IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday as downgrades of Greece and Portugal fueled fear about euro-zone economic stability, and a grilling of Goldman Sachs on Capitol Hill heightened the possibility of financial reform.

AstraZeneca PLC has agreed to pay $520 million to settle charges that it illegally marketed its schizophrenia drug Seroquel for unapproved uses, U.S. authorities said on Tuesday.

A sweeping overhaul of banking rules appeared to be headed toward another roadblock in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, although an influential Republican predicted it ultimately will pass the chamber.

Quick. Name five of the busiest tourist towns in the US. Got it? Now, try to imagine how those cities looked years ago, before the influx of tacky souvenir shops and overcrowded buses, when mom and pop stores still adorned the main streets and where a familiar face greeted you at every corner.

French carmaker Renault posted forecast-beating first-quarter sales and confirmed its target for positive free cashflow in the year as a whole, while warning of a difficult economic environment.

United Airlines and US Airways Group reported smaller quarterly losses that topped Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, signaling a recovery for an industry that endured sagging demand in the recent recession.

U.S. lawmakers told Facebook on Tuesday they were concerned about changes in its privacy policy that would allow personal information to be viewed by more than friends, and options on other websites that would allow third parties to save information about Facebook users and friends.

Research in Motion gave analysts a sneak peek at a revamped operating system for its BlackBerry smartphone on Monday and said it would launch it next quarter, propelling its shares higher.

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as downgrades of Greek and Portuguese debt reignited fears of defaults in the euro zone, while a grilling for Goldman Sachs on Capitol Hill raised the specter of tough financial reform.

Researchers at the Australia's Burnet Institute have created a rapid point-of-care diagnostic test for measuring CD4 T-cells, the marker of the immune system for people with HIV and AIDS.

The reason why a total of 55 young children in West Australia experienced febrile convulsions and a two year-old, Ashley Epapara found dead in her cot after receiving the seasonal flu vaccinations has left health experts perplexed but they hope to seek the root cause of the problem, by next week.

As a business professional, I can tell you from personal experience how effective referral networking has been in the success of my own businesses.

While previous study had focused on the negative evaluations of obese people, often blamed for being lazy and not exercising self-control, the new findings published in the International Journal of Obesity suggests an explanation about negative emotional reaction towards obesity that can help understand why those attitudes toward obese people are resistant to change.

According to researchers, the brain of notorious gangland killer Carl Williams which has been donated to science, may not likely offer any insight into his behaviour.

As one of the country's most lethal diseases, pancreatic cancer claims five Australian lives every day, but still remains off the health billboard.

The U.S. Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting on Tuesday that is widely expected to end with a decision to leave interest rates on hold near zero and a fresh commitment to keep them there for an extended period.

U.S. stocks tumbled on high volume on Tuesday as investors shunned risk after the credit ratings for both Greece and Portugal were downgraded.

Four U.S. lawmakers expressed concern to Facebook on Tuesday about changes in its privacy policy, while one asked federal regulators to draw up privacy guidelines for online social networking sites.

General Motors Co on Tuesday said it would invest about $890 million to upgrade five North American plants to build the next-generation V8 engine for its full-sized pickup trucks.

Ford Motor Co posted a stronger-than-expected $2.1 billion quarterly profit and said it would be solidly profitable in 2010, a year ahead of schedule, driven by strong U.S. sales and market share gains.

Influential Republican Senator Judd Gregg said on Tuesday he expects the Senate to eventually pass a financial reform bill as Democrats moved to force a series of votes to try to open debate on the measure.

Last week's volcanic ash cloud cost European Union airlines 1.5-2.5 billion euros ($2-3.3 billion), the EU executive said as it proposed a series of actions to help the cash-strapped industry.

Deutsche Bank faces a U.S. class-action lawsuit over mortgage-related securities it helped arrange, Germany's biggest lender said in its first-quarter report.

U.S. home prices fell in the month of February, but rose compared to a year ago for the first time in more than three years, in the latest sign that the housing market is slowly recovering.

Goldman Sachs executives strove to fend off accusations they helped inflate the housing bubble and then made billions off of its collapse, in a high-stakes Senate hearing that shined a harsh spotlight on the powerful investment bank's trading practices.

Strong demand for industrial goods from customers in emerging economies helped a half dozen U.S. manufacturers produce pleasant earnings surprises on Tuesday.

Standard & Poor's on Tuesday downgraded Portugal's ratings, citing concerns about its ability to deal with high debt levels and urged more measures to cut the country's budget deficit.

China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba.com said it will offer e-payment services on its new online commerce platform from eBay's PayPal, in the first such tie-up between the former arch-rivals.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a bipartisan budget commission on Tuesday the country's deficits are on an unsustainable path, and will require remedial action from policymakers.