IBT Staff Reporter

Industrial output was flat for a second straight month in March, held back by a drop in manufacturing, according to a Federal Reserve report on Tuesday that suggested a cooling in factory activity.

Groundbreaking on homes fell unexpectedly in March but permits for future construction rose to their highest level in 3-1/2 years, giving a mixed message for one of the economy's weaker sectors.

Bank of America Corp is under contract to sell a downtown Manhattan office building and lease it back, as the big bank continues to shed properties from its balance sheet.

Global growth is slowly improving as recovery in the United States gains traction and dangers from Europe recede, but risks remain elevated and the gains are very fragile, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

Stocks were set for a higher open on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 looking to snap a two-day drop, as investors focus on a slew of corporate results and a decline in borrowing costs for Spain.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings thanks to aggressive cost-cutting and strong investment banking and trading revenues, and the Wall Street bank raised its dividend.

Johnson & Johnson reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings but global company revenue fell slightly on anemic sales of medical devices and consumer medicines -- businesses that have been hit by costly recalls in the past two years.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday, indicating the S&P 500 may snap a two-day drop, as investors focus on a slew of corporate results and a drop in borrowing costs for Spain.

A group calling itself Raise Your Voice hacked into 15 Lebanese government websites on Tuesday, demanding an improvement in living standards and an end to widespread electricity and water shortages.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday, indicating the S&P 500 may snap a two-day drop, as investors focus on a slew of corporate earnings and Spanish bond yields dip.

Playtech, the world's biggest provider of online gaming software, plans a string of acquisitions as it branches out into the social gaming market but news that it will be buying the businesses from its main shareholder unnerved investors.

Yahoo Inc hired PayPal's former head of products to help oversee its newly-formed commerce group, as the Web pioneer looks for new ways to reignite growth.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez unveiled plans on Monday to seize control of leading energy company YPF, drawing swift warnings from key trade partners and risking the country's further economic isolation.

China bagged foreign direct investment at a record-setting pace in the first three months of 2012, but an easing in its monthly momentum and a difficult trade outlook will keep monetary policy poised to compensate for any dip in capital inflows.

Japan said on Tuesday it will provide $60 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund, becoming the first non-European nation to commit money to boost the fund's financial firepower to contain the euro zone debt crisis.

Shares of HTC Corp fell as much as 6 percent on Tuesday after a change in its chief financial officer and the imminent launch of a new phone by arch rival Samsung Electronics raised concerns over the Taiwanese firm's recovery.

The International Monetary Fund hopes to gain governments' agreement this week to raise its funds by more than $400 billion, around two thirds of the amount it said it would need three months ago, fund managing director Christine Lagarde signaled on Tuesday.

Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who became one of the world's richest men by creating a casino empire in Las Vegas and Macau, is doubling down on his bets in Asia, the hottest gambling market on the planet where his Singapore operation made $1 billion the first year it was opened.

The Dow rose on Monday as robust U.S. retail sales data helped large-cap consumer stocks, but a 4 percent slide in Apple hurt the Nasdaq.

Asian shares and the euro fell on Tuesday, as surging Spanish borrowing costs underscored the fading impact of the European Central Bank's bond purchases and stoked investor nervousness over euro zone debt woes, sapping their risk appetite.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde hopes to gain broad consensus on a more than $400 billion rise in the fund's firepower this week, an Italian newspaper on Tuesday quoted her as saying, though it may take some time to gain final commitments.

An Oracle attorney cited emails between top executives at Google as prime evidence that Google took its intellectual property to gain an edge in the lucrative smartphone market, at the start of a high stakes trial between the two tech giants.

China is at a promising moment for speeding up interest rate and exchange rate reforms, the central bank's statistics department said in a report published Tuesday, following the latest move to make the Chinese currency more flexible.

Americans shrugged off high gasoline prices in March and spent more strongly than expected, suggesting economic growth in the first quarter was probably not as weak as many had feared.

Japan said on Tuesday it will provide $60 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund, becoming the first non-European nation to commit money to boost the fund's financial firepower to contain the euro zone debt crisis.

A unit of Toshiba Corp is in talks to buy IBM Corp's point-of-sale terminal business, which includes cash registers, a source familiar with the deal said on Tuesday.

Two top Federal Reserve officials pointed on Monday to last month's surprisingly weak jobs report as all the more reason to take a wait-and-see approach to a U.S. economy that, in general, is improving.

The World Bank on Monday chose Korean-born American health expert Jim Yong Kim as its new president, maintaining Washington's grip on the job and leaving developing countries frustrated with the selection process.

Five years ago, Justin Edmund arrived at Carnegie Mellon University, a floppy-haired freshman, with artistic talent and dreams of joining a venerable design firm like IDEO or Frog. But during his sophomore year, a recruiting pitch from a Facebook employee turned his head, and prompted a detour of his ambitions.