IBT Staff Reporter

* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower opening on Wall Street on Tuesday, following the previous session's sharp gains, with futures for the S&P 500 SPc1 down 0.18 percent, Dow Jones DJc1 futures down 0.26 percent and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures down 0.38 percent at 0925 GMT.

Micro-blogging site Twitter is interested in making more acquisitions as it continues to grow in popularity, co-founder Biz Stone said on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower opening on Wall Street on Tuesday, following the previous session's sharp gains, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.18 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.26 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.38 percent at 0925 GMT (4:25 a.m. EST).

Financial markets did a quick about-face from the previous session's patterns on Tuesday with stocks falling, the dollar recovering some losses and gold dropping back a bit from record highs.

Playboy Enterprises Inc will outsource most of the business operations of its namesake magazine in an effort to curb losses, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration's pay czar, is being pressed by federal officials to relax executive compensation restrictions at American International Group Inc for 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. Federal Reserve this month asked nine banks that were part of stress tests conducted earlier this year to submit plans to repay money injected under the Troubled Asset Relief Program , Bloomberg said, citing a person familiar with the situation.

The dollar recouped some of its overnight losses on Tuesday, while Asian shares slipped as investors shrugged off upbeat U.S. home sale data and took light profits on recent rallies.

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.