UNITED STATES

Five banks, including Citigroup, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., said on Tuesday they were setting up a trading platform for privately offered stocks, seeking to tap the growing market for non-public shares.

Intervention by central banks has staved off a crisis, but investors need to know more about the true state of U.S. mortgage markets before calm can be restored to markets, a top manager at UBS said.

Home Depot Inc. reported a 15 percent fall in second-quarter profit on Tuesday as quarterly sales fell for the first time in more than four years in the slumping U.S. housing market.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, on Tuesday reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its full-year earnings forecast, saying its customers remain under economic pressure. Chief Executive Lee Scott blamed the disappointing performance on economic pressure around the world.

The Bush administration asked a world trade panel on Monday to force China to crack down on pirated goods, like U.S. movies and software.

The New York Philharmonic is considering an official invitation from the North Korean government to perform in Pyongyang, the United States' oldest symphony orchestra said on Monday.

Consumers spent more boldly than expected last month as declining gasoline prices shielded household budgets, government data showed on Monday. Sales at U.S. retailers rose a slightly more-than-expected 0.3 percent in July and core sales, which strip out car, building materials and gasoline sales, were even stronger, the Commerce Department data showed.

Stocks edged higher on Monday after central banks pumped more cash into the global financial system and a report showed U.S. consumers spent more freely than expected last month.

Blackstone Group LP is finding it more difficult to find new deals as credit markets tighten, which will affect near-term results, President Hamilton James said on Monday.

Facing continued deterioration in the U.S. housing market, upscale home builder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. said on Monday that it expects to take a charge of $90 million to $110 million related to land impairments and write-offs.

Fugitive U.S. millionaire Jacob 'Kobi' Alexander, who has made political connections and pledged to invest millions of dollars in Namibia, secured another delay in his extradition hearing on Monday.

Central banks in the world's leading economies pumped money for a third day into the financial system on Monday, but in smaller amounts as investor nerves steadied over the dangers of a credit squeeze.

The economy has added non-farm jobs at a steady pace so far this year, but with businesses cutting back on hiring temporary workers, economists say the labor market may be on course to weaken.

As China's export prices rise, a pressing global debate is emerging: is the 'China price' pumping up world inflation?

With world stocks have fallen more than 7 percent in a month and some indexes down more than 10 percent from their highs, some market players are saying the time is near to buy.

Oil prices climbed above $72 a barrel on Monday as calming financial markets on the back of cash injections by central banks worldwide put the spotlight back on robust energy demand expectations.

Asia's central banks took further steps on Monday to calm markets roiled by fears over a credit squeeze, with the Bank of Japan injecting $5.1 billion into the banking system and others pledging to follow suit if needed.

World oil prices are headed for $100 per barrel, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez predicted on Saturday, and said he will cut supplies to the United States if the U.S. government attacks the South American nation again.

Years of economic policy mistakes after the fall of Saddam Hussein left unemployed young Iraqis easy targets for recruitment by al Qaeda and other insurgents, a U.S. Defense Department official said on Sunday.

Noisy protests against a historic but controversial nuclear energy deal between India and the United States disrupted the Indian parliament on Monday as lawmakers demanded the government cancel the agreement.

In Manhattan, the much maligned apartment co-op board, famous for rejecting notables such as Richard Nixon and Mariah Carey, may turn out to have been the last line of defense against risky lending practices.