IBT Staff Reporter

Groupon Inc shares fell more than 6 percent on Tuesday on concern the company may not have as many daily deals to offer due to some merchants pulling back.

South Korea said on Wednesday it had approved a plan by Samsung Electronics Co to build a flash memory chip plant in China seen costing some $4 billion, as a boom in smartphones and tablet computers fuels the chip industry's growth.

As the 2012 Republican primary season kicked off with the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday, the International Business Times spoke with Costas Panagopoulos, a political scientist at Fordham University in New York, about who will win and the consequences of various outcomes.

Jamie Chandler, a political scientist at Hunter College in New York, spoke with the International Business Times about who will win in Iowa, who will drop out afterward and what various outcomes would mean as the primary season continues.

Rambus Inc raised its fourth-quarter revenue outlook, despite losing a major lawsuit late last year, sending its shares up 10 percent in early trading Tuesday.

When top U.S. retailers post their December sales this week, Wall Street analysts expect them to report a healthy end to the holiday season, helped by discounts, improved consumer sentiment and tactics such as extended hours and layaways.

U.S. regulators have only met roughly a quarter of pre-2012 deadlines included in the controversial Dodd-Frank financial reform law, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The world's largest bond fund had $1.4 billion in outflows in December, according to fund analytics firm Morningstar.

AT&T Inc has agreed to pay TiVo Inc a minimum of $215 million and additional monthly licensing fees to settle a patent infringement litigations case, sending shares in TiVo up 15 percent in afterhours trade.

The world's largest bond fund had $1.4 billion in outflows in December, according to fund analytics firm Morningstar.

Starbucks Corp raised prices by an average of about 1 percent in the U.S. Northeast and Sunbelt on Tuesday, making coffee-drinkers spend more in New York, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, Albuquerque and other cities.

Shares of Micron Technology Inc jumped as much as 11 percent on a report that one its biggest competitors, Elpida Memory, may merge with Toshiba Corp, in a sign of consolidation in an industry hurt by cut-throat competition.

Oil prices rose more than 4 percent on Tuesday as geopolitical tension between Iran and the West reinforced fears about potential supply disruptions, while strong Chinese and U.S. economic data fueled optimism about global demand to start 2012 trading.

Oil prices surged on Tuesday, with U.S. crude hitting the highest settlement since May, fueled by strong economic data from the United States and China and mounting concern about supply disruption from Iran.

Research In Motion is close to a decision on stripping its co-chief executives of their other shared role as chairman of the board, a newspaper said on Tuesday, a change that could meet a key demand from angry and disillusioned investors.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' new chief executive is set to shift the company's focus to branded drugs from generics as he imports a successful strategy of making mid-sized deals from Bristol-Myers Squibb .

Hoping for something better than 2011's flat stock market, U.S. investors pushed shares higher on Tuesday to begin the new year, though questions remain about whether a rally can be sustained.

When it comes to the Iowa caucuses, who loses is almost as important as who wins. Iowa doesn't often vote for the eventual nominee, but it does tend to weed out non-viable candidates. Who will be weeded out tonight?

The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank promoted its information technology chief to the bank's No. 2 post under the institution's new president, Esther George.

According to a survey of approximately 400 merchants who have worked with daily deal sites, 52 percent say they have no plans to feature deals in the next six months.

Wall Street stocks kicked off 2012 with a rally on Tuesday after construction and factory data signaled the U.S. economic recovery was gaining steam.

Research In Motion is close to a decision on stripping its co-chief executives of their other shared role as chairman of the board, a newspaper said on Tuesday, a change that could meet a key demand from angry and disillusioned investors.

Manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in six months in December, capping a late-year upswing, but a European slump and rising oil prices posed threats to the U.S. economy in the new year.

Manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in six months in December, capping a late-year upswing, but a European slump and rising oil prices posed threats to the U.S. economy in the new year.

Shares of Micron Technology Inc climbed as much as 11 percent after Barclays Capital raised the chip devices maker's stock to overweight, even as the brokerage downgraded five other stocks from the sector, including Intel Corp.

The board of UniCredit , Italy's biggest bank by assets, will discuss on Wednesday the terms of a 7.5 billion euro capital increase aimed at shoring up its financial strength, a source close to the bank told Reuters.

More than 10 million Facebook users play glitzy Diamond Dash each month, according to developer Wooga, making it one of the most popular games on the social networking site.

The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday it will begin issuing later this month policymaker forecasts for its benchmark interest rate and when officials expect the first rate rise to occur.

3M Co will expand its office supplies business with the $550 million cash purchase of Avery Dennison Corp's office and consumer products unit, which includes Avery labels and HI-LITERS markers, the companies said on Tuesday.