MARKETS / FINANCE

The United States stepped back from the brink of default on Tuesday but congressional approval of a last-ditch deficit-cutting plan failed to dispel fears of a credit downgrade and future tax and spending feuds.

Smith Micro Software posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as revenue almost halved, and forecast weak third-quarter sales, sending its shares down 12 percent after hours.

MetroPCS Communications Inc lost more than a third of its market value on Tuesday after it reported quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street expectations and warned that already-weak second-quarter subscriber numbers would worsen in the current quarter.

Chipmaker Cavium Inc posted a quarterly profit above market estimates, helped by strong growth in its broadband and consumer business, but forecast weaker-than-expected third-quarter revenue, sending its shares down 10 percent after hours.

Moody's Investors Service said it had confirmed the United States' triple-A rating but assigned it a negative outlook after lawmakers passed a deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and reduce the deficit.

The Swiss franc held hefty gains in Asia on Wednesday, having rocketed to record highs as investors scrambled for a safe haven on renewed tensions in the euro zone debt market and worries about a global slowdown.

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday confirmed its Aaa rating of the United States, citing the decision to raise the debt limit, but assigned a negative outlook that could pressure lawmakers to cut the U.S. deficit.

State governments would have to identify persons forming corporations under legislation that was reintroduced on Tuesday in the Senate, taking aim at shadowy shell companies and anonymous corporate owners.

The S&P 500 turned negative for the year on Tuesday as the wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling faded and investors turned their attention to the stalling economy.

Consumer spending dropped in June for the first time in nearly two years and incomes barely rose, signs the economy lacked momentum as the second quarter drew to a close.

JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS AG , emboldened by a favorable court ruling, urged a federal judge to throw out many claims by the bankruptcy trustee seeking billions of dollars for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

Pressure will build among Federal Reserve policymakers at a meeting next week for measures to pep up a stumbling recovery with a stronger commitment to rock-bottom interest rates.

Just hours ahead of a deadline to avert an unprecedented U.S. default, Congress approves a bill that raises the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling and sets in motion a plan to reduce U.S. deficits over 10 years.

Financial market pressure on Italy intensified on Tuesday, sucking Europe's second biggest debtor nation deeper into the euro area danger zone and prompting emergency consultations in Rome and among European capitals.

Google faces a total of nine antitrust complaints which EU regulators are now investigating, two sources said on Tuesday, as rivals ramped up the pressure on the world No. 1 search engine.

Stocks dropped on Tuesday as worries about the health of the global economy and a possible downgrade for U.S. debt sent the S&P 500 crashing through key technical levels in an ominous sign for markets.

MetroPCS Communications Inc lost about a third of its market value on Tuesday after it reported quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street expectations and warned that already-weak second-quarter subscriber numbers would worsen in the current quarter.

Congress buried the specter of a U.S. debt default by finally passing a deficit-cutting package on Tuesday, but uncertainties lingered over a possible painful downgrade of the top-notch American credit rating.

Stocks dropped on Tuesday on worries about a possible downgrade of the United States' top credit rating and signs of economic weakness even as Congress passed a bill to avoid a debt default.

Here is a rundown of the final actions in Congress on Tuesday as lawmakers try to rush to the White House a deficit reduction deal that also will raise the $14.3 trillion limit on U.S. government borrowing.

The Senate Tuesday easily passed the debt deal bill, 76-24, and immediately sent it to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it very soon. When the president does, the world's largest and most-technologically advanced economy will have averted a credit market-constraining default and ended a bitter political chapter.

Italian authorities will meet on Tuesday to discuss growing market turmoil that has sent borrowing costs spiraling to dangerous levels and threatened to drag Italy into full-scale crisis.

Stocks declined on Tuesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its longest down streak since October 2008, on worries over the United States' debt and economic outlook.

The European Commission is now investigating a total of nine antitrust complaints against Internet search engine giant Google, two sources said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK For an extra $25 per year, fans of Electronic Arts sports titles will be able to download video games three days before they hit stores, a move that should boost EA's digital sales.

Congress was poised on Tuesday to grant final approval to a deficit-cutting package that will avert a debt default but may not be enough to prevent a damaging downgrade of the top-notch American credit rating.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as investors fretted about a possible credit downgrade amid concerns that economic growth could remain subdued.

Consumer spending unexpectedly fell in June to post the first decline in nearly two years as incomes barely rose, a government report showed, suggesting economic growth could remain subdued in the third quarter.

Consumer spending dropped in June for the first time in nearly two years and incomes barely rose, signs the economy lacked momentum as the second quarter drew to a close.