IBT Staff Reporter

Microsoft Corp has had talks with News Corp about a tie up, which would involve News Corp getting paid to take its news websites off Google Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The dollar stabilized in early trade on Tuesday after losing ground in New York, while Asian shares slipped as investors shrugged off upbeat U.S. home sale data and took a breather after recent gains.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of more than 2.1 million baby cribs in the U.S. and Canada from Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc.

Jobs Tops for Obama; HP's Big Gains; Candy Wrangling

Financier Carl Icahn has offered $156.5 million to acquire the partially built Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort, which has been stalled in bankruptcy court since June, according to the resort's chief operating officer.

Gold eased on Tuesday as investors booked profits after prices hit record highs the day before, but sentiment was underpinned by a weak dollar which makes bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies and boosts its appeal as an alternative asset.

A trade group for the lenders that finance half the capital equipment investment in the United States said on Monday that U.S. businesses remain hesitant about borrowing to invest in their operations.

As the economy shows signs of stabilizing, major retail brokers are increasingly comfortable with leaving the largest brokerage houses and setting out on their own, according to a company that provides services to the brokers.

Freddie Mac, the U.S. mortgage finance giant, said on Monday it is seeking $595 million in loan payments and other funds hung up after the bankruptcy of lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker.

Lehman Brothers International , where more than $35 billion of hedge fund assets have been frozen since the bank's collapse last September, could return about $11 billion to fund managers by March if enough firms approve a new plan.

Apple's iPhone has attracted half of the world's smartphone traffic share and 55 percent in the US after it hit the market 28 months ago, mobile advertising network AdMob said on Monday in its October report.

Hewlett-Packard Co tripled the size of its share repurchase program to $12 billion as China sales and better profit margins on its services boosted quarterly earnings.

The world's first permanent war crimes court opens its second trial on Tuesday when two Congolese warlords face charges they ordered subordinates to attack civilians, rape women and enlist child soldiers.

AT&T Inc unveiled on Monday an offering that lets customers using its network for Web-surfing on laptop computers or netbooks avoid the obligation to sign a two-year contract with the operator.

Khartoum's U.N. envoy, rejecting a bleak U.N. assessment of the situation in Sudan's conflict-torn western Darfur region, said on Monday it was time for international peacekeepers to prepare to leave.

President Barack Obama should look abroad for ways to boost jobs at home, the biggest U.S. business lobby group said on Monday, urging the administration to advance three pending free trade agreements.

U.S. negotiators working to conclude a new strategic arms treaty with Russia are discussing ways to continue nuclear weapons monitoring until the new accord can be ratified, a State Department spokesman said on Monday.

Pop diva Mariah Carey won the Breakthrough Performance Award by the Palm Springs International Film Festival for her performance on the film Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire.

President Barack Obama assured Americans on Monday that boosting jobs was a top priority, but gave no specifics about how to meet this goal that some economists say warrants more government spending.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon draw an astonishing $140.7 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend in North American theaters.

Hewlett-Packard Co said a strong performance in China and improved profit margins in its services business helped drive quarterly earnings 14 percent higher. The fiscal fourth quarter results released on Monday were in line with those the company preannounced two weeks ago, which topped Wall Street's estimates.

US computer giant Hewlett-Packard said on Monday that it saw a 14 percent increase in the fourth quarter profits of 2009 despite an eight percent e dip in sales.

The new Hungry Jack's Double Angry Angus Burger contains 5.6g of salt - nearly one and a half times the recommended daily amount for adults.

Hitachi Ltd is expected to sign a high-speed railway project deal in the UK worth more than 500 billion yen ($5.62 billion), as the electronics conglomerate stepped up its efforts to exploit overseas markets, the Nikkei business daily reported.

A Philadelphia jury on Monday ordered Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) to pay $28 million in punitive damages to a breast cancer survivor who had used the company's hormone replacement drugs for 11 years.

U.S. commercial properties getting clobbered today are likely to hit bottom in 2010 then claw back a third or more of their lost valuations over three years, according to a report by Maximus Advisors.

Revelation of a series of embarrassing e-mails by climate scientists provides fodder for critics, but experts believe the issue will not hurt the U.S. climate bill's chance for passage or efforts to forge a global climate change deal.

Hackers have built a virus that attacks Apple Inc's iPhone by secretly taking control of the devices via their Internet connections, security experts said.

Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, a conservative seen as a presidential contender before a sex scandal wrecked his reputation, faces 37 possible ethics violations, the state ethics commission said on Monday.