former employers accusing them of defamation.

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, said its third-quarter profits were ahead of last year's and revenue growth across the group offset a jump in its charge for bad debts in the United States. The trading update on Wednesday reassured investors that HSBC was not further exposed to big debts in mortgage-related financial products and was benefiting from its broad spread, and its shares jumped over 4 percent.

Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto hopes to forge an alliance with Islamists and other opposition parties to launch a campaign to force military president Pervez Musharraf from power.

Oil prices slumped more than 3.5 percent Tuesday after the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for world oil demand growth, saying that the recent surge in crude prices had already hurt consumption.

The dollar fell against most major currencies on Tuesday, resuming a long-term decline after a respite the previous session as investors expected further signs of housing weakness and sluggish consumer spending that could hurt U.S. economic growth.

Money manager BlackRock Inc is launching more distressed securities funds to take advantage of the current credit market troubles, Chairman and Chief Executive Laurence Fink said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks snapped a four-day losing streak on Tuesday with Nasdaq notching its biggest gain in more than four years after news that Apple Inc was in talks to offer iPhones in China sent investors bargain hunting among battered technology stocks. years after news that Apple Inc was in talks to offer iPhones in China sent investors bargain hunting among battered technology stocks.

While China may be getting most of the attention -- and the blame -- for a rash of recent toy recalls, the majority of problematic toys in fact come from other countries, according to a new Canadian study. If found toys made in countries other than China had a higher rate of recalls.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin announced on Tuesday, changes to the agency's media-ownership rules which previously prohibited multiple media-ownership by a company.

Bank of America Corp, the second-largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday it expects to write down $3 billion of debt in the fourth quarter as fallout from the nation's housing slump deepens.

Image-conscious drivers love their hybrid cars but truck operators say hybrid is too expensive.

The U.S. Defense Department on Tuesday informed lawmakers about a possible sale to Taiwan of Patriot missile system upgrades valued at $939 million and supplied by U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Co.

Bank of America Corp, the second-largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday it has suffered a $3 billion loss stemming from its exposure to collateralized debt obligations. The pretax loss would be reflected in fourth-quarter results, and could grow if market conditions worsen, according the Merrill Lynch Chief Financial Officer Joe Price.

The parent of Alibaba.com Inc and Japan's Softbank Corp are in talks to set up a Japanese joint venture possibly next year that will boost the Chinese e-commerce company's footprint in that market, Softbank's top executive said on Tuesday.

Indian communists have not changed their position on a controversial nuclear deal with the United States and do not want the government to pursue key steps needed to clinch it, left leaders said on Tuesday.

Labor disputes have wrought what just a few months ago was unthinkable in contemporary New York: slowing the city's hard-charging entertainment industry.