IBT Staff Reporter

A growing belief among British investment managers that fears of a renewed economic slump are overblown has halted a five-month decline in allocations to stocks, according to a Reuters poll.

Net lending to British households unexpectedly fell to a four-month low last month after a sharp decline in mortgage lending, reinforcing economists' concerns that tight credit conditions may hamper future growth.

U.S. food maker H.J. Heinz Co said quarterly earnings from continuing operations rose 10 percent, helped by sales growth in emerging markets.

Mediacom Communications Corp said founder and chief executive withdrew his offer to take the cable television operator private after a special board committee rejected his sweetened bid.

Iraq's prime minister said the end of U.S. combat operations on Tuesday restored Iraq's sovereignty and meant it stood as an equal to the United States, despite political deadlock and persistent violence.

The exceptionally dry early summer months in Britain have revealed the ghostly outlines of several hundred previously unknown ancient sites buried in fields across the English countryside.

Consumer confidence rose modestly in August, lifted by a mild improvement in the short-term outlook, according to a private report released on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as a pair of positive data surprises helped alleviate continued investor anxiety over the economy's strength.

Pakistan's top crime investigative agency will send a team to Britain this week to look at corruption allegations against some of the country's cricket players, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The Chinese exchange rate has little role to play in rebalancing bilateral trade with the United States, a senior Chinese central bank official said in comments published on Tuesday.

German unemployment fell in August to its lowest since November 2008, laying the ground for consumers to spend more and adding to evidence that the export-led economy is outstripping its euro zone peers.

Britain's top shares were lower by midday on Tuesday, as U.K. economic data added to uncertainty surrounding the global recovery, with risk-sensitive banks and commodity stocks leading the fallers.

Electric utility Exelon Corp said it will buy Deere & Co's wind power business for about $860 million, expanding its portfolio of carbon-free electricity generation.

World stocks fell on Tuesday in markets dominated by concerns the U.S. economy is sliding back into recession, prompting further flows into safe-haven assets.

Wall Street erased initial gains and moved higher on Tuesday as a string of economic data helped relieve investor anxiety about the strength of the economic recovery.

Sanofi-Aventis is doing everything possible to cajole, pressure and manipulate Genzyme Corp into entering acquisition talks based on its opening offer of $69 a share.

Canada's established telecom carriers must allow smaller Internet providers access to their high-speed fiber networks at the same speed they offer to their own customers, the telecom and broadcast regulator ruled on Monday, but it said they can charge a 10 percent mark-up for doing so.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has donated 10 million pounds ($15.5 million) to set up a new clinic to carry out research into multiple sclerosis , the disease which killed her mother.

Vietnam seems to be one of the new hotspots in Southeast Asia. With its new slogan is its a country, not a war, loads of intrepid travelers come to get an adventerous taste of the country.

Office supplies retailer Staples Inc will begin selling Amazon.com Inc's Kindle, the latest deal that will expand the availability of the e-reader at retail locations.

Dollar General Corp posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it attracted bargain-seeking consumers who spent more per visit, and the discount retailer raised its profit outlook.

Bailed-out insurer American International Group faced the prospect of finding another buyer for its Taiwan unit after regulators threw out its proposed $2.2 billion sale to a Chinese company.

Prices of U.S. single-family homes gained more than expected in June and rose in the second quarter, reflecting the lingering boost from homebuyer tax credits that ended in April, Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes showed on Tuesday.

Mortgage approvals and consumer credit rose unexpectedly in July, but weak mortgage lending pushed total net lending to its lowest since March, Bank of England figures showed on Tuesday.

The United States may not have the oldest buildings in the world, but we have our share of great historic homes and mansions-the habitats of presidents, heroes and heroines, bad guys and business tycoons.

An Iranian newspaper said on Tuesday that Carla Bruni, the wife of France's president, deserved to die after she expressed solidarity with a woman sentenced to be stoned for adultery.

U.S. health officials are set to rule on whether a faster-growing, genetically engineered fish is safe to eat in a decision that could deliver the first altered animal food to consumers' dinner plates.

Dollar General Corp posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it attracted bargain-seeking consumers who spent more per visit, and the discount retailer raised its profit outlook.

Wall Street was poised for a lower open on Tuesday as housing data failed to counter pessimism about the economy.