IBT Staff Reporter

Dell Inc showed off a tablet device for business users that runs Microsoft's Windows software, as the personal computer company continues to push aggressively into the mobile market.

Food and beverage company Sara Lee reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results after sales volume was hurt by price increases meant to buffer soaring commodity costs.

The Obama administration will propose raising the cost of loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration as part of a plan to reduce government support of the mortgage market to below 50 percent, said sources familiar with the plan.

Wall Street rose modestly on Tuesday, led by gains in the consumer discretionary sector after McDonald's posted global sales that were above Wall Street's estimates.

Avon Products Inc posted a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly profit, hurt by weak sales and restructuring charges, and shares of the world's largest direct seller of cosmetics fell more than 4 percent.

Italian prosecutors will on Wednesday seek an immediate trial for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, accused of paying for sex with an under-age girl and intervening improperly to have her released from police custody.

The rival Koreas held their first talks since a deadly attack on a South Korean island last year amid signs of a thaw in tensions as momentum builds for a resumption of aid-for-disarmament negotiations.

Facebook spam artists are looking to franchise the Facebook spam business to the less tech-savvy, Websense says.

A U.S. government investigation showed no link between electronic throttles and unintended acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp vehicles, a victory for the world's top automaker battered by recalls over runaway vehicles.

Gold rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday to $1,367.60 an ounce as traders covering short positions in the New York futures market pushed spot prices through key resistance at the metal's 100-day moving average.

Egyptian security and custom authorities have started screening all incoming and outgoing diplomatic pouches, as a precautionary measure to avoid entry of questionable objects, state news agency Middle East News Agency MENA reported on Monday.

The Federal Reserve should seriously consider pulling back on its $600 billion stimulus program given stronger growth and a brighter jobs picture, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Tuesday.

China raised interest rates on Tuesday for the second time in just over six weeks, intensifying a battle in the fast-expanding economy against stubbornly high inflation that threatens to unsettle global markets.

McAfee says mobile threats increased by 46 percent from the year before.

Thai and Cambodian troops stood on high alert on Tuesday after clashing in disputed jungle around a 11th-century Hindu temple as foreign governments urged them to lay down arms.

The defence lawyer for former Liberian president Charles Taylor defied the Sierra Leone war crimes court on Tuesday, walking out in protest ahead of closing arguments in the case and calling it a farce.

South Sudan voted overwhelmingly to declare independence in final results of a referendum announced on Monday, opening the door to Africa's newest state and a fresh period of uncertainty for the fractured region.

Egyptians staged one of their biggest protests yet Tuesday demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down now, their wrath undiminished by the vice president's announcement of a plan to transfer power.

Christina Aguilera had the support of fellow musicians after her much buzzed-about Super Bowl fumble.

Glen Campbell, Golden Globe nominated American country pop singer, guitarist, television host and actor, has put his home on the market for sale at $5,950,000.

High international commodities prices and a weakening shilling against the dollar are expected to cushion Kenyan listed agricultural stocks from inflationary pressures and the effects of a biting drought, analysts said.

Kenya's benchmark AA coffee grade fetched a new all-time high of $1,022 per 50 kg on Tuesday, reflecting a trend of soaring commodity prices due to political upheavals in north Africa.

Kenya's Centum Investment Co is poised to tap the booming property market in east Africa to meet the growing demand of the bulging middle class, its chief executive officer said on Tuesday.

Mauritian holding company Ireland Blyth said it still expected improved full-year results, when posting a 68 percent fall in first-half pretax profit on Tuesday.

China raised interest rates on Tuesday for the second time in just over six weeks, intensifying a battle against stubbornly high inflation that threatens to unsettle global markets.

Kenya's East African Cables said on Tuesday that full-year pretax profit halved to 258.6 million shillings after a 203 million shilling charge related to its struggling Tanzanian unit.

Egypt's central bank said on Tuesday it intervened in the market to prop up the Egyptian pound, helping the local currency to rise against the dollar for the first time since political unrest gripped the country.

Australia's Sundance Resources wants Chinese companies to build a railway line and port in Cameroon vital to its Mbalam iron ore export venture, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

An 11 billion rand South African manganese building project, which includes a mine and smelter, was on track with first processed ore expected in July next year, investors said on Tuesday.