IBT Staff Reporter

The Federal Reserve is likely to hold off offering the economy fresh stimulus at a meeting on Tuesday as it weighs encouraging signs on the recovery against risks coming from Europe.

Retail sales rose less than expected in November as a drop in receipts for food and beverages weighed against stronger sales of motor vehicles, tempering some of the expectations of a strong holiday shopping season.

Best Buy Co's quarterly profit missed Wall Street estimates as bigger discounts during the holiday season squeezed margins at the world's largest electronics chain, and its shares fell 9 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Apple Inc is in talks to buy Israel's Anobit, a maker of flash storage technology, for as much as $500 million, according to a report published on Tuesday.

Olympus ex-CEO Michael Woodford said on Tuesday that he has a realistic chance of winning a battle for control of the scandal-hit company and that he had the support of two major shareholders.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday following an equities selloff the day before, but anxiety over Europe's debt crisis was seen keeping markets jittery ahead of the Federal Reserve's assessment of the U.S. economy.

Newt Gingrich has said a lot of outrageous things in his time, and he is proud of it: early in his congressional career, he vowed to define his political opponents out of existence. Here are 10 of his most memorable -- and offensive -- quotes.

Futures pointed to a slight rebound on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.46 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.41 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.34 percent at 5:28 a.m. ET.

Futures pointed to a slight rebound on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.46 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.41 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.34 percent at 5:28 a.m. ET.

As the Department of Justice gears up for a rare criminal trial against a publicly traded company, the Taiwanese defendant wants to argue that prosecutors just don't get Asian business culture.

European stocks and the euro steadied on Tuesday after sharp sell-offs on disappointment about last week's EU summit but any gains could be short lived due to lingering concerns over credit rating downgrades and the health of the banking sector.

Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest bank to fail in U.S. history, said it reached a settlement in a dispute between shareholders and certain creditors that had prevented the bank from emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

The sell-off in European stocks and the euro eased on Tuesday but concerns the region remains a long way from solving its sovereign debt crisis was seen likely to keep the pressure on.

The sell-off in European stocks and the euro eased on Tuesday but concerns the region remains a long way from solving its sovereign debt crisis was seen likely to keep the pressure on.

Former Washington Mutual Inc executives agreed to settle a lawsuit for less than 10 percent of the $900 million originally sought by the FDIC for their role in the biggest bank failure in U.S. history, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.

Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi on Tuesday urged Europe to make further efforts to convince markets of its resolve to overcome the region's debt crisis and expressed caution about any potential Japan contribution to a rescue fund through the IMF.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc and its Indonesian workers' union expect to sign a pay deal on Tuesday to end a three-month strike that has crippled production at the world's second-biggest copper mine, two sources told Reuters.

Chinese shopping search engine Etao, a unit of Alibaba Group, aims to garner a 15-20 percent share of Chinese market traffic over the next three years, its parent said.

IFC Films is acquiring U.S. rights to The Moth Diaries, Mary Harron's adaptation of Rachel Klein's novel, the company announced Monday.

Could Alec Baldwin manage to get Liz Lemon, Tracy Jordan and Kenneth the Page tossed off of American Airlines' flights, too?

Copacabana singer Barry Manilow underwent hip repair surgery on Monday, the day after completing a seven-year run of shows in Las Vegas, his representatives said.

HTC Corp, the world's No.4 smartphone maker, has filed a criminal complaint against Citigroup Inc's Taiwan unit, alleging the bank published false information that led to a fall in HTC's share price, a Taiwan prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Japan is likely to pick Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets to replace its ageing fleet of F-4 Phantom fighters, reaffirming strong security ties with the United States, Japanese media reported on Tuesday.

Jive Software Inc priced its initial public offering at $12 per share, above its expected price range of between $8 and $10 per share, according to an underwriter.

Asian stocks sank on Tuesday and the euro languished near a two-month low as investors took fright at the prospect of mass euro zone sovereign ratings downgrades after the outcome of a last chance European Union summit failed to convince markets.

Dec 12 - Social networking. Cloud computing. Software as a service.

Medtronic Inc has agreed to pay $23.5 million to settle allegations that it paid kickbacks to doctors to encourage them to use its pacemakers and defibrillators, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday.

Apparel retailer Urban Outfitters Inc said in regulatory filing that retail segment same-store sales were up in the mid-single digits so far in the fourth quarter, sending its shares up 10 percent after the bell.

Microsoft Corp appointed a new head for its mobile phone software group on Monday, as the company continues to search for ways to extend its dominance in the PC market to the fast-growing and highly-competitive smartphone business.