IBT Staff Reporter

The man who acquired a solid gold reputation for fixing sticky situations for the U.S. government is facing one of his toughest challenges yet: running BP Plc's $20 billion compensation fund.

The court-appointed examiner investigating Tribune Co's descent into bankruptcy said he has completed his report but cannot make it fully public because various parties are bickering over its contents.

I will never forget driving through a small Florida town many years ago. As I drove past a small family diner there was a sign out front that read, Come in and eat before we both starve. While meant to be humorous, the sign is as pertinent now as it was years ago.

An upbeat outlook from FedEx, coupled with encouraging home sales, lifted U.S. stocks on Monday, keeping the S&P 500 above 1,100 for a second day and suggesting the rally could last.

Google Inc released a special version of its Web-based productivity software designed to meet stringent U.S. government security requirements, as the Internet search giant seeks to outmaneuver rivals in the race to provide federal and state agencies with new technology.

A potential multibillion-dollar judgment against Vivendi SA for misleading shareholders hung in the balance as a Manhattan judge weighed whether a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling limited damages.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Goldman Sachs Group Inc will be allowed to continue to issue securities after settling civil fraud charges earlier this month, according to a letter posted to its website on Monday.

The Australian Crime Commission's National Indigenous Intelligence Task Force has reported the rising cases of children forcing other children into sexual acts and called for more therapeutic services for kids who exhibit sexually abusive behaviour.

AT&T Inc plans in the next two to three weeks to gradually fix a software defect that cut speeds for customers sending data from the Apple Inc iPhone 4 and from laptop modems.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday after an upbeat outlook from FedEx and solid home sales data cheered investors, helping the S&P 500 hold above a key resistance level.

Billionaire Carl Icahn on Monday accused Lions Gate Entertainment Corp of using scorched-earth tactics to thwart his bid to take over the Hollywood studio and pledged legal action to stop it.

AT&T Inc plans in the next two to three weeks to gradually fix a software defect that cut speeds for customers sending data from Apple Inc iPhone 4 and from laptop modems.

The trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff's investment firm might sue about 1,000 victims whom he believes profited improperly from doing business with the now-imprisoned Ponzi schemer.

Sales of new homes are seen rising by about 6.7 percent to a 320,000 unit annual rate in June from 300,000 in May. Sales plummeted 32.7 percent in May to the lowest since record-keeping started in 1963.

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rebounded strongly in June from the prior month's record low, pushing the number of houses on the market to the lowest level in nearly 42 years.

United Technologies Corp plans to cut about 1,500 jobs over the rest of 2010 and 2011, the diversified U.S. manufacturer said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Relief after European bank stress tests and a jump in U.S. new single-family home sales in June drew investors into riskier assets and depressed prices of safe-haven U.S. government debt on Monday

FedEx Corp raised its outlook on Monday due to a surge in the number of packages flowing through its air and ground networks, boosting its shares and the broader market.

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) called for a policy shift in elderly care on Monday urging authorities to focus on the use of technologies to keep elderly people at home instead of in the hospital.

Stocks advanced on Monday after a rosy outlook from FedEx and strong home sales data fueled optimism, helping the S&P 500 stay above a key resistance level that could confirm Wall Street may be back in bullish mode.

Of two potential suitors for biotech Genzyme , industry insiders say Sanofi-Aventis is a far more likely buyer than GlaxoSmithKline , which already has a presence in rare diseases.

Oil prices seesawed near unchanged levels on Monday as stronger-than-expected U.S. home sales data lifted prices even as energy companies restarted production after Tropical Storm Bonnie fizzled. U.S. crude for September delivery slipped 12 cents to $78.86 a barrel by 12:49 p.m. EDT, having seesawed between $78.06 and $79.33.

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rebounded strongly in June from the prior month's record low, government data showed on Monday, driving the number of houses on the market to their lowest level in nearly 42 years.

The Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) on Monday warned the public to beware of taking advices and information from the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) website.

Ford Motor Co chief executive Alan Mulally said on Monday the company was cautiously optimistic that it would continue to grow as the U.S. economy recovers.

Toyota Motor Corp is likely to have secured a group operating profit of about 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in April-June, thanks to solid sales and a sharp recovery from the previous year's loss

Nissan Motor Co said orders in Japan for the revamped March subcompact reached 12,147 units as of Sunday, representing more than three times the monthly target after less than two weeks on the market.

Daily foreign exchange trading turnover in London, Tokyo and New York soared in the latest year, bouncing back sharply from a crisis-induced decline, data released on Monday showed. Average daily volume in Britain jumped to $1.747 trillion in the year to April 2010, up 31 percent, the Bank of England said. It rose 15 percent compared with volume in October 2009.

Fiat should keep its pledge to boost Italian car production, a newspaper cited the labor minister as saying, after the company said last week it would move production of some of its models to Serbia.