IBT Staff Reporter

Oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday as U.S. consumer confidence data weighed on markets and the government revised downward U.S. demand for July.

A court in the Ecuadorean jungle region where giant U.S. oil producer Chevron Corp faces a $27 billion environmental damages suit has named a new judge to hear the case, after the previous one quit amid a bribery scandal.

U.S. airlines have slashed capacity, and recession-battered demand is showing signs of returning, but carriers like Southwest Airlines may scramble to fill planes this winter with big fare discounts, a fare expert said on Tuesday.

Jonathan Stempel

TLC on Tuesday announced the show previously called Jon and Kate plus eight will from November carry the name Kate plus eight.

French food group Danone said on Tuesday that it was not holding talks with U.S. paediatrics formula maker Mead Johnson and was not seeking any advice on the issue.

Accretive Health Inc AH.N, a provider of technology and services aimed at helping hospitals manage their revenue cycles, plans to raise as much as $200 million in an initial public offering, according to a prospectus filed with U.S. regulators.

A survey of small and mid-sized companies in 12 major global markets showed growing confidence in the state of global trade, Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, said on Tuesday.

A top U.S. senator said on Tuesday that he is moving forward with his effort to consolidate bank supervision into a single federal regulator, despite criticism from current bank regulators who do not want to lose their authorities.

U.S. retail gasoline demand rose 0.9 percent last week compared with the previous week, according to a MasterCard SpendingPulse report released on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks slipped on Tuesday as a surprise drop in a gauge of consumer confidence offset signs of stabilization in housing and Walgreen Co's stronger-than-expected profit.

Home prices fell at a slower rate in July, continuing a six month trend earlier in 2009, but concerns about longer term stability remain, according to the latest report of the S&P Case Schiller Home Price Indices.

A tsunami warning was issued for New Zealand and other small Pacific islands after a major 7.9 magnitude quake struck in the ocean off American Samoa, U.S. government agencies said on Tuesday.

Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp on Tuesday gained approval from European Union antitrust regulators to acquire rival Sanyo Electric Co Ltd on condition it sheds some units.

CIT Group Inc shares surged on Tuesday following a newspaper report that hedge fund Paulson & Co wants to combine the cash-strapped lender with a Paulson-affiliated bank once known as IndyMac. But a person familiar with the matter denied the report.

TLC network made a major change and has decided to air Kate Plus 8. Although the network is not completely cutting its exclusive relationship with Jon Gosselin, from now on the soon to be ex-husband of Kate would be appearing less often in the show.

Warner Music Group and Google Inc's YouTube said on Tuesday they have reached a deal which will see music videos from artists such as Madonna and Green Day once again feature on the popular website.

After dismissing complaints that might have uncovered investor Bernard Madoff's $65 billion fraud, experienced U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staffers must have a procedure in place to review tips and complaints, the SEC's internal watchdog said on Tuesday.

U.S. banking regulators proposed on Tuesday that banks prepay three years of fees to help cover the rising cost of bank failures, now put at $100 billion through 2013.

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Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp gained conditional approval from European Union antitrust regulators on Tuesday for its bid to acquire smaller rival Sanyo Electric Co Ltd .

Real estate developer Stephen Ross's Related Cos is among the bidders for the assets of failed Corus Bank, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co expects to save $215 million under a four-year contract with the United Steelworkers union that the company said on Tuesday gives it flexibility to change schedules, work rules and adjust the size of the workforce.

U.S. mortgage rates held at their lowest level since late May in the latest week, low enough to continue to spur home loan demand and help the hard-hit U.S. housing market recover.

Apparel and home-furnishings retailer Bon-Ton Stores Inc said it will start operating jewelry departments, earlier licensed to bankrupt jeweler Finlay Fine Jewelry Corp, at 86 of its nameplate stores in late October.

Northrop Grumman said the U.S. government had given rival Boeing a fundamentally unfair edge in their renewed battle for a potential $50 billion contract to build aerial tankers.

Africa's second-biggest grocer Pick 'n' Pay Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday it expects to report an 8-15 percent rise in full year headline earnings per share, sending its shares down more than 4 percent.

Coca-Cola Co and its largest independent bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc, are teaming up on an ad campaign against a possible U.S. tax on soft drinks, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

RailAmerica Inc, which owns and operates short-line and regional freight railroads in North America, has set the terms for its planned initial public offering, which is scheduled for October.