IBT Staff Reporter

Spectators at this month's Farmers Insurance Open will be allowed to bring mobile phones to the course and use them in designated areas, the PGA Tour said on Tuesday.

Seven automobile insurance firms have followed Allstate Insurance Co in suing Toyota Motor Corp to recover money they paid in claims for car crashes blamed on unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles.

U.S. auto sales rose to the highest rate in 16 months in December, and major automakers forecast the recovery would gather momentum in 2011 as the industry distances itself from one of its deepest slumps ever.

Electric wheelchairs are a real boon to people with disabilities, but they lack a way to adjust the power to the wheels, making it hard to navigate when the terrain gets rough. A group of engineers is using technology designed for the military to solve that problem.

U.S. auto sales rose to the highest rate in 16 months in December, and major automakers forecast the recovery would gather momentum in 2011 as the industry distances itself from one of its deepest slumps ever.

A federal court in Alabama will centralize at least 1,200 civil lawsuits against Pfizer Inc over its smoking-cessation drug Chantix, which plaintiffs say can lead to suicide.

An appeals court sided with Uniloc in its patent-infringement lawsuit against Microsoft Corp but ordered a new trial on damages.

The Obama administration has invited 2,000 local school districts to a mid-February conference that will require they collaborate with their unions on improving student achievement.

Goldman Sachs is not giving its multimillionaire clients a lot of time or information to think about investing in a $1.5 billion Facebook private offering.

Evan Snapper apparently figured that he would help Hillary Clinton get elected president and enjoy an Elton John concert, all at a client’s expense. Federal authorities said that Snapper also knew he was breaking federal election laws, and may now spend five years remembering that concert.

Richmond, Va.-based law firm LeClairRyan has poached on at least 15 Nixon Peabody lawyers, including 5 partners, who will focus on expand upon the firm's capabilities in intellectual property, bankruptcy and commercial litigation practices in the newly established Rochester, N.Y. office.

U.S. banking regulators have authorized lawsuits against 109 bank officials so far as they seek to recover at least $2.5 billion in losses connected to recent bank failures.

Gold and Silver Prices both fell as London traders returned to work from the New Year shutdown on Tuesday, dropping over 3 percent from yesterday's highs as world stock markets caught up with Wall Street's strong gains.

Attorney General Eric Holder has named Gary G. Grindler as the new chief of staff to the Attorney General.

Retail gasoline demand fell 12.5 percent last week as Americans took days off work after the Christmas holiday, reducing commutes on the last week of the year, MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse report showed on Tuesday.

While Republicans, who will take control of the House of Representatives tomorrow, are promising to repeal healthcare reform and commence investigations into several facets of the federal government, Democrats, who are still in control of the Senate, have also been considering some significant moves aimed at curtailing the power of the filibuster.

A top official at the U.S. futures regulator said on Tuesday he was now in favor of a stalled position limit plan, a key turnaround that would allow the controversial rules to advance to the public comment stage.

Hopes for a supermarket recovery have been pushed back yet again while Wall Street rethinks earnings expectations as food costs rise, unemployment remains high and consumer spending stays fragile.

Hopes for a supermarket recovery have been pushed back yet again while Wall Street rethinks earnings expectations as food costs rise, unemployment remains high and consumer spending stays fragile.

Some versions of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system are vulnerable to attack from hackers exploiting a flaw in the software that could allow them to remotely take control of a personal computer.

Three men accused of being part of an insider trading conspiracy to leak technology company secrets to hedge funds were allowed to remain free on bail on Tuesday.

Want to know your chance of having a baby through in-vitro fertilization? There's an app for that.

The Federal Reserve felt at its December meeting that the U.S. economy still needed help despite signs of strength, according to minutes released on Tuesday that showed little appetite to trim bond-buying plans.

Stock market gains late last year helped put U.S. pension funds on a sounder footing, a new report released on Tuesday said.

Investors who were heartened when U.S. retailers reported their best holiday sales season in three years hope for one more gift: upgraded earnings forecasts.

Investors abandoned red-hot commodity shares on Tuesday, while fears of lower supermarket profits hit food retailers, sending the S&P and Nasdaq lower.

Wall Street cheered Motorola's separation into two companies, sending both their share prices higher on their first official day of trading on Tuesday.

Film producers and writers on Tuesday jumped into Hollywood's Oscar race with their choices of 2010's best movies, including The Social Network, The Fighter and Black Swan, among others.

John Boehner, a Republican Congressman from Ohio, gets sworn in tomorrow as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, one of the most powerful positions in the world. He will have to show, almost at once, if he has the stuff for the job.