IBT Staff Reporter

Lockheed Martin Corp , the world's biggest defense contractor, said on Tuesday it is offering early exit incentive packages to its directors and vice presidents to cut costs as growth in U.S. defense spending slows.

The U.S. service sector expanded in June for a sixth straight month but growth was at the slowest pace since February, the latest evidence that the economic recovery is cooling.

LeBron James has made at least one decision, just not the one the basketball world had been waiting for.

Steel company Steel Development on Tuesday dismissed concerns raised by lawmakers over an investment from China's state-owned Anshan Iron and Steel Group in one of its steel mills.

European bank regulators will seek to safeguard the credibility of health checks on top banks by showing how the tests are done, to allay investors' fears of political meddling.

U.S. retail sales are expected to have risen in June due to warm weather and a late Memorial Day, but the gains may be just a temporary reprieve in an uncertain economy.

Stocks rose slightly on Tuesday, rebounding from weeks of selling, but initial gains were mostly erased by afternoon as retail shares weighed.

China's official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday criticized a group of 50 U.S. lawmakers for calling for a probe into Chinese investment in the U.S. steel sector, saying protectionism was rearing its ugly head again.

European bank supervisors plan to outline on Wednesday the methodology used in their stress tests of Europe's biggest banks, sources familiar with the process said on Tuesday.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co co-founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts were paid about $22 million last year in fee and other income, and own about a quarter of the private equity firm which is about to list on the NYSE, according to a regulatory filing.

The pace of global expansion in the private sector sagged in June to a four-month low, according to a survey on Tuesday that pointed to slowing growth in order books and employment.

European bank supervisors plan to outline on Wednesday the methodology used in their stress tests of Europe's biggest banks, sources familiar with the process said on Tuesday.

Agricultural Bank of China priced its Hong Kong and Shanghai dual listing on Tuesday, a deal that would break all IPO records by raising more than $22 billion when adding in over-allotment shares.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co co-founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts will own about a quarter of the private equity firm they founded after the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a regulatory by the company on Tuesday.

BP Plc said on Tuesday that its oil-capture systems at the leak in the Gulf of Mexico collected or burned off 24,980 barrels of oil on Monday.

World stocks posted their biggest gains in a month on Tuesday after recent drubbings pushed shares to attractive levels, while the euro rose as investors waded back into risky assets.

Stocks rebounded on Tuesday from a 10-month low on the S&P 500 on data that showed the services sector, the economy's largest, grew for a sixth straight month in June.

Top Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp sold 30 percent more vehicles in June compared with a year earlier, the second slowest monthly gain so far this year as demand in the world's largest auto market moderates after rapid expansion in 2009.

BP Plc said on Tuesday that it could cover the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill without selling new shares, despite reports it was talking to government-owned funds in the Middle East about buying a stake to ward off takeover attempts.

Nissan Motor Co said it aims to nearly double the mileage on its first hybrid car developed in-house compared with the gasoline engine version, while keeping costs down with a simple, single-motor system.

Volkswagen AG named Matthias Mueller, its top car strategist, as the new chief executive of Porsche AG in a bid to tighten its grip on the iconic sports car brand.

European Union competition regulators approved on Tuesday the acquisition of Ford Motor's Volvo car unit by Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings and state-owned investment group Daqing.

Toyota Motor Co's Canadian unit said on Monday its June sales were down 13.8 percent from a year earlier, while General Motors Co GM.ULsaid its Canadian sales rose 15.2 percent.

Dutch carmaker Spyker Cars used internal funding rather than external debt to pay General Motors the final $24 million purchase price for Sweden's Saab, ending concern over how it would foot the bill.

Find respite from the summer heat in a neutral shaded patio, featuring a mix of modern and Moroccan elements.

More than 342,000 cars made by Mazda Motor Corp and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG are under investigation by the U.S. auto safety regulator for possible steering defects that could lead to loss of vehicle control.

The Australian dollar rallied on Tuesday after an upbeat assessment of the global economy by the Reserve Bank of Australia spurred traders' appetite for high-yielding currencies, and the rising risk demand also helped boost the euro. Higher risk appetite, combined with a lackluster U.S. service sector report, put the dollar under broad selling pressure amid fears of further slowdown in the U.S. economy.

The non-manufacturing sector grew in June for a sixth straight month but the rate of growth slowed more than expected and hit its lowest since February, according to an industry report released on Tuesday.

As the midsummer All Star game approaches, I am reminded of a story about one of the all-time baseball greats, Babe Ruth.