UNITED STATES

Stocks closed down for a third session on Tuesday as higher bond yields raised concerns about borrowing costs and more fallout from the subprime mortgage market kept investors on edge.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) posted higher fourth-quarter net profit on Tuesday, beating Wall Street estimates and sending shares up 4 percent in extended trade, as strong sales of Nike-branded footwear helped offset overall challenges in the U.S. athletic shoe market.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) once seemed impervious to the turbulence that buffeted other U.S. airlines, but on the eve of its 30th anniversary as a public company, the first and still the biggest U.S. low-cost carrier looks vulnerable.

With about $62 billion of new junk bonds poised to flood an uneasy market in coming months, debt investors and the corporate buyout firms that borrow from them may be in for a long, hot summer.

Shares of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: VMSI) soared more than 48 percent on Tuesday after Switzerland's Roche Holding AG initiated a $3 billion hostile bid for the company.

U.S. new home sales in May fell more than expected while consumer confidence in June fell to a 10-month low amid anxiousness about jobs and the business climate, adding to signs of sluggish economic growth this year.

Gold was steady on Tuesday as the resilience of the dollar versus the euro reduced investor appetite for the metal, while a rise in the yen dragged down yen-based gold futures in Tokyo.

Oil eased to around $71 a barrel on Tuesday as investors weighed ample fuel stocks in top consumer the United States and the potential for higher Nigerian crude exports.

Kroger Co., the largest U.S. grocery chain, posted a weaker-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday due to labor unrest at a distribution center, sending its shares down in early electronic trade.

Lennar Corp., the second-largest U.S. home builder, posted a quarterly loss on Tuesday, forecast a loss in the current quarter and warned that the housing market could deteriorate further.

Dutch Advocate General says ABN can sell its U.S. bank, LaSalle, without a shareholder vote.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday before data on new home sales, which is expected to show a decline in May.

European and Asian stocks fell on Tuesday while government bonds and the yen rose as concerns about the U.S. mortgage market and warnings about currency borrowing prompted investors to cut back on risky assets.

U.S. private equity firm Texas Pacific Group is expected to bid for Singapore's microchip-testing firm United Test and Assembly Center as part of a consortium, banking sources said on Tuesday.

The yen rose broadly on Tuesday, pulling away from multi-year lows versus the dollar and euro after Japanese, South Korean and New Zealand officials raised concerns about the low-yielding currency's recent weakness.

A New Jersey importer has asked the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for help in recalling about 450,000 light-truck tires made in China after a fatal car accident, lawyers said.

Spain's Iberdrola said on Tuesday it will make a share issue to help finance its $4.5 billion cash purchase of U.S. regional gas and electricity supply company Energy East before completing the deal in the second half of 2008.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding said on Tuesday it still hoped its $3 billion hostile bid for Ventana Medical Systems Inc. could turn friendly but declined to say whether it would sweeten the deal.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation of Britain's BAE Systems Plc over the defense company's compliance with anti-corruption laws, including its dealings with Saudi Arabia.

Turbulence in the housing market remains largely restricted to the subprime sector, Timothy Bitsberger, treasurer and senior vice president at Freddie Mac, said on Tuesday.

The world economy is powering ahead at a faster pace than expected two months ago, building up global inflationary pressures, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.