MARKETS / FINANCE

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner discussed the global economy and the state of financial markets on Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, the Treasury said.

Stocks rebounded sharply on Tuesday after a major sell-off, but markets remained vulnerable to selling if the Federal Reserve fails to ease fears of a double-dip recession.

Equity analysts seem to have been caught out once again by a tectonic shift in economic outlook, highlighting potential pitfalls in earnings models devised by highly-paid professionals on Wall Street and in the City of London.

AOL Inc reported a surprise second-quarter loss on Tuesday, citing weaker-than-expected advertising growth.

Federal Reserve policymakers began meeting on Tuesday under growing pressure to take some type of action to stem a financial market meltdown linked to fears of a new U.S. recession.

Worries of more government intervention in European and U.S. debt crises lifted gold early on Tuesday to a record near $1,800, but bullion pared gains as the battered stock market bounced higher.

AOL Inc reported a surprise second-quarter loss on Tuesday, citing weaker-than-expected advertising growth that sent shares of the company plummeting as much as 20 percent on Tuesday.

Standard & Poor's is more concerned that a slower economy, sovereign debt issues and mortgage risks will depress U.S. bank industry profits and credit quality, the ratings agency said on Tuesday.

Stocks rebounded sharply on Tuesday after a major sell-off, but markets remained vulnerable to selling if the Federal Reserve fails to ease fears of a double-dip recession.

Worries of more government intervention in European and U.S. debt crises lifted gold early on Tuesday to a record near $1,800, but bullion pared gains as the battered stock market bounced higher.

Sharply higher prices offset lower quality ore and reduced output to double Hecla Silver's second quarter results.

In a sign of the harm that tumbling markets are doing to the global economy, calls multiplied on Tuesday for a concerted campaign of bold policy-making to stop the rot.

Gold hit a record high on Tuesday in its biggest three-day rally since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, as investor fears over the threat to the global economy from the European and U.S. debt crises hit assets seen as higher risk.

Stocks climbed on Tuesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for only its second advance in the past 12 sessions, but markets remained susceptible to selling if the Federal Reserve fails to ease fears of a double-dip recession.

Despite the S&P downgrade of the United States, Russia announced that it has no plans to make an immediate change to its U.S. dollar-denominated gold or foreign exchange reserves, a senior Russian bank official has confirmed.

Russia has secured Nokia's backing of its GLONASS satellite navigation system, a major step forward for the country's technology toward securing the number two global position after GPS.

World stocks recovered after their 10th straight day of declines on Tuesday as Wall Street managed to put a brake on losses for the time being, with investors turning their attention to a meeting of the Federal Reserve.

Italy's opposition accused Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday of surrendering sovereignty to the European Central Bank after he pledged to speed up reforms in return for help in facing a growing market crisis.

Gold continues its climb to new heights even as U.S. stocks stage a rebound.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao urged nations to work together to stabilize turbulent financial markets on Tuesday as global stocks stumbled on fears that the world economy is headed for a downturn.

Stocks rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday after the previous session's nosedive, but markets could reverse if investors are not convinced the Federal Reserve has a plan to combat the meltdown linked to fears of a new recession.

China's industrial output grew at a slower pace in July while inflation unexpectedly quickened, putting the central bank in a bind as it tries to keep prices in check without dragging down an economy facing increasing threats from abroad.

Stock index futures pointed to a gain of about 1 percent at the open on Tuesday in a rebound from the previous session's nosedive, but an upcoming Fed statement could spark a reversal if investors are not convinced it has a plan to combat a market meltdown.

AOL's quarterly revenue beat market estimates, helped by strong advertising sales as the company works on reducing its dependence on lucrative dollars from its dial up division.

China is still nursing a hangover from its 2008 stimulus spending spree and may be reluctant to kick off another big round, leaving less potent options on the table should the global economy tilt toward a cliff.

Japanese policymakers voiced growing alarm on Tuesday as the yen scaled highs seen before last week's intervention and global stock markets crumbled under mounting fears of a new financial crisis.

The global economy stumbled deeper into crisis as stock markets slumped further on Tuesday, with investors losing confidence that the United States and Europe can rein in their debt burdens quickly and avert a double-dip recession.

With U.S. and global stock markets reeling, investors have sought a traditional safe-haven, but it?s one that may surprise some: U.S. Government bonds. How is it possible that investors would want the debt of the nation they believe has a national debt that's too high?

Stock index futures surged on Tuesday, indicating a rebound from the previous session's nosedive as investors looked to a Federal Reserve statement for clues on how it may combat a market meltdown linked to fears of a new recession.