IBT Staff Reporter

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.

The Obama administration on Monday said it would renew economic sanctions on Sudan, but also offered Khartoum new incentives to end violence in Darfur and the semi-autonomous south ahead of crucial polls next year.

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

The United States cannot wait for problems surrounding the legitimacy of the Afghan government to be resolved before making a decision on troops, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said.

Two major bank industry groups said on Tuesday they oppose a congressional proposal to consolidate federal banking supervision into one regulator.

Chemical maker DuPont posted a higher-than-expected 11 percent jump in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, but revenue fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding has filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse in the U.S. after two former directors at the bank, later charged with fraud, sold the company $545 million in risky securities.

Hyatt Hotels Corp set the size and price range of its planned initial public offering, suggesting the launch of the $931 million deal is imminent despite signs of feuding within the controlling Pritzker family.

Las Vegas Sands Corp is seeking $1.75 billion to $2 billion five-year financing for its subsidiary, Venetian Macau, almost one year after cancelling a $5.25 billion financing and mothballing its Macau projects, banking sources said.

Sears is joining the battle to win book sales, saying on Tuesday that it will give shoppers a credit toward a future purchase if they buy select books on its website or those of Target Corp, Amazon.com and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is in advanced preparations to take rifle and ammunition maker Freedom Group Inc public, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Entergy Corp shut the 1,157-megawatt nuclear Unit 3 at the Waterford power plant in Louisiana on Oct. 19 for planned refueling and maintenance, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Regulators approved the 359 million euro purchase of BP Plc's Greek ground fuel network by Hellenic Petroleum, with minor conditions attached.

U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co may beat consensus estimates in the third quarter, an analyst at Barclays said, while raising his outlook for the quarter and upgrading the stock to equal weight from underweight.

A government-appointed task force crafting a revival plan for Japan Airlines cut its debt relief request to 250 billion yen ($2.8 billion) from 300 billion, but creditors still rejected the plan, two sources said.

Plum Organics is recalling its apple-and-carrot flavored baby food over fears of botulism contamination.

Coca-Cola Co reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, hurt by declines across all its businesses, and said a weak economy would keep consumers under pressure next year, sending shares down 2.4 percent.

Asset manager Invesco Ltd said quarterly profit fell 20 percent as investment management fees declined, but its shares rose on news of a deal to buy the mutual fund business of Morgan Stanley.

Biogen Idec Inc reported third-quarter earnings on Tuesday that topped expectations, but data related to its controversial multiple sclerosis drug was mixed and its shares fell 1.5 percent.

Apple shares continued to trade higher Tuesday morning after the company reported a 47 percent jump in quarterly profits, driven by better-than-expected sales of iPhones, Mac computers and iPods.