IBT Staff Reporter

The central bank's decision to provide dollar swap lines to Europe was made in the United States' best interests and not solely to benefit Europe, a top Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

Americans this month ratcheted up their expectations on inflation to the highest level in 10 months and consumer confidence waned, though the economic recovery was still seen on track.

Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook has jetted into China for talks with government officials as he seeks to clear up a pile of problems in the firm's biggest growth market, from its contested iPad trademark to treatment of local labor.

Stocks were little changed on Tuesday as momentum stalled a day after major indexes rallied to near four-year highs.

Thousands of letters, photographs and documents relating to former South African President Nelson Mandela went online on Tuesday in a project aimed at increasing access to the archives which detail his long walk to freedom.

Consumer confidence dipped in March, while Americans ratcheted up their inflation expectations to the highest level in 10 months, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

J.K. Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter novels are available for the first time in ebook format on the new website dedicated to the boy wizard adventures.

Belt tightening in the board room and the living room, deep public budget cuts and anaemic bank lending may be setting Spain up for years of economic stagnation that could eventually force it to seek a bailout.

Single-family home prices were unchanged in January, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday, suggesting the battered housing market continues to crawl along the bottom.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Tuesday as investors found little reason to keep pushing shares higher after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked a rally.

Stock index futures were flat on Tuesday as investors found little reason to keep pushing shares higher after a 1 percent rally in the previous session.

U.S. homebuilder Lennar Corp reported its sharpest rise in orders in three quarters and said it was seeing strong signs of improvement in sales activity.

Euro zone finance ministers need to impress finance markets with the size of their rescue fund for indebted countries when they meet later this week, the head of the OECD said on Tuesday, advocating the mother of all firewalls.

Workers at BHP Billiton's seven Bowen Basin coal mines in Australia will go on strike beginning Tuesday night following unproductive negotiations over work conditions with the company, the workers' union said.

Stock index futures were flat on Monday as investors found little reason to keep pushing shares higher after a 1 percent rally in the previous session.

Stock index futures were flat on Monday as investors found little reason to keep pushing shares higher after a 1 percent rally in the previous session.

An Australian court ruled in favor of global miner Xstrata on Tuesday in a case which sought to halt the company's plans to build the country's largest coal mine on the grounds that it would contribute to climate change.

Stock index futures were flat on Monday as investors found little reason to keep pushing shares higher after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked a rally.

Dow Chemical Co is challenging the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in a rare court case over expanding the research and development tax credit to cover the costs of supplies used to improve the ways existing products are made.

Most of the world is interconnected thanks to email and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a new poll released on Tuesday.

The euro zone's public debt crisis is not over despite calmer financial markets this year, the OECD said on Tuesday, with a warning that the bloc's banks remain weak, debt levels are still rising and fiscal targets are far from assured.

Angry Birds maker Rovio said on Tuesday it had bought Futuremark Games Studio, the gaming arm of Finnish benchmarking software firm Futuremark, for an undisclosed sum.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.25 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.29 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.36 percent at 0920 GMT.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.25 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.29 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.36 percent at 0920 GMT.

The president of Tokyo-based money manager AIJ Investment Advisors admitted to Japanese lawmakers on Tuesday to covering up losses of $1.3 billion in clients' pension money, but said he had no intention of cheating his clients.

Apple's hot-selling new iPad hit a hurdle in Australia on Tuesday as the country's consumer affairs regulator accused the company of misleading promotions.

Sony Corp CEO Kazuo Hirai signaled his determination to turn around the group's ailing TV business by keeping direct charge of the division, as the Japanese brand fights to regain ground against rivals such as Apple.

Sharp Corp <6753.T> will announce a tie-up with Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry <2317.TW> on Tuesday that would include the sale of part of its loss-making major factory in western Japan, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Australia's consumer affairs regulator on Tuesday said it will file a motion with an Australian court against Apple Inc charging that it is misleading consumers with its promotion for its new iPad.