A leading EU official on Tuesday urged full disclosure on how the region's banks perform in stress tests, but sources said the bloc's finance ministers remained divided on what data should be published.
Stock index futures were higher on Tuesday after better-than-expected results from Alcoa Inc and CSX Corp gave a promising start to the earnings season.
The euro pared losses on Tuesday after a smooth Greek treasury bill auction offset the negative effects of an earlier ratings downgrade on Portugal.
Greece's Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) sold 1.625 billion euros ($2.03 billion) of 6-month T-bills on Tuesday at a cheaper cost than it pays to borrow under its 110 billion euro EU/IMF rescue fund, and marking its first debt auction since the backstop was agreed in May.
A new domestic AIDS policy rolled out by the White House on Tuesday looks for new ways to educate people about the deadly and incurable virus, from social media to scientifically sound school campaigns.
Last week, Commodity Online had reported that several central banks had pawned their gold reserves to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to raise cash and this may impact the gold market in the coming days.
Stock index futures were higher on Tuesday after better-than-expected results from Alcoa Inc and CSX Corp gave a promising start to the earnings season.
The euro recovered on Tuesday after Greece successfully returned to capital markets for the first time since late April, while global equities advanced after Alcoa delivered a strong start to the earnings season.
The International Monetary Fund's chief reiterated on Tuesday that strong growth in Asia and Latin America made it unlikely that the global economy would suffer a double-dip recession.
Credit rating agencies are growing impatient with Japan's inability to tackle its ballooning public debt, a task just made more difficult by the ruling party's drubbing in upper house elections at the weekend.
The result means that Prime Minister Naoto Kan's ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority so will need help from other parties to get bills, such as on tax reform, passed.
A new domestic AIDS policy rolled out by the White House on Tuesday looks for new ways to educate people about the deadly and incurable virus, from social media to scientifically sound school campaigns.
The euro fell on Tuesday after a two-notch downgrade of Portugal's sovereign debt rating and ahead of Greece's return to capital markets for the first time since late April.
The board of American International Group is set to meet this week to consider the future of its AIA unit, with a public float seen as the most likely outcome, sources said on Tuesday.
Gold prices edged up in Asian trade Tuesday mainly on investor's buying interest after prices dropped below the psychological barrier of $1200 an ounce.
Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $ 1199.58 an ounce at 12.30 p.m Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for August delivery was at $ 1199.47 an ounce on the Comex in New York.
Asian shares surrendered early gains on Tuesday, weighed down by Chinese stocks, which slid on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon.
Japan faces political gridlock after the ruling party's poor showing in an election on Sunday, which could thwart efforts to curb a huge public debt and get the economy in shape, as well as putting Prime Minister Naoto Kan's job at risk.
Standard & Poor's rates Japan's long-term local and foreign currency debt AA, both with a negative outlook.
Oil retreated on Tuesday to stay below $75, tracking Asian equities lower and on forecasts for a seventh straight weekly gain in distillate fuel inventories at top consumer the United States.
Chinese stocks fell 2 percent on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon, curbing early gains in other Asian equity markets and tempering strong U.S. corporate earnings and forecasts for a fourth consecutive weekly fall in the nation's crude stockpiles.
The euro consolidated well below two-month peaks against the dollar on Tuesday as investors hesitated to go long on the single currency and risk large short dollar positions during the U.S. earnings season.
Gold clawed back to near $1,200 per ounce on Tuesday on light physical buying, but further gains were capped by investor caution ahead of the U.S. corporate earnings season and firmness in the dollar.
Infosys Technologies edged up its forecast on a revival in outsourcing demand from its mainstay financial clients, but its shares fell as markets worried a weak European economy could curb orders.
The board of American International Group Inc is expected to meet this week to consider the future of the insurer's Asian life business, AIA, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Chinese stocks fell 2 percent on Tuesday on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon, weighing on the Australian dollar and curbing early gains in Asian shares.
Agricultural Bank of China saw net profit rise 40 percent in the first half of the year to 46 billion yuan ($6.8 billion), the Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.
Facebook has moved to overturn a New York judge's recent order temporarily blocking any transfer of the company's assets, as the world's No.1 social networking responds to a lawsuit by a New Yorker claiming to own 84 percent of the company.
Aon Corp will spend $4.9 billion to buy Hewitt Associates Inc , in an aggressive bid to leapfrog archrival Marsh and McLennan and create the world's largest human resource services company.
Companies that profit from market volatility, and the surge in volume that it brings, did well in the second quarter, beneficiaries of instability and uncertainty in U.S. and other markets.
The AUD has opened slightly firmer this morning after some nervousness from traders yesterday ahead of the US reporting season saw the AUD move back towards USD0.8700.
Australia's dollar fell from its highest level in almost three weeks to an intraday low near 87 cents on the back of a drop in imports of iron ore and copper by China, the nation's biggest trading partner.
Boosting credit to needy small businesses is crucial to sustain a tepid U.S. recovery but how to do so poses a difficult policy challenge, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday.
A hedge fund is taking aim at the world's biggest banks in an effort to recoup $1.2 billion it lost on subprime mortgages, entering a legal fight where so far Wall Street has largely been unscathed.
Alcoa Inc , the largest U.S. aluminum producer, posted a stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit on Monday and raised its estimate for global aluminum consumption, sending its shares up 3 percent.
