UNITED STATES

McDonald's Corp., the world's biggest restaurant company, on Tuesday posted a quarterly net loss after taking a big charge for the sale of its outlets in Latin America. The company's second-quarter net loss was $711.7 million, or 60 cents per share, compared with a net profit of $834.1 million, or 67 cents, a year ago.

PepsiCo Inc. posted a greater-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday on a lower tax rate and higher sales of Frito-Lay snacks.

Troubles are surfacing with loans made to better-off U.S. homebuyers in a worrying trend that indicates what's been termed 'The subprime crisis' may need to be rebadged 'The housing crisis' and eventually maybe just 'The crisis.'

Members of the Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones & Co. Inc., may decide by the end of the week whether to accept a $5 billion offer by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Nissan Motor Co., Japan's third-largest automaker, posted a 3.2 percent drop in quarterly operating profit as a worsening product mix favoring smaller, cheaper cars hit margins, and kept its full-year forecasts unchanged despite the weaker yen.

A recall of canned meat products and dog food made at a Georgia plant due to botulism fears could involve tens of millions of cans that pose an urgent public health threat, U.S. officials said on Monday.

U.S. sales of video game hardware and software in June rose 31 percent from a year ago, driven by stronger demand for gaming consoles from all three major industry players, market data showed on Monday.

The United States and India said on Friday they made substantial progress in negotiations on a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement, and one U.S. official told Reuters the long-delayed deal was effectively done.

Gold fell slightly on Monday but held near 10-week highs as the precious metals market took a breather from last week's rally, but a weakened dollar and more bullish sentiment limited losses.

Oil fell below $77 a barrel on Monday as some funds booked profits after OPEC expressed concern over near-record prices and pledged to pump more crude if needed.

The seventh and final Harry Potter book sold 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said on Monday it received final approval to set up a locally incorporated bank in China, one of the latest firms given the go-ahead for possible retail operations in the country.

Schering-Plough Corp. on Monday said quarterly earnings more than doubled on growing demand for its Zetia and Vytorin cholesterol drugs and its treatments for arthritis and allergies.

The head of the United Auto Workers union on Monday said that a strike against the struggling U.S. auto industry remains a possibility should workers be unable to agree on terms with the three Detroit-based automakers in contract talks starting this week.

UAL Corp's United Airlines will ramp up its efforts to lure well-heeled business travelers by adding fully reclining seats to its international business-class cabins, the company said on Monday.

U.S. investors' overall confidence fell in July, hurt by the housing slump and rising energy costs, but a buoyant stock market provided a silver lining for individual investments, a survey showed on Monday.

Halliburton Co., the world's second-largest oil services company, said on Monday that second-quarter profit from continuing operations rose 19 percent, topping Wall Street views, helped by new international contracts.

Demands for job guarantees at Siemens AG automotive electronics unit VDO moved to the centre of a takeover contest after two suitors were each reported to have bid more than $16 billion for the business.

U.S. stocks rose Monday on strong Merck & Co. profits and news of a nearly $18 billion oil services takeover, while Treasury bonds eased as reduced fears about the subprime credit market made riskier assets attractive again.

When AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. report quarterly results later this month, investors will be looking for proof that their expensive video strategies are starting to pay off.

Ordered to sacrifice themselves for the nation by crashing their planes into U.S. warships as Japan vainly battled to stave off invasion in the final months of World War Two, some young pilots instead returned alive.