IBT Staff Reporter

JPMorgan Chase & Co has been sued for $95 million by the trustee for securities marketed in 2005 by the former Bear Stearns Cos over alleged misrepresentations regarding the underlying mortgage loans.

Investment bank JPMorgan upgraded its recommendation for Cisco Systems to overweight and raised its price target for the network equipment maker on expectations of a rebound in public sector spending and improved margins in 2012.

Manufacturing activity picked up nationwide in December, with new orders and employment improving, according to a national survey of purchasing managers.

Research In Motion is on the verge of stripping its co-chief executives of their other shared role as chairman of the board, a Canadian newspaper reported on Tuesday, raising hopes among investors in the struggling BlackBerry maker.

Devon Energy Corp said on Tuesday China's Sinopec <0386.HK> will invest $2.2 billion for a third of the U.S. oil and natural gas producer's interest in five developing fields as part of a long-term partnership.

Wall Street stocks kicked off 2012 with a sharp rally on Tuesday after data showed U.S. manufacturing activity and construction spending picked up, signaling the economic recovery was gaining steam.

The Madison Square Garden Company and Time Warner Cable spat may go on for a while after MSG Networks was pulled from the New York-based cable company's lineup Sunday after the two parties failed to come to an agreement on how much Time Warner Cable would pay for MSG services.

Sears Holdings Corp named former Brookstone Inc chief executive Ron Boire as its chief merchandising officer as it tries to tackle criticism that it did not have enough executives with retail experience to turn around the struggling chain.

Manufacturing grew at the fastest pace in six months in December, capping a late-year rally in the sector, while a rise in new orders suggested good momentum in 2012, an industry report showed on Tuesday.

Construction spending surged to a near 1-1/2 year high in November as investment in public and private projects rose solidly, cementing expectations of

Billionaire hedge fund manager Philip Falcone's LightSquared Inc on Tuesday named telecommunications veteran Marc Montagner as chief financial officer, replacing Michael Montemarano.

Pressure grew on Hungary to change its policies to satisfy international lenders on Tuesday after bond yields jumped above 10 percent and the European Commission told the government to safeguard the central bank's independence.

Shares of Mead Johnson rose over 5 percent before the bell on Tuesday, after U.S. health officials said on Friday that the company's sealed cans of Enfamil baby formula were clear from a potentially deadly bacteria.

Wall Street stocks kicked off 2012 with a sharp rally on Tuesday after data showed U.S. manufacturing activity and construction spending picked up, signaling the economic recovery was gaining steam.

BP has opened 2012 with a new legal move in its battle to force contractor Halliburton to help pay the costs and expenses it incurred to clean up the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which the oil major previously put at around $42 billion.

Stocks slightly added to their sharp gains on Tuesday, with both the Dow and S&P advancing two percent after data on construction spending and manufacturing came in higher than expected.

U.S. semiconductor stocks are in for a volatile 2012 as inventory correction extends into the first quarter, and an industry recovery due only in the second half, Barclays Capital said and downgraded five stocks, including Intel Corp.

Wall Street stocks were set for a sharply higher open on Tuesday as upbeat Chinese and German data boosted optimism about the global economy after the S&P 500 index ended flat in 2011.

French oil group Total SA is ploughing $2.3 billion into the development of U.S. shale gas reserves in Ohio in the latest example of global energy companies piling into new energy sources made economic by the high price of crude.

Stock index futures rose sharply on Tuesday as upbeat Chinese and German data boosted optimism about the global economy after the S&P 500 index ended flat in 2011.

Food prices may ease in 2012 due to a slowing global economy, though no drastic drop from high levels is expected, the new director-general of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Tuesday.

BP has called on contractor Halliburton to pay all costs and expenses it incurred to clean up the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which the oil major previously put at around $42 billion.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday as investors returned to the market optimistic about the global economy after Wall Street ended flat in 2011.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones futures and Nasdaq 100 futures up 1.1 to 1.9 percent at 6 a.m. EST.

Banks cut their intake of one-week European Central Bank funding by just under 15 billion euros on Tuesday, as they continued to readjust their borrowing needs having recently gorged themselves on the ECB's first ever offering of three-year cash.

Oil major Total SA signed a $2.3 billion deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp and EnerVest, continuing a trend of European and Asian oil and gas companies buying into U.S. shale plays.

Policymakers marked the 10th anniversary on Sunday of the introduction of euro notes and coins by urging governments in the currency bloc to save and consolidate to overcome their debt crisis.

Computer hackers published details of thousands of active Israeli credit cards after breaking into Israeli websites, the chief executive of Israel's largest card company said Tuesday.

Resilience in the manufacturing sector and a surprise drop in German unemployment lifted global stocks and the euro on Tuesday but positive sentiment is seen vulnerable to a daunting schedule of first quarter debt issuance in Europe.