IBT Staff Reporter

Household products maker Procter & Gamble Co posted lower-than-expected quarterly profit as higher spending on marketing more than offset sales growth, and its shares fell more than 5 percent.

Stocks fell on Tuesday, hurt by disappointing results from Dow Chemical Co and Procter & Gamble, while June factory orders and pending home sales dropped off more than expected.

Southeast Asia is home to some extremely exotic, at times funny-looking, fruit. Many visitors enjoy gazing at the colourful, interesting fruits as they pass by the fruit stands, but too many miss out on their delicious flavour, simply because they are unsure what to expect.

Oil prices pushed up to fresh three-month highs around $82 per barrel on Tuesday, spurred by a fall in the dollar and ahead of U.S. data expected to show a draw in oil inventories. The market also appeared to receive some support from news Israeli and Lebanese troops fought a rare cross-border skirmish on Tuesday that killed four Lebanese and an Israeli officer in the most serious violence along the frontier since a 2006 war.

Gold firmed on Tuesday as physical consumers took advantage of lower prices to buy into the metal and as China announced moves to allow greater freedom in its gold trade, but a lack of investment kept a lid on gains. Spot gold was bid at $1,184.95 an ounce at 1334 GMT (9:34 a.m. EDT), against $1,181.25 late in New York on Monday. Earlier it rose as high as $1,188.75. U.S. gold futures for December delivery climbed $1.80 to $1,187.20 an ounce.

This suburb of Washington, D.C. inspired R.E.M.'s 1984 song about the soul-sucking blandness of a suburban adolescence that has been a staple of rock and roll. (Don't Go Back to) Rockville described a town of empty houses, where nobody says hello.

Dow Chemical Co posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as it idled several plants to retool for higher production rates, sending shares of the biggest U.S. chemical maker down nearly 8

Household products maker Procter & Gamble Co posted a lower-than-expected profit on Tuesday as higher spending on marketing offset sales growth.

Teenagers who spend excessive amounts of time on the Internet are one and a half times more likely to develop depression than moderate web users, a study in China has found.

Sanofi-Aventis sent a takeover proposal valued at about $18.4 billion, or $69 per share, to biotechnology company Genzyme Corp and the two sides are discussing the offer, sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.

Wall Street was poised for a weak open on Tuesday, easing back after a 10-week high as disappointing results from Dow Chemical Co and Procter & Gamble pushed investors to the sidelines.

Stock index futures declined further on Tuesday after U.S. data showed consumer spending and incomes were unexpectedly flat in June and personal saving rose to the highest level in a year.

Pfizer reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and the world's biggest drugmaker said its full-year profit will be at the upper end of its prior view as savings continue to pile on from its recent merger with Wyeth.

Father Tom Eichenberger began a recent sermon by playing an iPhone ring tone of church bells into the microphone and talking about how praying is like using the popular mobile device.

Stock index futures fell on Tuesday, easing back after Wall Street closed at its highest level in 10 weeks, following disappointing results from Dow Chemical and Procter & Gamble that pushed investors to the sidelines.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is willing to block porn sites and let government spies snoop on users, newspapers reported on Tuesday, following a shock ban on its key services in the Gulf.

Dow Chemical Co posted lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as three plant outages offset a jump in sales across all units and regions, sending shares of the biggest U.S. chemical producer down 3.6 percent in premarket trading.

The dollar hit multi-month lows against major currencies on Tuesday, hit by signs of mounting concern among U.S. policymakers about the pace of economic recovery, as technical factors kept the currency under selling pressure.

Stock index futures slipped on Tuesday, after Wall Street closed at its highest level in 10 weeks, but bulls could be tempted into the market as the S&P pierced two key technical levels.

Pfizer Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and the world's biggest drugmaker said its full-year profit will be at top end of its prior view as savings accrue from its recent merger with Wyeth.

Japan's finance minister on Tuesday sidestepped questions about intervention to curb yen strength and said markets should determine exchange rates, prompting the currency to rise to an eight-month high against the dollar.

And it was not Portugal banks which had pawned its gold to tide over the economic crisis. A few weeks ago when Portugal and Greece were facing severe financial crisis, a mysterious gold swap by undisclosed central banks with Bank for International Settlements had sparked rumours that Portugal and Greece banks were on the verge of collapse and they had pawned their gold.

Oil prices slipped back from three-month highs toward $81 on Tuesday as stock markets consolidated ahead of key U.S. economic data. Benchmark U.S. oil futures rose 3 percent on Monday to above $80 per barrel for the first time since early May after trading between $70 and $80 for almost two months.

Kuwait has asked BlackBerry maker Research in Motion to block pornographic sites though will not suspend services like other Gulf states have threatened to do, a local newspaper reported Tuesday.

Gold rose in Europe on Tuesday as physical consumers like jewelers took advantage of lower prices to buy into the precious metal, and as China announced moves to allow greater freedom in its gold trade. Spot gold was bid at $1,183.65 an ounce at 0943 GMT, against $1,181.25 late in New York on Monday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery rose 40 cents to $1,185.80 an ounce.

Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co <8031.T> said BP Plc has sent it a $480 million bill seeking help in the clean-up of the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but it has not decided if it will shoulder any costs.

The dollar hit multi-month lows against major currencies on Tuesday, stung by speculation that U.S. interest rates will stay low, while technical factors kept the currency under selling pressure. The dollar index, a measure of its value against a currency basket, fell to 80.539, its weakest since mid-April and marking its first break since January below its 200-day moving average, a move that analysts said would open the door to more losses.

Thailand's TFEX (The Thailand Futures Exchange) on Monday started trade in new 10-baht weight gold futures contracts after starting trade in 50-baht weight contracts in 2009. A total of 1,089 contracts were traded, including 697 deals of GF10Q10 contracts maturing in August. Total trade on the TFEX Monday was 12,933 contracts, with over half representing trade in SET50 index futures.

Oil prices extended three-month highs toward $82 on Tuesday, tracking gains in Asian equities following strong bank earnings and upbeat manufacturing data for industrialized economies a day earlier. U.S. September crude rose as much as 28 cents to $81.62, 15 cents short of Monday's three-month intraday high, and was up 19 cent at $81.53 a barrel by 4 a.m. ET, while ICE Brent rose 22 cents to $81.04.