UNITED STATES

Western Union Co, the world's largest payment transfer company, posted a 16 percent decline in third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, hurt by expenses linked to the buyout of its former parent.

The head of the International Monetary Fund on Monday warned that an "earthquake" in credit markets may have been so severe the global economy tips into recession, ending a five-year boom.

Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc. on Tuesday said its profit and revenue rose, helped by strong growth in its wireless business and its acquisition of BellSouth. Third-quarter net profit was $3.1 billion, from $2.2 billion, in the same quarter a year earlier. Earnings per share fell to 50 cents a share from 56 cents a share, due to the large number of outstanding shares following the acquisition.

Hitachi Ltd said on Tuesday it is withdrawing from the home personal-computer business amid sluggish sales, the latest move by a Japanese electronics group to trim struggling operations.

The yen slipped on Tuesday and high yielding currencies rallied as gains in equity markets bolstered risk appetite and saw investors move tentatively back into carry trades.

Oil slipped again on Tuesday extending a slide from record highs on concerns about the U.S. economy, a recovery in the dollar and indications OPEC has already substantially raised oil output in advance of November 1.

French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday that G7 countries had asked China to accelerate the appreciation of the yuan, and said markets were beginning to hear the U.S. message on the strong dollar.

Turkey's foreign minister will vow military action in northern Iraq unless Iraqi and U.S. forces crack down on separatist Kurdish guerrillas.

Investors set aside wide-ranging concerns about the future on Tuesday to send stocks higher after a few sessions of hefty losses and to boost demand for higher-yielding currencies. As they took a break from worries about credit, a slowing U.S. economy and disappointing earnings, money moved into assets that have been battered in recent days.

Tesco, Britain's largest retailer and Disney Consumer Products UK announced an agreement to jointly launch a range of co-branded food products.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said on Monday that it is not likely that he does not see as likely that U.S. housing demand and prices will weaken more than expected.

Last month, China's venture capital (VC) market swelled to see this year's high of over US$360 million in a single month, while investment in private equity (PE) market totaled US$ 990 million, up 110.6 percent month-on-month, according to the report from Chinaventure, one of the most popular venture investment consulting institutes in China.

Gold fell 2.6 percent on Monday after matching 28-year highs as worries about the U.S. economy and the U.S dollar rebounded.

Oil fell towards $87 per barrel on Monday as dollar-based commodities declined on the strengthening U.S Dollar.

Stocks were mixed in late trading on Monday with broader indexes posting small declines while the technology stocks rose higher ahead of Apple’s quarterly earnings announcement.

Ratification of the tentative labor contract between the United Auto Workers union and Chrysler LLC was thrown into jeopardy on Monday after workers at four of the eight assembly plants that must vote on the deal rejected it. The strong opposition to the Chrysler deal marks a setback for leadership of the UAW, which reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler on October 10 after a six-hour strike.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice lambasted Moscow on Monday for using its oil and gas wealth as a "political weapon" and said democratic reforms would strengthen Russia's ties with Washington.

Dell Inc (DELL.O) said it would sell personal computers, printers, monitors and ink supplies in 1,400 Staples Inc (SPLS.O) stores in the United States, its latest move into retail after breaking from 23 years of selling directly to consumers.

Oil fell sharply toward $87 a barrel on Monday as part of a broad-based commodities sell-off on concerns over the health of the U.S. economy and a recovery in the U.S. dollar.

Gold fell 2.6 percent on Monday after matching 28-year highs as worries about the U.S. economy and fears over bank credit triggered a heavy sell-off in financial and commodities markets.

The dollar rebounded from a fresh low on Monday as traders pared back bets against the currency after the weekend's Group of Seven meeting yielded no call to action on the falling greenback.