IBT Staff Reporter

Exxon Mobil Corp's profit narrowly beat expectations, as rising oil prices offset falling margins for chemicals and fuel, and production fell short of some estimates, and its shares fell almost 2 percent.

Investors have begun 2012 in a cautious mood, with U.S. and Japanese asset managers worried about the euro zone debt crisis cutting exposure to stocks and boosting bonds, while European accounts added risky assets, Reuters polls show.

The euro zone creaked under the weight of record unemployment at the end of 2011 while jobless rates in Germany fell to historic lows, putting the onus firmly on Europe's top economy to take the lead in steering the struggling region back to recovery.

CIT Group Inc , the business lender led by former Merrill Lynch Chief Executive John Thain, said fourth-quarter net income fell 59 percent, but a decline in problem loans and borrowing costs helped it beat analysts' expectations.

The U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, which has responsibility for insuring certain benefits under private defined benefit pension plans, said on Tuesday it believes American Airlines will seek to terminate employee pensions in bankruptcy.

The U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, which has responsibility for insuring certain benefits under private defined benefit pension plans, said on Tuesday it believes American Airlines will seek to terminate employee pensions in bankruptcy.

Bank of America Corp is shaking up the leadership of its investment bank as it looks to find its footing in a difficult market environment.

Apple Inc is hiring Dixons Chief Executive Officer John Browett, who drove a recent turnaround at the British electronics retailer, to lead the iPad maker's retail expansion.

Chancellor Angela Merkel cemented her political ascendancy in Europe Monday when 25 out of 27 EU states agreed to a German-inspired pact for stricter budget discipline, even as they struggled to rekindle growth from the ashes of austerity.

Home prices fell more steeply than expected in November, and consumer confidence soured in January, highlighting the hurdles still facing the economic recovery.

The two giant jars on Randolph Taylor's windowsill are filled with shards of credit cards, chopped up by the clients whose staggering indebtedness drove them to the front line of Canada's household debt crisis.

Stocks gave up early gains to turn flat on Tuesday, weighed down by mixed corporate earnings and weaker-than-expected data on Midwest business activity and consumer confidence.

Canada's economy unexpectedly shrank in November for the first time since May, setting the stage for lackluster fourth-quarter growth and a sluggish start to 2012.

European Union lawmakers are seeking to further ratchet down the fees mobile operators charge users when they travel abroad, according to a draft plan seen by Reuters, taking aim at a lucrative source of industry profit.

Competition from low-cost generic drugs squeezed quarterly profits at Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. but the drugmakers were able to somewhat weather those declines with help from other medicines.

CIT Group Inc will again stop providing loans to suppliers of Sears Holdings Corp after Tuesday as the business lender awaits more information on the retailer's financial health, two retail sources told Reuters on Monday.

EU regulators are investigating whether Samsung Electronics breached antitrust rules by accusing rivals such as Apple of infringing its technology patents, a tactic used by other companies such as Motorola Mobility.

Consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in January as more Americans worried about the country's weak job market, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

Consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in January as more Americans worried about the country's weak job market, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

Stocks opened higher on Tuesday on signs of progress in dealing with Europe's long-running sovereign debt crisis.

Euro zone unemployment has risen to its highest level since before the euro was introduced, data showed on Tuesday, a day after EU leaders promised to focus on creating millions of new jobs to try to kickstart Europe's floundering economy.

For a central bank that wants to make transparency its hallmark, the Federal Reserve's new forecast of nearly three more years of super-low rates has left room for a few doubts.

Eli Lilly & Co's quarterly profit dropped 27 percent after its top-selling Zyprexa schizophrenia treatment lost U.S. patent protection and saw competition from generic rivals.

Single-family home prices fell more than expected in November, highlighting the struggle for a sector yet to make a meaningful recovery, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

United Parcel Service posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday and forecast 9 percent to 15 percent growth this year as solid U.S. demand and growing e-commerce activity offsets an uneven global economy.

A World Trade Organisation ruling against China's restrictions on raw material exports could force changes to some of its rare earth policies but is unlikely to yield the boost in exports of the metals that consumers want to see.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, with sentiment improving on signs of progress in dealing with Europe's long-running sovereign debt crisis.

United Parcel Service said on Tuesday it expects profit to rise 9 percent to 15 percent this year, as solid U.S. demand and growing e-commerce activity offsets an uneven global economy.

Apple Inc is hiring Dixons chief executive John Browett, who drove a recent turnaround at the UK electricals retailer, to lead the iPad maker's retail expansion.