IBT Staff Reporter

Manufacturers from several nations delivered upbeat news on Tuesday, indicating a recovery from the deepest global recession since World War Two is gradually gaining traction.

Lenovo, the world's No. 4 PC brand, says it plans to list on the Shanghai stock exchange when rules permit, opening an opportunity for the firm in one of the world's best performing stock markets.

Gain Capital Holdings Inc, an online provider of retail foreign exchange trading services, is planning to raise up to $125 million in the public markets, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

Worrying about the looming threat of unemployment can be more damaging to a person's health than actually being jobless, according to a U.S. study.

The market for initial public offerings (IPO) in the Gulf looks set to reopen as stock markets and the oil price recover, and bankers expect a few companies to test the waters when Ramadan ends.

The buyer of AIG's Taiwan unit Nan Shan Life should run it for at least seven years, the island's financial regulators said on Tuesday, indicating there will be no swift exit for any buyer.

Sony Corp said it would sell an LCD TV assembly plant in Mexico to Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry in a bid to cut costs by contracting out production and turn around its loss-making TV operations.

Standard & Poor's said on Tuesday it is continuing to review its ratings on International Lease Finance Corp for downgrade as American International Group Inc's plans to sell the unit have become less clear.

Fortress Investment Group, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Pacific Alliance Group are among bidders for failed Japanese apartment developer Joint Corp in a deal that could be worth up to 80 billion yen ($861 million), two people with direct knowledge of the deal said.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes raced to a two-year high in July, a real estate trade group said on Tuesday, giving more evidence that a recovery in the housing market was under way.

The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in over a year and a half, while pending home sales surged to a two-year high in July, adding to mounting evidence the longest economic slowdown since the Great Depression is ending.

Europe's largest entertainment group Vivendi delivered forecast-beating second quarter underlying profit, despite the global economic crisis, and said it had ditched a deal with Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain.

Hurricane Jimena, an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, barreled toward Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Tuesday, forcing tourists to flee the Los Cabos resort area.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and other private-equity firms are eyeing a buyout of Societe Generale's asset management subsidiary TCW Group, the New York Post said, citing sources.

Celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was sentenced to 59 years to life in prison on Monday for sexual assaulting aspiring models.

India is considering a new law allowing strict checking of all imported telecommunications equipment, the latest move to plug security holes after last year's Mumbai attacks.

NEW YORK - Strong economic data on the manufacturing sector helped boost U.S. industrial shares in early trading on Tuesday, amid optimism the sector's earnings bottomed out in the second quarter and are set to improve.

Bank of America is offering to repay part of the U.S. government bailout money, starting with the $20 billion it received in January to help with the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website late on Monday.

Keeping a building green requires specific leases clauses as well as cooperation from the landlord and tenants.

A low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean-style diet is more effective than a typical low-fat, calorie-restricted diet for diabetes management, according to a study released Monday.

NEW YORK - U.S. copper futures headed higher at the open on Tuesday, recovering a portion of the prior session's steep losses, as equity markets regained their footing and manufacturing and housing data suggested the economic recovery was on track.

Robert Benmosche, the new CEO of American International Group Inc, said he regrets tough comments he made about New York's attorney general, saying he was trying to bolster a demoralized AIG work force.

The rapid growth of crowded cities has helped spread and increase the transmission of dengue around the world, health experts said on Tuesday, warning up to 3 billion people were already at risk.

If you want to dramatically lower the odds that you'll die of heart disease, go live someplace where public smoking is banned.

EBay Inc plans to sell a 65 percent stake in its online phone unit Skype for $1.9 billion to private investors including Silver Lake and a venture firm run by the Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after a survey showed the U.S. manufacturing sector returned to growth in August after a prolonged slump.

Clinics in drug stores provide care for minor ailments on par with, or better than, other medical facilities at significantly lower costs, according to a study released on Monday.

CareFusion Corp shares edged higher in initial trading on Tuesday, the Cardinal Healthspinoff's first day as an independent company.

China's Yunnan province is investigating possible lead poisoning in its capital city of Kunming, while smelter officials in its top lead producing city, Gejiu, are worried the provincial government may close local smelters with half a million tonnes of annual capacity.