U.S.

NEW YORK - U.S. copper futures headed higher at the open on Tuesday, recovering a portion of the prior session's steep losses, as equity markets regained their footing and manufacturing and housing data suggested the economic recovery was on track.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of an economic recovery looked set to eclipse a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

U.S. consumers satisfaction with credit cards plummeted in 2009, driven by anger due to fees and higher interest rates, according to a J.D. Power and Associates poll released on Tuesday.

The Federal Communications Commission will open an inquiry to examine the various technologies to block children from watching programs with sex and violence, the agency's chief said on Monday.

CHICAGO - Clinics in drug stores provide care for minor ailments on par with, or better than, other medical facilities at significantly lower costs, according to a study released on Monday.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) will report a U.S. auto sales increase in August and the industry may post its first monthly year-over-year sales rise since October 2007, the automaker's chief sales analyst said on Monday.

The makers of Camel and Kool cigarettes and other tobacco companies filed suit in federal court on Monday to try to block provisions of a recently enacted U.S. tobacco law they say would interfere with their right to communicate with adult smokers.

Lakeside Steel was granted intervenor status in the Canadian government's lawsuit against U.S. Steel on Monday, a position the small Canadian company hopes will give it a chance to acquire U.S. Steel's operations in southern Ontario.

LOS ANGELES - Former President George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, is set to become a correspondent for the U.S. television news and talk show

Ford Motor Cowill report a U.S. auto sales increase in August and the industry may post its first monthly year-over-year sales rise since October 2007, the automaker's chief sales analyst said on Monday.

U.S. copper futures sank to a one-week low below $2.80 a lb on Monday, after a sharp plunge in Chinese equity markets raised doubts about the strength of global economic recovery.

WASHINGTON - Democrats leading the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee widened their probe of the health insurance industry on Monday, seeking information on companies' policies for small businesses.

FORT WORTH - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday cited consensus among lawmakers, the Pentagon and the White House on the need to reform the defense acquisition process, especially given the current economic situation.

NEW YORK - U.S. copper futures extended a pull-back from last week's 11-month highs Monday morning, as a sharp plunge in Chinese and U.S. equity markets curbed economic recovery hopes, and a firmer dollar combined to drag prices down to one-week lows.

NEW YORK - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday as Chinese equities dropped sharply and commodities fell on concerns that asset prices have run ahead of the economic realities.

The yen was trading modestly firmer on Monday after the Democratic Party of Japan ousted the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a landslide, so putting an end to election uncertainty.

Three more U.S. banks failed on Friday, bringing the total to 84 so far this year, as the industry continues to grapple with deteriorating loans on their books.

U.S. bank regulators closed Affinity Bank of Ventura, California on Friday, the 84th U.S. bank to fail this year as economic weakness continues to take a toll on financial institutions.

U.S. bank regulators closed Mainstreet Bank of Forest Lake, Minnesota, on Friday, the 83rd U.S. bank to fail this year as economic weakness continues to take a toll on financial institutions.

TORONTO - Bank of Montreal, one of Canada's top banks, is suing two U.S.-based brokerages and some of their former officers and shareholders for their part in an intricate fraud carried out by the former head of its commodity derivatives group, court documents showed.

DETROIT - U.S. government incentives likely pushed U.S. auto sales to a 20-month high in August, leaving analysts and the industry guessing how hard a landing to expect with the Cash for Clunkers program now exhausted.