IBT Staff Reporter

A heated three-year safety debate about a GlaxoSmithKline Plc diabetes pill reaches a climax this week as opponents and backers face off at a U.S. meeting that will help decide the drug's fate.

The board of American International Group is set to meet this week to consider the future of its AIA unit, with a public float seen as the most likely outcome, sources said on Tuesday.

Gold prices edged up in Asian trade Tuesday mainly on investor's buying interest after prices dropped below the psychological barrier of $1200 an ounce. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $ 1199.58 an ounce at 12.30 p.m Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for August delivery was at $ 1199.47 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

Asian shares surrendered early gains on Tuesday, weighed down by Chinese stocks, which slid on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon.

Japan faces political gridlock after the ruling party's poor showing in an election on Sunday, which could thwart efforts to curb a huge public debt and get the economy in shape, as well as putting Prime Minister Naoto Kan's job at risk. Standard & Poor's rates Japan's long-term local and foreign currency debt AA, both with a negative outlook.

Oil retreated on Tuesday to stay below $75, tracking Asian equities lower and on forecasts for a seventh straight weekly gain in distillate fuel inventories at top consumer the United States. Chinese stocks fell 2 percent on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon, curbing early gains in other Asian equity markets and tempering strong U.S. corporate earnings and forecasts for a fourth consecutive weekly fall in the nation's crude stockpiles.

The euro consolidated well below two-month peaks against the dollar on Tuesday as investors hesitated to go long on the single currency and risk large short dollar positions during the U.S. earnings season.

Gold clawed back to near $1,200 per ounce on Tuesday on light physical buying, but further gains were capped by investor caution ahead of the U.S. corporate earnings season and firmness in the dollar.

Infosys Technologies edged up its forecast on a revival in outsourcing demand from its mainstay financial clients, but its shares fell as markets worried a weak European economy could curb orders.

Lawyers for patients who say they have been harmed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia say critical data is still under wraps even as a U.S. advisory panel prepares to weigh the fate of the controversial diabetes drug.

The board of American International Group Inc is expected to meet this week to consider the future of the insurer's Asian life business, AIA, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Chinese stocks fell 2 percent on Tuesday on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon, weighing on the Australian dollar and curbing early gains in Asian shares.

BP said it had installed a cap meant to halt the flow of oil from its ruptured Gulf of Mexico well on Monday and the Obama administration issued a new moratorium on deepwater oil drilling.

Agricultural Bank of China saw net profit rise 40 percent in the first half of the year to 46 billion yuan ($6.8 billion), the Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.

BP said it had installed a cap meant to halt the flow of oil from its ruptured Gulf of Mexico well on Monday and the Obama administration issued a new moratorium on deepwater oil drilling.

Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil company, said improved margins at its refineries would offset a drop in oil and gas output to lift second-quarter earnings above the previous quarter.

Facebook has moved to overturn a New York judge's recent order temporarily blocking any transfer of the company's assets, as the world's No.1 social networking responds to a lawsuit by a New Yorker claiming to own 84 percent of the company.

Aon Corp will spend $4.9 billion to buy Hewitt Associates Inc , in an aggressive bid to leapfrog archrival Marsh and McLennan and create the world's largest human resource services company.

Companies that profit from market volatility, and the surge in volume that it brings, did well in the second quarter, beneficiaries of instability and uncertainty in U.S. and other markets.

The AUD has opened slightly firmer this morning after some nervousness from traders yesterday ahead of the US reporting season saw the AUD move back towards USD0.8700.

Australia's dollar fell from its highest level in almost three weeks to an intraday low near 87 cents on the back of a drop in imports of iron ore and copper by China, the nation's biggest trading partner.

Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil company, said Improved margins at its refineries would lift its second-quarter earnings versus the previous quarter, offsetting a drop in oil and gas output.

Boosting credit to needy small businesses is crucial to sustain a tepid U.S. recovery but how to do so poses a difficult policy challenge, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday.

A hedge fund is taking aim at the world's biggest banks in an effort to recoup $1.2 billion it lost on subprime mortgages, entering a legal fight where so far Wall Street has largely been unscathed.

Alcoa Inc , the largest U.S. aluminum producer, posted a stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit on Monday and raised its estimate for global aluminum consumption, sending its shares up 3 percent.

U.S. railroad CSX Corp said on Monday that its profit rose 36 percent in the second quarter, beating analysts' expectations, as volume improved across the varied markets the company serves.

The Obama administration issued a new moratorium on deepwater oil drilling on Monday, a move the industry said was unnecessary and would place tens of thousands of jobs at risk.

(Corrects 4th paragraph to delete that Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke and Jeffrey Lacker spoke at the same conference; they spoke at different events)

Alcoa Inc , the largest U.S. aluminum producer, posted a second-quarter profit on Monday, as sales rose 22 percent despite a recent drop in aluminum prices.