IBT Staff Reporter

Consumer confidence fell steeply in June after rising for three months, due to worries about the labor market because of a recent slowdown in jobs growth, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

Abbott Laboratories Inc is exploring the sale of its flu vaccine unit acquired as part of its purchase of Solvay's drugs unit.

World stocks, commodity prices and the euro tumbled on Tuesday as risk appetite ebbed over concerns about the repayment of 442 billion euros ($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank. Gold inched higher and U.S. Treasuries rose, pushing two-year note yields to the lowest on record, as jitters over the euro zone debt crisis supported safe-haven demand.

Private equity firm Elevation Partners purchased $120 million in Facebook stock from private shareholders, valuing the company at $23 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

(Corrects 3rd paragraph to show Castro-Wright was put in charge of global sourcing in 2008)

A new United Nations report released on Tuesday calls for abandoning the U.S. dollar as the main global reserve currency, saying it has been unable to safeguard value. The dollar has proved not to be a stable store of value, which is a requisite for a stable reserve currency, the U.N. World Economic and Social Survey 2010 said.

Single-family home prices unexpectedly climbed in April from March, driven by a final sales push before tax credits expired, but signs of a sustained recovery have yet to emerge, Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes showed on Tuesday.

Stocks tumbled on Tuesday after a sharp decline in consumer confidence and on fresh concerns over euro zone fiscal problems ahead of massive bank repayments to the European Central Bank this week.

Single-family home prices unexpectedly climbed in April from March, driven by a final sales push before tax credits expired, but signs of a sustained recovery have yet to emerge, Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes showed on Tuesday.

Political momentum was expected to carry a sweeping Wall Street reform bill to approval in the Congress, but the death of Senator Robert Byrd threatened to delay final action until mid-July.

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has been named chairman of a Basel-based committee of global central bankers who discuss financial market policies, the bank said on Tuesday.

Google Inc said on Tuesday it will stop automatically rerouting users in China to an uncensored search page, a move that aims to preserve its operating license and signals a fight to save the firm's Chinese business.

Google Inc said it will stop automatically redirecting Web searchers in China to an uncensored portal in Hong Kong as it hopes to convince Beijing to renew its operating license in the world's largest Internet market.

Strikes in Greece and Spain highlighted resistance to Europe-wide austerity measures on Tuesday as the euro and shares tumbled ahead of a deadline for banks to repay a giant European Central Bank cash injection.

June 29 - About 10,000 people take part in marches across Athens during a nationwide strike against austerity measures. -- Greece starts to debate overhaul of pensions to raise women's retirement age from 60 to match men at 65 and demand more years at work to qualify for a pension. Greece's debt reached 133 percent of GDP in 2010.

Stocks dropped 2 percent on Tuesday after data showed U.S. consumer confidence fell steeply in June on worries about the labor market.

Historically, when India's retail gold markets remained fragmented and unorganized, price parity was a major concern. Distance between places played key role in price differentiation in yellow metal. But with electronic exchanges rapidly taking shape and number of participants in Gold trading seen rising, the price disparity within India started wearing away.

Wall Street was set to fall about 1 percent at open on Tuesday on fresh concerns over fiscal problems in the euro zone ahead of bank repayments to the European Central Bank this week.

The euro hit an all-time low versus the Swiss franc and an 8-1/2-year trough against the yen on Tuesday as investors worried about the expiry of a key euro zone refinancing programme this week. The yen rallied as a 2 percent fall in European shares .FTEU3 raised the safe-haven appeal of the Japanese currency, along with the Swiss franc and the dollar, while the high-risk Australian and New Zealand dollars took a beating.

Stock index futures pointed to a decline of about 1 percent at the open on Tuesday as fresh concerns mounted over fiscal problems in the euro zone ahead of bank repayments to the European Central Bank this week.

The National Inflation Association in its update of 'Gold and Silver Seller Reviews' launched in January has decided to award the 'NIA 2010 Best Bullion Award' to Gainesville Coins.

Soon, gold is all set to cross the Rs 19,000 per 10 gm mark in India with global trends showing a huge rise in the coming days following the financial uncertainty continuing in global economy.

Britain's top shares fell sharply on Tuesday as renewed fears over global growth and worries about Europe's debt problems hit risk appetite, sending commodity-linked assets and banks sharply lower.

Gold inched higher in Europe on Tuesday as persistent concerns over the euro zone debt crisis supported safe-haven demand for the metal, but the stronger dollar limited gains.

The yuan CNY=CFXS weakened slightly against the dollar in the onshore spot market and offshore forwards on Tuesday as investors saw little opportunity for the Chinese currency to appreciate sharply in the near term after the end of the G20 summit over the weekend.

Internet giant Google Inc said it plans to stop automatically redirecting users of its Google.cn site to its Hong Kong page, in a bid to secure renewal of the company's China operating license.

World stocks hit a 2-1/2 week low on Tuesday while oil and the euro also slipped as investors grew nervous over the funding situation of banks about to repay 442 billion euros ($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank.

Oil prices fell 2 percent to below $77 per barrel on Tuesday as stock markets slumped and risk appetite dwindled on renewed worries over euro zone debt.

Gold held near $1,235 an ounce in Europe on Tuesday as persistent concerns over the euro zone debt crisis supported safe-haven demand for the metal, but the stronger dollar limited gains.