IBT Staff Reporter

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.

Caterpillar Inc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday and raised its full-year forecast, hailing what it said were growing signs of a global economic rebound and sending its shares up more than 4 percent.

Oil refiner Holly Corp said it will buy Sinclair Oil Corp's Tulsa refinery in a cash-and-stock deal worth $128.5 million, and said it may offer debt securities to part fund the transaction.

Silvio Berlusconi's cutting remark about a female rival's lack of beauty has stirred a rare public backlash from thousands of Italian women who had largely kept silent about the prime minister's womanising and sex scandals.

Russia's MTS would achieve synergies of more than $300 million if it fully consolidates Comstar, Sistema, the parent of both the companies, said in a presentation on Tuesday.

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.

UAL Corp , parent of United Airlines, posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday, and its shares rose 4 percent.

Education provider Corinthian Colleges Inc said it agreed to acquire Heald Capital, the parent company of Heald Colleges, in a cash deal valued at about $395 million, including debt.

The hijacking of a Chinese coal ship in the Indian Ocean shows Somali pirates are extending their reach beyond the Gulf of Aden and the Somali coast, shippers said as traders worried that more coal ships could become targets.

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Iran's military accused the United States and Israel of terrorism as it held a funeral on Tuesday for high-ranking commanders killed in the deadliest attack in the Islamic Republic since the 1980s.

Nine North Koreans who took refuge in Denmark's embassy in Hanoi nearly four weeks ago have left the mission and are on their way to South Korea, a Danish consular official said Tuesday.