IBT Staff Reporter

Space agencies and Google Inc are helping an international project to monitor forests by satellite to fight global warming, the head of an international earth observation group said on Tuesday.

Apple updated its entire Mac lineup on Tuesday, including its desktop iMacs, a new unibody MacBook, the Mac mini, and the newest addition to the Apple product line is a wireless, multitouch mouse.

U.S. stocks retreated on Tuesday, marking the third pullback in 12 sessions, as disappointing housing and inflation data prompted investors to book recent gains despite strong results from bellwethers, including Apple and Caterpillar.

The internal watchdog for the Internal Revenue Service is expected to warn the agency for the fourth time about fraud in the multibillion dollar homebuyer tax credit program, according to a report to be released at a congressional hearing later this week.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer on Tuesday jumped in to the debate over anonymous trading venues known as dark pools, calling for tough new regulations a day before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission meets to consider new rules.

Sales of hand sanitizers, cleansers and face masks in the midst of the H1N1 flu pandemic may provide a profit boost this quarter, but are not expected to drive manufacturers' results long-term.

Talks on a new U.N. climate deal stumbled on Tuesday when European Union finance ministers failed to agree funds for poor countries and India reiterated demands for aid to help curb its emissions.

Lockheed Martin Corp posted better-than-expected quarterly profit aided by a lower tax rate and share count on Tuesday, but revenue missed Wall Street estimates and the defense contractor warned earnings would drop in 2010, sending its shares down more than 5 percent.

Apple Inc rolled out a new line of redesigned Mac computers on Tuesday, hoping to build up sales momentum for its biggest business heading into the all-important holiday season.

Credit Suisse said on Tuesday it would make executives wait three-to-four years for their bonuses, as governments press banks to use compensation packages to limit excessive risk taking.

General Motors was set to decide this week whether to sign a contract to sell a majority stake in European arm Opel to Canadian parts maker Magna and Russia's Sberbank.

Volkswagen on Tuesday said it would pay 3.9 billion euros ($5.8 billion) to take a bigger than planned 49.9 percent stake in Porsche AG as a first step to a full merger with Porsche SE by 2011.

Sherwin-Williams Covposted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates on lower interest expense and cost savings, but shares fell 6 percent on the paint maker's disappointing fourth-quarter earnings outlook.

Private equity firms often fret that it is hard to source deals in Japan because companies there loathe making big restructuring moves.

Pfizer Inc reported higher third-quarter profit as aggressive cost-cutting offset a negative foreign exchange impact and declining sales of drugs, including those facing competition from cheaper generics.

Western Union Co said quarterly earnings fell after settlement charges, but beat expectations and the world's largest payment transfer company improved its outlook for 2009, sending shares up 1 percent.

The United States should get its own carbon-emitting house in order before looking to slap tariffs on energy-intensive goods from developing countries like China and India, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Tuesday.

The U.S. needs to levy high taxes on gasoline and to require tougher automobile fuel efficiency standards to conserve energy, the chief executive of one of the country's biggest oil companies said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday, as disappointing data on the housing market outweighed strong earnings from bellwethers Apple and Caterpillar.

Apple Inc introduced on Tuesday updated Mac computers, as the company looks to build on momentum heading into the all-important holiday season.

U.S. regulators voted on Tuesday to end a government program that guarantees some debt issued by banks, but also to set up a 6-month safety net facility.

U2 will stream an entire concert live on the YouTube video sharing site this weekend, the Irish band said on their website.

President Barack Obama will announce a package of initiatives on Wednesday to increase credit to small businesses, an administration official said on Tuesday.

Sahel Kazemi, the 20-year-old girlfriend of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair texted him the day prior to their murder-suicide, saying she was desperately seeking for money and felt stressed, according to a report.

U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has been invited to Taiwan in what would be Washington's first high-level visit to the island since 2000, officials said Tuesday.

Asset manager BlackRock Inc on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings rose a stronger than forecast 46 percent as more risk-tolerant clients shifted their investments to higher-margin products like stock and bond funds.

The United States wants any bilateral contacts with North Korea to result in the resumption of stalled six-country nuclear negotiations, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia said on Monday.

In a sharp policy shift, the Obama administration told federal attorneys not to prosecute patients who use marijuana for medical reasons or dispensaries in states where it has been legalized.

The United States wants to stick to a deal on realigning U.S. troops in Japan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday, giving Japan's new government little room to move on an issue that could test ties.