IBT Staff Reporter

The Australian dollar lost ground overnight falling a cent to USD0.8700 in a volatile offshore trading session following weaker US housing data and concerns over Europe.

Barclays Plc chief executive said on Tuesday that he would not have recommended the purchase of Lehman Brothers' core U.S. brokerage business if the deal did not show a gain for Barclays, or at least an even exchange.

Apple Inc said on Tuesday it sold 3 million iPads since the touch-screen tablet computer hit the market less than three months ago, boosting its stock two days before the company's iPhone arrives on store shelves.

The Aussie broke past 0.8850 US early offshore last night after China's announcement saw commodities prices climb to a five week high.

The United States will go after foreign websites that pirate American music and movies as part of a new strategy to stop sales of counterfeit and pirated goods at home and abroad, Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.

China appeared to engineer a fall in the yuan on Tuesday to make clear that its newly flexible currency was not a one-way bet to appreciate, as markets reflected waning optimism over Beijing's new policy.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell last month, a decline economists and real estate agents pinned on delays in processing mortgage applications.

A new software program that enhances the quality of CT images allowed doctors to cut in half the radiation dose needed for a colon scan and still produce clear images, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Stocks fell more than 1 percent in yet another late-day selloff on Tuesday as unexpectedly poor housing figures and the puncture of a key technical level sapped buying interest.

Latin American currencies firmed on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected German economic data offset concerns that Europe's efforts to confront debt troubles may crimp global economic growth.

The Bank of Canada said on Tuesday that China's move to loosen its foreign exchange controls was an important step forward.

Crude oil futures edged lower in choppy trading on Tuesday, seesawing with Wall Street in a cautious market ahead of weekly oil inventory reports and with the U.S. July crude contract approaching expiration at the end of the session.

The U.S. dollar and euro fell against the yen on Tuesday as investors turned risk-averse amid persistent doubts about China's move to make the yuan flexible and renewed worries about European banks' funding needs.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday began a two-day meeting where it is expected to restate its intention to keep interest rates on hold near zero for an extended period and perhaps offer a less upbeat outlook for the economy.

JPMorgan Chase & Co reshuffled three top executives, including its chief financial officer, as part of an effort to ensure a deep bench of executives who could eventually succeed CEO Jamie Dimon.

Barclays Plc's President Robert Diamond said on Tuesday that Lehman creditors fared better under his bank's purchase of Lehman Brothers core U.S. brokerage business than they would have if the assets had been sold on the open market.

Regulators updated the estimated cost of cleaning up hundreds of bank failures on Tuesday, saying the industry is seeing better earnings and a greater ability to raise capital.

JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Tuesday that it had replaced Chief Financial Officer Michael Cavanagh with Doug Braunstein, the company's head of investment banking for the Americas.

Taxpayer losses from the U.S. government's $700 billion financial bailout fund will likely come in below the officially projected $105 billion as the economy recovers, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

U.S. automakers oppose raising the blend of ethanol in gasoline from the current 10 percent, saying cars won't run as well on higher blends, but Brazil's experience shows their arguments are weak.

A strike at a Japanese car parts supplier in southern China forced Toyota Motor Corp to suspend production at a Chinese auto assembly plant on Tuesday, the latest in a string of labor-related disruptions at foreign-owned manufacturers across the country.

Europe's main human rights and security body told Turkey on Tuesday to stop blocking Google's video-sharing website YouTube and thousands of other sites banned under its internet law.

Blunt, brash, brainy and occasionally self-mocking. Larry Summers, the White House economic adviser, is all of these things. In a career spanning academia, government and finance, he has rubbed some people the wrong way and infuriated others.

Technology shares led Wall street higher on Tuesday after upbeat brokerage comments on Apple Inc, but a report showing an unexpected fall in existing-home sales last month tempered gains.

The dollar rallied for a second straight day against the euro on Tuesday as new concerns about the funding needs of European banks offset stronger-than-expected German economic data.

Walgreen Co , the biggest U.S. drugstore chain, posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit as sales of nonprescription items disappointed, sending its shares down 6.1 percent.

Weak May U.S. housing data undercut stocks and sent U.S. Treasuries up, while Europe grappled with a fresh tremor to its banking system after Fitch downgraded French bank BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA).

The rich grew richer last year, even as the world endured the worst recession in decades.

Latin American currencies struggled for direction early on Tuesday as investors became more skeptical of China's vow to ease control over its foreign exchange rate.