UNITED STATES

Oil steadied above $76 a barrel on Tuesday, rebounding from an earlier drop as concerns over supply and speculative buying lent support.

World stocks fell on Tuesday from this week's record high while the credit market and dollar weakened, hit by fresh concerns that troubles in the risky end of the U.S. mortgage sector could spread to the wider economy.

China should not be singled out for particular concern over food safety, a big problem that rich and poor countries alike must tackle through better regulation, top World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday.

Chemical maker Basell said on Tuesday it would buy Lyondell Chemical Co. for about $12.14 billion, giving it access to Lyondell's commodity assets and refining capacity. Basell has been seeking acquisitions in the chemical sector and was last week trumped by Apollo Management's Hexion Specialty Chemicals in a bid for Huntsman Corp.

Google, Inc. is expected to post double-digit gains in profit and sales when it reports second-quarter results on Thursday as the company maintains a substantial lead in online search.

The broader U.S. stock market fell on Monday on worries that troubles in the subprime mortgage market may spread, but optimism about earnings at multinational companies pushed the Dow to nearly 14,000. Energy stocks fell, led by ConocoPhillips, because of concern about dwindling profit margins for gasoline.

Oil slipped on Monday as traders took profits and refinery restarts in the United States eased worries of a summer gasoline crunch.

Foreign media have fuelled unfounded fears about Chinese products, the nation's top quality official has said, as China blocked a U.S. protein powder shipment while the two countries sparred over safety worries.

U.S. crude price could top $90 a barrel this autumn and hit $95 by the end of the year if OPEC keeps oil production capped at current levels, Goldman Sachs said in a report issued on Monday.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix whisked its way to No. 1 at movie box offices with weekend ticket sales of $77.4 million and a five-day total of just over $140 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

The hedge fund run by activist investor William Ackman said on Monday it now owns a 9.6 percent stake in Target Corp., adding the discount retailer to its small list of closely watched investments.

Wireless telecommunications company Vodafone Group Plc denied a report that it was considering a $160 billion bid for Verizon Communications Inc., a move that would consolidate ownership of their wireless joint venture.

McDonald's Corp. said on Monday it expects to report quarterly earnings above Wall Street estimates on its strongest quarterly sales in three years.

The owner of Dubai stock exchange is preparing an offer for Nordic stock market group OMX, rivaling the proposed $3.7 billion merger between OMX and U.S. group Nasdaq, Telegraph.co.uk reported on Sunday.

Asian shares mostly eased on Monday with South Korea retreating from record highs on fears the government may move to cool the market, while Brent crude was about $1 away from its highest level due to supply worries.

The takeover battle for ABN AMRO heated up on Monday with the Royal Bank of Scotland consortium boosting the cash element of its 71.1 billion-euro ($98 billion) offer. The offer is above a rival all-stock bid from Britain's Barclays that is worth about 64 billion euros, which has been recommended by ABN's board.

The dollar weakened against major currencies on Monday, plumbing fresh multi-year depths against higher-yielding units as bearish sentiment toward the greenback and the outlook for U.S. interest rates gripped markets.

Mattel Inc., the largest U.S. toy maker, said on Monday second-quarter profit rose 15 percent, helped by strong sales of its Wheels toys and Barbie dolls abroad.

Nora Bannerman checks the pristine white uniforms made for American pharmacist Walgreens in her factory in the humid heart of the Ghanaian capital Accra.

Gold held steady on Monday below a five-week high, with investors keeping an eye on the dollar, which hovered near record lows against the euro, for short term direction.

European stockbrokers may find it hard to escape unscathed as sweeping regulatory changes lead to a boom in the use of high-tech systems designed to remove the human element from trading and radically reshape markets.