IBT Staff Reporter

The 2.5 billion euro ($3.6 billion) online betting industry suffered a setback on Tuesday as the European Union said that a member states could be allowed to ban gambling websites if its intention was to stop crime.

Challenges of Slow Growth; Falling Tensions; Bottoming Airlines

Prospects for a new U.N. climate pact in Copenhagen have brightened but negotiations must speed up to meet a December deadline, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat said on Tuesday.

Lobbyist pressure will not weigh on a U.N. panel's decision whether to award carbon finance worth about 100 million euros ($144 million) to Chinese wind power projects, said the chair of the panel on Tuesday.

Tropical Storm Fred continues to gain strength as it moves to the west across the Atlantic. Fred has reached maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour according to the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday.

The board of General Motors Co convenes in Detroit this week for the second time since the automaker emerged from bankruptcy under mounting pressure to reach a deal on the future of its Opel business.

Smithfield Foods Inc reported on Tuesday a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss due to low hog prices and a drop in pork sales because of the H1N1 flu and the recession.

President Barack Obama will address the nation's school children welcoming them back to school at the start of a new school year Tuesday at 12pm EDT. The president's message will be streamed live at WhiteHouse.gov/live.

Verenex Energy Inc said on Tuesday the international arm of China National Petroleum Corp ended a C$446 million ($417 million) agreement to acquire the Canadian oil producer after Libya's government refused to approve the deal.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp said on Tuesday it closed the sale of $600 million in bonds ahead of an expected initial public offering of one of its units on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Opexa Therapeutics Inc said on Tuesday further analysis of clinical data shows that more than 83 percent of patients taking its experimental multiple sclerosis drug remained relapse-free after a year, more than doubling the value of the company's shares.

Honda Motor Co will maintain the target for lease sales of its newest fuel-cell car after over a year since its launch despite the challenge of boosting productivity, the model's chief engineer said.

UBS has put some of its worst problems behind it but still needs to work hard to rebuild its badly damaged reputation, the Swiss bank's chief executive told employees in an internal memo on Tuesday.

Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom SA plan to merge their British mobile units, responding to intense competition with a venture that would grab top spot in the crowded UK market.

Pulizer Prize-winning author Richard Russo is making his first foray into TV series with an untitled HBO drama about the Catskills Gas Rush.

Smithfield Foods Inc reported on Tuesday a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss due to low hog prices and a drop in pork sales because of the H1N1 flu and the recession.

Anime is quintessentially Japanese, but these days, a Canadian singer is giving it a voice.

Credit Suisse downgraded American International Group Inc to underperform from neutral, saying near-term sale of businesses would leave little to no value for common equity holders.

Familiar names headed the shortlist for one of the world's top literary awards on Tuesday with JM Coetzee and AS Byatt two of the six authors left in the running for the coveted Man Booker Prize.

International Business Machines Corp on Tuesday repeated that it expects to earn at least $9.70 a share this year.

Roche Holding AG named the architect of its integration with Genentech to head its drugs business, closing a $47 billion buyout that sets the U.S. biotech at the heart of the Swiss group's growth plans.

U.S. actor George Clooney plays a New Age hippie soldier trained for psychic, peaceful combat in a comedy set during the war in Iraq.

Oil traded higher on Tuesday by nearly $3 at one point as investors quenched a growing risk appetite for tangible commodities against the background of a weakening dollar and the looming prospect of inflation.

Facet Biotech Corp said on Tuesday it has rejected an unsolicited bid by Biogen Idec Inc to acquire Facet for $14.50 a share, saying the offer is inadequate and not in the best interests of shareholders.

Banking is supposed to be boring.That's the quip that lobbyists and congressional aides use, only half-jokingly, to explain what's in store for the banking industry as governments crack down with tighter regulation.

Airbus on Tuesday rejected U.S. calls to renounce government loans for its next airliner after the WTO gave a preliminary ruling against earlier loans, while a Boeing executive hit out at unfair subsidies.

Research in Motion Ltd Co-Chief Executive James Balsillie increased his bid for the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes ice hockey team by $30 million to $242.5 million, court documents showed.

Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed Goldman Sachs to consider a sale or other options for RBS Aviation Capital, one of the world's biggest plane leasing businesses, a person familiar with the matter said.

Global banking giant HSBC and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway should be paying staff the biggest bonuses, according to a new bonus model from a management consultant.