IBT Staff Reporter

Japan's Democratic Party, set to take power after a landslide election win on Sunday, has promised deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and more renewable energy use.

Europe and the United States were both set to report rises in August car sales thanks to government scrappage incentives, and France said it may extend its scheme beyond the year's end.

Soft drink bottler PepsiAmericas Inc said it plans to invest roughly $150 million by 2011 in a plant it opened on Tuesday in southern Romania, the company's second-largest facility in Europe.

Turkey hopes to open its border with Armenia by the end of the year under a protocol to establish diplomatic ties, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday.

(Corrects first paragraph to show U.S. manufacturing is expected to have expanded for the first time since just after the recession began, not since the recession began.)

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rebuffed criticism on Tuesday of Moscow's role just before World War Two during ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland.

North Korea, facing tougher U.N. sanctions for its nuclear test in May and a series of missile launches, said on Tuesday it had sent a Foreign Ministry delegation to China, its biggest benefactor and only major ally.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's main rival Abdullah Abdullah staged a rally of village elders on Tuesday to denounce fraud in last month's election and said he was doing all he could to keep his supporters off the streets.

Iran has prepared an updated nuclear proposal and is ready to hold negotiations with world powers, state-run Iranian television quoted the Islamic Republic's chief nuclear negotiator as saying on Tuesday.

Japan's Democratic Party, fresh from a landslide election victory, met the central bank governor and senior finance ministry bureaucrats on Tuesday as the transition to a new government stepped up a gear.

German real estate fund manager Union Investment said on Tuesday it has bought the Mercado shopping mall in Hamburg for 164 million euros ($235.5 million) in Germany's largest individual property deal so far this year.

Stocks opened lower on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of the economic recovery looked set to eclipse data expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday its experimental drug for psychosis related to Parkinson's disease failed to meet its primary goal in a late-stage trial, sending its shares down 70 percent.

Vaccine maker Novavax Inc said its seasonal flu vaccine candidate was well-tolerated in a mid-stage trial, sending its shares up 17 percent in pre-market trade.

The Federal Communications Commission will open an inquiry to examine the various technologies to block children from watching programs with sex and violence, the agency's chief said on Monday.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of an economic recovery looked set to eclipse a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

CBS has landed a highly sought multicamera comedy script by

Boxing will return to movie theaters for the first time in almost three decades -- and in high definition -- with the September 19 welterweight championship bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez, it was announced Monday.

Oil rose above $70 a barrel on Tuesday in choppy trade, as the market awaited U.S. data expected to indicate economic recovery and higher fuel consumption in the world's biggest energy market.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of an economic recovery looked set to eclipse a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

The reinvigorated market for initial public offerings has sparked a rash of new filings by prominent companies that have been waiting for years for the chance to go public, setting the stage for potentially billions of dollars in IPOs by the end of the year.

Euro zone unemployment hit a 10-year high of 9.5 percent in July and is seen rising further before a nascent economic recovery supports the job market, denting hopes that consumer spending will boost growth.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said it has appointed Nick Secrett, who joins from Swiss Re to its Pensions Capital Management team.

U.S. government incentives likely pushed U.S. auto sales to a 20-month high in August, leaving analysts and the industry guessing how hard a landing to expect with the Cash for Clunkers program now exhausted.

Credit Card Blues; Beyond 'Clunkers; Pressure on Retailers

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of an economic recovery looked set to eclipse a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

A grassroots conservative campaign against the Obama administration's healthcare reform plan has galvanized Republicans but also exposed the party to charges it is a captive of the fringe.

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.

(Corrects first paragraph to show U.S. manufacturing is expected to have expanded for the first time since just after the recession began, not since the recession began.)