IBT Staff Reporter

AOL Inc reported a surprise second-quarter loss on Tuesday, citing weaker-than-expected advertising growth that sent shares of the company plummeting as much as 20 percent on Tuesday.

The Consumer Reports Index, which tracks the financial optimism of Americans, plunged more than five points to 43.4 this month, the lowest in two years.

Perseid meteor shower, an annual display of shooting stars in Northern Hemisphere, is nearing its peak time of 2011. Tonight, however, may be the time when the Perseids are most visible to the naked eye.

The trillions of dollars that have been lost on markets recently are "market noise" that should not sidetrack fundamental work on expanding trade and jobs, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday.

Standard & Poor's is more concerned that a slower economy, sovereign debt issues and mortgage risks will depress U.S. bank industry profits and credit quality, the ratings agency said on Tuesday.

Stocks rebounded sharply on Tuesday after a major sell-off, but markets remained vulnerable to selling if the Federal Reserve fails to ease fears of a double-dip recession.

A new study from ViaForensics uncovered how most apps on iOS and Android don't properly protect consumer data.

Worries of more government intervention in European and U.S. debt crises lifted gold early on Tuesday to a record near $1,800, but bullion pared gains as the battered stock market bounced higher.

Demand for personal navigation devices , the must-have gadget of recent years, is declining as traffic and mapping functions become almost standard in cars and mobiles, forcing Garmin Ltd and Dutch rival TomTom NV to find new revenue drivers to get profits back on course.

Much of the current rioting and looting in London for the past three days has been coordinated not just via Facebook and Twitter, but also via BlackBerry smartphones that use encrypted communications, according to British authorities.

In a sign of the harm that tumbling markets are doing to the global economy, calls multiplied on Tuesday for a concerted campaign of bold policy-making to stop the rot.

The Tribune Co., one of the largest newspaper publishers in the U.S., is working on a tablet computer of its own to offer its subscribers, CNN reported, citing interviews with more than half a dozen current and former Tribune employees.

OPEC, source of more than a third of the world's oil, cut its forecast for global oil demand growth this year as a worsening economic outlook curbs consumption in developed economies.

Tuesday morning, two cars of an NJ Transit derailed as it was leaving Penn Station in New York City. Commuters are experiencing extended delays, and are encouraged to take PATH trains from Hoboken to the city.

Gold hit a record high on Tuesday in its biggest three-day rally since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, as investor fears over the threat to the global economy from the European and U.S. debt crises hit assets seen as higher risk.

Stocks climbed on Tuesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for only its second advance in the past 12 sessions, but markets remained susceptible to selling if the Federal Reserve fails to ease fears of a double-dip recession.

Ivory Coast's finances are in much better shape than authorities were predicting when it emerged from civil war in April, and with tax revenues beating forecasts, there is no doubting it can pay defaulted external debt by early next year.

Apple has released Lion Recovery Disk Assistant for beleaguered OS X Lion users, allowing them to create recovery partitions on external drives. Previously anyone who had purchased the Lion upgrade through the Mac App Store would be forced to reinstall and update Snow Leopard before they could reinstall Lion if disaster struck, forcing them to replace the hard disk.

U.S. firm, AgriSol Energy LLC, and its joint venture partner in Tanzania will invest more than $100 million over the next 10 years to develop a large-scale commercial farming project in the east African country, a company director said on Tuesday.

Sudan has granted its main ally and oil buyer China more oil exploration rights as both countries seek to boost ties, Sudan's foreign minister said.

The seemingly endless debate over the seemingly unanswerable question about nature versus nurture when it comes to intelligence may be solved, findings published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry revealed. The study found that genetic and environmental factors both play a role in determining intelligence.

Libyan officials said on Tuesday dozens of civilians had been killed in a NATO strike on a cluster of farmhouses east of Tripoli, but the alliance said it hit a legitimate military target.

Emma Stone is definitely on the rise and we await great things from Hollywood's hottest ticket.One might wonder how she remains so humble? She says she remains level-headed thanks to help from her friends and family who never pump her ego. Her parents are very proud of her and would be happy regardless of the level of success Stone reaches.

Russia has secured Nokia's backing of its GLONASS satellite navigation system, a major step forward for the country's technology toward securing the number two global position after GPS.

At this year's DefCon hacking conference, kids were given the chance to play and learn. One 10-year old impressed all by hacking a popular social game.

Sunday night, teens across the country were able to watch their favorite stars gather for the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles. Stars, from the big screen, singers, models, and TV stars gathered for a night of awards and fierce fashion! Among the cluster of stars were Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Taylor Lautner, Fergie, Jason Derulo, Rupert Grint, and many, many more!

Following three nights of rioting and looting in London, some police, politicians and media organizations singled out Blackberry's messaging network as being a useful aid for UK troublemakers.

World stocks recovered after their 10th straight day of declines on Tuesday as Wall Street managed to put a brake on losses for the time being, with investors turning their attention to a meeting of the Federal Reserve.

Italy's opposition accused Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday of surrendering sovereignty to the European Central Bank after he pledged to speed up reforms in return for help in facing a growing market crisis.