IBT Staff Reporter

Retail stocks dragged Wall Street lower on Tuesday, a day after it reached a 13-month high, while gains in the U.S. dollar weakened commodity prices and stocks in the materials sector.

China on Monday distanced itself from proposals to delay a binding climate pact to 2010, but might be willing to sign up to a political deal at climate talks next month if it includes strong commitments from rich nations.

U.S. Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday that it was introducing Kindle, its wireless electronic reader, in Canada.

European regulators on Tuesday urged the United States and Europe to push through measures agreed by the G20 nations aimed at avoiding future financial crises, saying transatlantic relations were at risk if the effort flagged.

Discount retailer Target Corp reported third-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations but forecast a holiday quarter profit that could fall short of estimates, and its shares fell over 5 percent.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday he was confident the alliance would agree to increase substantially the number of troops battling Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday next month's climate talks in Copenhagen should cut a deal with immediate operational effect, even if its original aim of a legally binding pact is not achievable.

President Barack Obama will issue an executive order on Tuesday creating an administration-wide task force to crack down on financial fraud following a rise in mortgage scams and high-profile Wall Street trading scandals, an administration official said.

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Target Sees Price War; Obama's Economic Campaign; Tame Inflation Ahead

EU antitrust authorities continue to examine Oracle's plan to buy Sun Microsystems over which there are competition concerns, a senior European Commission official said on Tuesday.

ConocoPhillips could sell its 25 percent stake in the Rockies Express Pipeline as part of the oil giant's plan to divest $10 billion in assets, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

New York Stock Exchange member firms earned a record $35.7 billion for their broker-dealer operations in the first six months of this year, which is 1-1/2 times above the previous high-water mark set in 2000, the state comptroller said in a report on Tuesday.

Chinese and U.S. regulators are negotiating a pact aimed at encouraging Chinese financial institutions to buy into small and medium-sized banks in the United States, bankers briefed on the plan said on Tuesday.

France might plough up to 4 billion euros ($6 billion) into high-technology projects through its national loan programme, with the largest chunk going to subsidise construction of high-speed broadband telecoms networks in smaller cities and rural areas, according to government sources.

French retail and luxury group PPR is raising upto 1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to cut group debt by listing its Africa-focused CFAO distribution business in Paris next month.

Dillard's Inc reported on Tuesday a quarterly profit from a year-ago loss, helped by a tax benefit and a move to slash inventory to counter weak consumer spending.

Upscale department store operator Saks Inc reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday, beating Wall Street expectations for a loss, and its shares rose nearly 8 percent.

New York Stock Exchange member firms earned a record $35.7 billion for their broker-dealer operations in the first six months of this year, which is 1-1/2 times above the previous high-water mark set in 2000, the state comptroller said in a report on Tuesday.

Big banks stepped up warnings on Tuesday that tightening capital rules too soon could stall economic recovery, but policymakers said the bailed out sector cannot rely on taxpayers again in future.

Target Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, but remained cautious about the fourth quarter given a budding holiday season price war.

Wall Street fell on Tuesday, slipping from a 13-month high, as a bounce in the dollar weighed on commodity-linked stocks and a report showed U.S. industrial production rose less than expected.

Switzerland will hand over the names of wealthy U.S. clients of UBS suspected of tax evasion or fraud, to settle a bitter row that cut through bank secrecy and threatened to bring the bank to its knees.

Nearly 12 million Africans deemed at highest risk from yellow fever will be vaccinated next week against the virus, which can cause explosive epidemics in cities, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

As the U.S. continues to watch Congress thrash out a plan to try to cover those without health insurance, a new study shows that people admitted to the hospital for trauma are almost twice as likely to die from their injuries if they are uninsured.

Aspirin alone proved as effective as aspirin plus the blood clot preventer Plavix in keeping coronary artery bypass grafts open during the first year after surgery, according to a study released on Monday.

Rothesay Life, the Goldman Sachs-owned insurer, said it would insure pension benefits worth 370 million pounds ($623 million) for private equity firm CDC Group Plc, boosting a long-stagnant pensions derisking market.

GMAC Chief Executive Al de Molina has resigned, and will be replaced by Michael Carpenter, the troubled lender said on Monday.

Upscale department store operator Saks Inc reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday, beating Wall Street expectations for a loss, and its shares rose 5.5 percent.