IBT Staff Reporter

Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Tuesday gave an impassioned defense of free trade as Mexico waits for the United States and others to decide whether it will be allowed to join talks on a trade pact in the Asia-Pacific region.

General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said people may be disappointed in the adoption of the electric vehicle but his company will continue investing in battery technology to reflect its confidence in an eventual uptick.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after strong earnings from big manufacturers and AT&T, but gains were capped on Nasdaq ahead of results from Apple and after a downbeat forecast from Netflix.

China is still friendly with North Korea, despite the latter being roundly condemned by the international community. History plays a role, but Beijing is getting something out of it too - just how much, though, remains to be seen.

Consumer confidence edged slightly lower in April, while Americans also reined in their inflation expectations after a surge in the previous month, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

Single-family home prices rose for the first time in 10 months, in an encouraging sign the battered sector is starting to stabilize, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.

The housing market is seeing hints of stabilization even as it struggles to gain traction, data showed on Tuesday, as home prices rose for the first time in 10 months in February while sales dropped in March.

New single-family home sales dropped in March to their lowest level in four months, but the reading still beat analysts' expectations as the government said sales in prior months were higher than initially thought.

AT&T Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as iPhone sales declined, reducing the amount of cash it had to pay Apple Inc and boosting its margins.

Wall Street edged higher at the open on Tuesday although continued concerns about Europe's debt crisis capped gains as earnings from AT&T and 3M boosted the Dow.

Fitch Ratings upgraded Ford Motor Co to investment grade on Tuesday, marking a key step that brings the second-largest U.S. automaker closer to reclaiming its Blue Oval trademark.

Wall Street was set to struggle at the open on Tuesday after sharp losses in the previous session and on continued concerns about Europe's debt crisis.

AT&T Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as iPhone sales declined, reducing the amount of cash it had to pay Apple Inc and boosting its margins.

Stock index futures crept higher on Tuesday after sharp losses in the previous session but continued concerns about Europe's debt crisis could mean gains are short lived.

Stock index futures crept higher on Tuesday after sharp losses in the previous session but continued concerns about Europe's debt crisis could mean gains will be slight.

3M Co reported an increase in quarterly profit and slightly lifted its full-year outlook on Tuesday, exceeding analyst expectations even as the closely watched display and graphics business continued to struggle and Asia sales declined.

PSA Peugeot Citroen said it may build cars in India with General Motors , its new global alliance partner, effectively scrapping a planned 650 million euro ($850 million) investment in its own factory.

Hershey Co posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by price increases, and raised its full-year outlook, sending the candy maker's shares up more than 3 percent.

PSA Peugeot Citroen said it may build cars in India with General Motors , its new global alliance partner, effectively scrapping a planned 650 million euro ($850 million) investment in its own factory.

AT&T Inc reported a higher quarterly profit, driven by a rise in wireless margins, as it had to shell out less in subsidies to Apple Inc because it sold fewer iPhones in the quarter.

Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> is proving that being late to the party in China doesn't have to be a handicap, and is poised to widen its lead among Japanese automakers in the world's biggest car market with speedy and aggressive expansion plans.

Hong Kong's anti-graft agency is looking into payments totaling more than U.S. $2.5 million to a former top public servant as part of the city's corruption investigation involving two billionaire brothers who run Asia's largest property developer.

Stock index futures crept higher on Tuesday after sharp market losses in the previous session but continued concerns about Europe's debt crisis could mean gains will be slight.

Fitch Ratings downgraded its credit rating on Nokia Oyj to junk status and said the outlook remained negative, as the Finnish handset maker's dwindling market share starts to strain its cash position.

JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday named Jeff Urwin as its new chief executive Asia Pacific, taking over from Gaby Abdelnour who announced in March that he will be leaving the firm.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.37 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.35 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.48 percent at 4:35 a.m. EDT.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.37 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.35 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.48 percent at 4:35 a.m. EDT.

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp said on Tuesday it sees a 55 percent jump in revenue in the second quarter from the previous three months, matching forecasts, while margins will also improve.

The Bank of Japan is likely to ease monetary policy on Friday by boosting asset purchases by up to 10 trillion yen ($123 billion) and in doing so may extend the maturity of government bonds it targets to around three years, according to sources familiar with the central bank's thinking.