IBT Staff Reporter

Shares of U.S. government-controlled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac soared for a second straight day on Tuesday after attracting the attention of day-traders looking to turn a quick profit with these low-priced household names.

In late August's quiet trading, four troubled financial companies have accounted for a big piece of total volume on the New York Stock Exchange, with all four rallying on little news.

Gasoline slipped towards $680 a tonne on Tuesday, pressured by a drop in crude prices, but cracks rose slightly as light-end products remain the strongest part of the oil complex.

Russian mid-sized oil firm Tatneft (TATN3.MM) said on Tuesday it had successfully drilled a well on an oil block of Libya's Ghadames Basin, some 345 kilometres (214 miles) south of Tripoli.

Toyota Motor Corp , the world's biggest automaker, will cut its global production capacity by 10 percent, or 1 million vehicles, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Many Americans have been getting a break on their electricity bills during the recession, but they should not expect the relief to last long as power demand recovers and climate regulations loom.

Oil prices sank 4 percent on Tuesday as dealers rushed to take profits from a rally that had culminated in a 10-month peak earlier in the day.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appointed on Tuesday an insider, James Kroeker, as its top accountant, where he will be responsible for thorny issues such as off-balance sheet accounting.

The new board of General Motors Co [GM.UL] has emerged as a key player in the outcome of the automaker's long-running talks to sell off its Opel unit.

Drug maker Pfizer's Venezuelan unit paid 36.59 million bolivars ($17 million) in back taxes after auditors questioned its transfer pricing methodology, Venezuela's tax service said in a statement on Tuesday.

NBC has handed a pilot order to

Creditors to collapsed British investment firm Keydata Investment Services have formed a committee to advise on the administration process, administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said on Tuesday.

President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled new rules for French banks to limit traders' bonuses on Tuesday and said he would fight to persuade other G20 leaders to adopt the same position.

The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, behind rock operas

U.S. regulators are set to buttress their defenses this week against a slew of sick banks still facing closure and the risks to the dwindling fund that protects depositors.

Oil prices sank 3 percent on Tuesday as dealers rushed to take profits from a rally that had culminated in a 10-month peak earlier in the day.

Stocks climbed on Tuesday, briefly hitting 2009 highs after strong housing and consumer confidence data, while Ben Bernanke's renomination as Fed chairman ended uncertainty about the central bank's leadership as the economy recovers.

South Africa's MTN Group said half-year adjusted headline earnings per share could fall by between 8.6 and 13.6 percent for the six months to the end of June, worse than market forecasts, it said on Tuesday.

Egypt's Orascom Telecom on Tuesday posted second quarter net profit up 38 percent at $111.8 million, the lower end of forecasts, and said it saw only timid signals of economic recovery in its markets.

Canada's Absolute Software Corp posted a fourth-quarter profit helped by a large tax gain.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised on Tuesday to fight for tougher controls on bankers' bonuses at a meeting of the Group of 20 leaders next month.

China Mobile has reached a deal with Taiwan-based High Tech Computer (HTC) to jointly develop 3G smartphones based on TD-SCDMA 3G technology and TD-LTE, a 4G mobile broadband technology based network, in China, executives said Monday.

The White House and the Congressional Budget Office released new estimates on Tuesday of the scope of federal budget deficits and the health of the U.S. economy.

The new board of General Motors Co has emerged as a key player in the outcome of the automaker's long-running talks to sell off its Opel unit.

Sony Corp on Tuesday launched its first wireless electronic reader, a move to challenge Amazon.com Inc's recent dominance of the growing digital book market.

Royal Bank of Scotland's talks to sell some of its Asian assets to Standard Chartered remain in full swing, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday after a report they were on the rocks.

Larger-than-expected improvements in U.S. housing prices and consumer confidence on Tuesday lent new weight to signs the economy is emerging from the longest and deepest recession since the 1930s.

U.S. regulators are set to buttress their defenses this week against a slew of sick banks still facing closure and the risks to the dwindling fund that protects depositors.