IBT Staff Reporter

Wide differences between rich and poor countries may frustrate France's hope of taking a bold step toward stabilizing the global economy at a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting this week.

EBay Inc said on Tuesday that its mobile shopping application would be pre-loaded onto smartphones sold by Telefonica's 02 unit in the United Kingdom.

Nvidia has given Wall Street one of its best comeback stories in years and has been rewarded with a hefty share rally, but some investors now question how long its new lead in mobile chips will last.

Tottenham Hotspur stunned AC Milan at the San Siro with a memorable 1-0 victory, thanks to Peter Crouch's 80th minute goal in the first-leg of the Champions League last-16 round, while Raul scored his 71st goal to earn Schalke a 1-1 draw at Valencia.

Sanofi-Aventis SA has agreed in principle to acquire Genzyme Corp for $19.2 billion in cash plus future payments based on the performance of an experimental Genzyme drug, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks.

Dell Inc's quarterly earnings and margins blew past Wall Street's expectations as component costs slid and corporations replaced aging technology, propelling its shares 6 percent higher.

The head of Fannie Mae and his firm's government overseer on Tuesday defended the use of millions of taxpayer dollars to pay legal bills for former executives accused of fraud.

BHP Billiton , the world's biggest miner, bowed to investors with plans to hand back $10 billion and pour money into expansions rather than chase ambitious takeovers, after nearly doubling its first-half profit to a record.

China, Syria and others face a dictator's dilemma over Internet control and risk being left behind as the rest of the world embraces new technologies, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.

It was revealed Monday that Taylor Swift's song Enchanted off her latest album Speak Now was directed to Owl City frontman Adam Young. It may have taken him a while, but Young responded to Swift's song on Valentine's Day. .

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday the United States needs to put its massive pension program on a sounder footing but vowed to reject efforts to slash Social Security benefits and subject them to the whims of the stock market.

Dell Inc's quarterly earnings and margins blew past Wall Street expectations as component costs slid and corporations replaced aging technology, propelling its shares 6 percent higher.

Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday, weighed by energy and technology shares after a batch of lackluster economic data.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday the country needs to put its massive pension program on a sounder footing but rejected plans that would slash pension benefits and subject them to the whims of the stock market.

Lara Logan, CBS chief foreign affairs correspondent, was sexually assaulted and beaten in Egypt the network said in a statement.

Dell Inc's quarterly earnings and margins blew past Wall Street's expectations as component costs slid and corporations replaced aging technology, propelling its shares 6 percent higher.

President Barack Obama on awarded the Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian honor the U.S. government can give - to 15 recipients.

BHP Billiton , the world's biggest miner, bowed to investors with plans to hand back $10 billion through an expanded share buyback after nearly doubling its first-half profit to a record on booming iron ore and copper prices.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday the United States needs to shore up its massive pension program without slashing Social Security benefits or subjecting them to the whims of the stock market.

Deutsche Boerse agreed to buy NYSE Euronext for $10.2 billion in a politically charged deal that would create the world's largest exchange operator and put it under German control.

South African police fired rubber bullets, live rounds and tear gas on Tuesday at demonstrators protesting against the government's delivery of basic housing and education.

Anyone wondering how veteran President Hosni Mubarak lost touch with Egyptian reality needs look no further than this Red Sea resort, where he took refuge after his overthrow last week by a popular uprising.

Morocco said Algeria and the Polisario Front, which wants independence for Western Sahara, may use political upheavals sweeping some countries in the Arab world to stir unrest in the disputed desert region.

Arafa Holding, Egypt's biggest garment exporter, has closed its factories in Tenth of Ramadan City till February 17 due to labour strikes, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday.

Tanzania has extended nationwide power rationing after a prolonged drought led to a 230 megawatt (MW) deficit on the national grid, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Starbucks Corp will provide ground coffee for use with Courtesy Products' CV1 one-cup brewers in as many as 500,000 upscale hotel rooms in the United States beginning this autumn, the company said on Tuesday.

Growth in sales at U.S. retailers slowed in January, partly due to harsh winter weather across much of the country, but the trend remained supportive of an acceleration in the economy.

Market breadth weakened and a prominent investor retreated from bullish positions as a vulnerable U.S. stock market slipped off 2-1/2-year highs on Tuesday.

ING will sell most of its real estate management operations for about $1 billion to U.S.-based property broker CB Richard Ellis Group, helping the Dutch bancassurer to pay down state aid.