UNITED STATES

General Motors Corp said on Tuesday it would book a $39 billion non-cash charge in the third quarter related to deferred tax assets in the United States, Canada and Germany.

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc has agreed to buy the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, which operates the third-largest U.S. equity options market, for about $650 million, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Yahoo Inc's chief executive was verbally lashed by U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday over the Internet company's role in helping identify a Chinese dissident who was later imprisoned by the government.

Precious metals raced higher on Tuesday, boosted by an ailing dollar and strong oil, with gold hitting 28-year highs, silver soaring to its best price in 27 years and platinum setting a record.

Oil hit an all-time high above $97 per barrel on fears of a supply crunch ahead, while lingering credit fears pushed the dollar down to a record low against the euro.

The dollar sank to record lows against the euro and a basket of major currencies on Tuesday as bleak warnings of more pain in the credit sphere reinforced views of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December.

Stocks rose on Tuesday as oil prices topped $97 a barrel and lifted shares of Exxon Mobil Corp and other energy producers, while optimism a day ahead of Cisco Systems Inc earnings drove another rally in technology shares. Investors hunted for bargains among beaten-down bank and financial services shares after the previous session's sell-off left the sector near two-year lows.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential longshot Ron Paul became an Internet fund-raising sensation this week by bringing in $4.3 million in 24 hours through a Web drive by supporters.

Ben Bernanke may not have many soothing words for Wall Street this week as the Federal Reserve hammers home its point that it will take more than a modest economic slowdown to pry loose more interest rate cuts.

The dollar sank to record lows against the euro and a basket of currencies on Tuesday amid renewed credit concerns, while oil prices jumped to lifetime highs due to tight fuel stocks.

Marriott International Inc sees the Asia Pacific market benefiting from a weaker dollar and expects revenue from China and India to stay strong in the coming years, a top official said on Tuesday.

Stocks erased gains and were little changed on Tuesday as a brokerage's dour view on Microsoft Corp weighed on technology shares, while investors worried that record crude oil prices could squeeze consumers and corporations.

Dutch financial services group ING has agreed to buy ShareBuilder Corporation's online brokerage business for $220 million to extend its reach in the United States, ING said on Tuesday.

IndyMac Bancorp Inc, one of the largest independent U.S. mortgage lenders, on Tuesday posted a quarterly loss more than five times larger than it had projected, hurt by mounting delinquencies and a collapse in investor demand to buy its home loans. It was IndyMac's first quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 1998.

From behind a computer keyboard at his London home, student Younes Tsouli used the Internet to spread al Qaeda propaganda, recruit suicide bombers and promote Web sites that encouraged the killing of non-Muslims.

Mattel Inc, the world's largest toymaker, has recalled 155,000 of its products made in Mexico over safety concerns, an official at the company told Reuters on Tuesday.

Sony Corp says it might have the strongest ever holiday season in the United States as uncertainty over the U.S. economy fails to dent demand for its TVs, cameras and computers, Sony Electronics' top U.S. executive said on Monday.

The world's largest hotelier, InterContinental Hotels, met market forecasts with a 22 percent rise in quarterly profit and shrugged off worries about the impact of financial market turmoil on the lodging industry.

The economy might be edging toward a recession in the wake of mortgage-related credit woes plaguing the financial markets, bankers and analysts said on Monday.

Central bankers past and present warned on Tuesday of more pain to come for the U.S. economy and that banks worldwide could take several months yet to reveal full losses from U.S. subprime mortgage lending. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and billionaire investor George Soros said the downturn in the U.S. housing market had yet to take its full toll on growth.

North Korea's first steps to roll back a nuclear arms program launched about 40 years ago are going well, a U.S. official said on Tuesday after visiting the North's plutonium-producing atomic complex.