IBT Staff Reporter

Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas admitted that his side is gripped with a fear of defeat when playing the big teams.

Moody's Investor Service warned on Tuesday it may downgrade debt-ridden Portugal's A1 rating by one or two notches after a review that will take up to three months, citing weak growth prospects and high borrowing costs.

Chinese online games firm The9 Ltd said on Tuesday it has entered into an agreement with three institutional funds to form a $100 million fund to invest in mobile Internet applications.

Google is in talks with smaller players in the online discount coupon market after Groupon turned down the web giant's $6 billion buyout offer, the New York Post said, citing a source close to the situation.

European Union competition regulators temporarily cleared billions of euros in state aid for Anglo Irish Bank , Allied Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society on Tuesday.

Adobe Systems Inc issued an earnings forecast sharply above Wall Street projections, contrasting sharply from a pessimistic outlook three months ago when it was concerned about the weak economy.

A hospital in Israel has begun using Apple's iPad to enable medical staff to help treat patients, provide consultations and study X-rays and CT scans from afar.

Adobe Systems Inc issued an earnings forecast sharply above Wall Street projections, contrasting sharply from a pessimistic outlook three months ago when it was concerned about the weak economy.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.36 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.32 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.27 percent at 0928 GMT (4:28 a.m. EDT).

The euro pared gains on Tuesday after Moody's put Portugal on review for a possible downgrade, while world stocks rose, driven by bargain-hunting investors betting on stronger global growth next year.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a probe into Chinese companies listing on U.S. stock exchanges through reverse takeovers, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the probe.

Toronto-Dominion Bank is close to an agreement to buy Chrysler Financial from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $6.3 billion, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Top U.S. automaker General Motors expects exports of its China-made Chevrolet Sail to jump 300 percent or more next year, a senior executive said.

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy on hold on Tuesday but warned of weakening factory output and business sentiment, assuring markets that it was focusing on downside risks to growth that may trigger further easing ahead.

China urged European authorities to back their tough talk with action on Tuesday by showing they can contain the euro zone's simmering debt problems and pull the bloc out of its crisis soon.

The euro bounced back on Tuesday from a day-earlier selloff over euro debt woes following words of support from China, while stocks were firm across Asia as investors picked up end-of-year bargains.

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady as widely expected on Tuesday, holding off on easing as it scrutinizes how escalating debt woes in Europe and a U.S.-driven rise in bond yields affect Japan's fragile economy.

Toyota Motor Corp has agreed to pay $32.4 million in fines related to two investigations of the automaker's handling of auto recalls for unintended acceleration and steering problems in several models, U.S. regulators said on Monday.

Japan's Nikkei share index <.N225> rises 0.7 percent as investors pick up bargains after recent price falls, but volume is low on absence of foreign buyers.

Revenue from Toshiba Corp's <6502.T> nuclear power plant business may reach 1 trillion yen ($12 billion) in the next three years, ahead of schedule, the Japanese industrial conglomerate said on Tuesday.

The Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to meet tomorrow to consider whether to enforce net neutrality rules, or to leave the Internet unregulated.

(Corrects third paragraph to state that the source of the information in the paragraph is the Nikkei newspaper, not the company spokesman; moves company spokesman's name to second paragraph)

A chemical which, in high concentrations, is likely to cause cancer and irritates the respiratory system and skin has been found in tap water in 31 of 35 American cities, according to a new study.

New research from Clemson University says helmet-mounted technology, a key component to virtual reality and a new feature in video games, can cause motion sickness.

The company had previously put into place a 15 percent restocking fee on all returns.

In a teaser video for its own tablet, Motorola took shots at the iPad and Galaxy Tab

A lunar eclipse is set to appear for skywatchers in North and Central America around 2:00 am on Dec 21.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a report today that shows 15 years of successful results from EPA’s nationwide effort to address acid rain.

The lifeblood of retail expansion is same store sales. If same store sales do not increase, any store count expansion becomes a death march. But the big retailers keep expanding out of touch with reality.