IBT Staff Reporter

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn went hostile with his $1.73 billion bid to buy Commercial Metals Co on Tuesday, a day after the metals recycler rejected his buy-out attempt.

Stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday as cautious investors continued to digest the S&P's recent downgrade warning for the euro zone.

For most brokerages, the question is not whether to cut their price targets for Research In Motion but by how much.

Normally, when people confront her on gay rights, Michele Bachmann has a response ready. But when an 8-year-old boy approached her at a book signing in South Carolina, Bachmann was stumped.

The value of Canadian building permits unexpectedly soared by 11.9 percent in October from September, as strength in the populous province of Ontario helped end three consecutive monthly falls, Statscan data indicated on Tuesday.

If I didn't know better I'd say that Disney slipped someone over at Fox Business Channel something to go on a rant against its hit movie, The Muppets.

Please not strong language in the third paragraph.

The Bank of Canada kept its overnight interest rate at 1 percent on Tuesday, as expected, and gave no suggestion of an impending rate cut even though its view of the European debt crisis has clearly darkened.

Angelina Jolie's directorial debut is continuing to create headaches for her.

Susan Lyne, chairman of Gilt Groupe, Inc. and former president of ABC Entertainment, talked about learning from failure and adjusting to digital realities during TheWrap's third-annual Power Women breakfast Monday morning at the Hotel Bel-Air.

An independent panel issued a damning report on a $1.7 billion accounting scandal at Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp on Tuesday, urging legal action against rotten executives responsible for the cover-up and the replacement of other board members.

David Beckham has ruled out management as a post-playing career, saying he did not enjoy his time as an assistant to England manager Fabio Capello at last year's World Cup.

The Dutch competition authority raided the offices of mobile operators KPN, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom's T-mobile on Tuesday in a price-fixing investigation.

First, it was the Catholic Church. Then Penn State. Now, a new child-abuse scandal in Hollywood is raising questions over the safety of minors in the entertainment business and sparking calls for new child-labor regulations.

If some Christian groups get their way, Johnny Depp will end up with a lump of coal in his stocking this Christmas.

U.S. stocks were little changed in choppy trading on Tuesday, with cautious investors hoping S&P's downgrade warning for euro zone nations would lead to tighter budget rules at a summit this week.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle has endorsed Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination, calling him the only candidate who meets all the criteria for the job: leadership, character, conservative philosophy and electability.

A threat by Standard & Poors to slash credit ratings across the euro zone sounded a clarion call on Tuesday, which could help Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel force through a change to the European Union treaty at a summit this week.

Charter Communications CEO Michael Lovett said the St. Louis-based cable company may be interested in forging an agreement with Verizon Wireless, according to Bloomberg. No other details were released regarding the plan.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit from greater margins, but its chief financial officer said real improvement will not occur until U.S. home buying rebounds.

Newt Gingrich continues to increase his support among likely Republican voters in early primary states, according to two new polls released Tuesday. He leads Mitt Romney by 15 percent in Iowa and by 17 percent in South Carolina.

Stocks were little changed in choppy trading on Tuesday, with cautious investors hoping S&P's downgrade warning for the euro zone would help force budget changes at a European Union summit this week.

The European Commission is investigating whether e-book publishers owned by Lagardere, Pearson Plc, News Corp. and two other firms may have colluded with Apple to block rivals via their pricing deals.

Retailers are generally optimistic about their holiday performance so far, although shaky economic conditions could change things quickly, the chief executive officer of American Express Co said on Tuesday.

Stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Tuesday as investors hoped S&P's downgrade warning for the Eurozone would help force budget changes at a European Union summit this week.

The world's largest iron-ore vessel is disabled and could sink in a port where Brazil's Vale, the world top producer, loads about 10 percent of global supplies of the commodity, shipping agents and the ship's operator said.

Home prices fell in October for the third month in a row with growth in the beleaguered sector expected to remain flat for years to come, data analysis firm CoreLogic Inc said on Tuesday.

Stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Tuesday as investors hoped S&P's downgrade warning for the euro zone would help force budget changes at a European Union summit this week.

Same bed, different dreams.Since the inception of the euro, France and Germany have pursued divergent visions of European economic and monetary union. In two decades, the French have become a little more German, the Germans a little more French. But the gulf remains.