IBT Staff Reporter

Target Corp reported its eighth consecutive drop in quarterly profit, but the results were better than Wall Street had expected as the No 2 U.S. discount retailer cut costs and stocked less merchandise.

Lawmakers debating an overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system are focusing on proposals that would form healthcare cooperatives to help provide medical coverage.

Severe sleep apnea raises the risk of dying early by 46 percent, U.S. researchers reported Monday, but said people with milder sleep-breathing problems do not share that risk.

Usain Bolt, unsurprisingly, looked a little tired on Tuesday as he began his bid to add the 200 meters world title to the 100 he secured so spectacularly on Sunday, doing the bare minimum to ease into the second round.

Oil rose toward $68 a barrel on Tuesday in line with a broad recovery on Asian and European stock markets after falling the previous day to a two week-low.

Don't blame global stock markets for being skittish. It is August, after all, a month that has spelled trouble in the past two years.

Australia and China struck their biggest trade deal ever on Tuesday as the world's two most valuable listed oil companies, Exxon Mobil and PetroChina , agreed a $41 billion liquefied natural gas deal.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday, rebounding from a steep drop the previous session, ahead of data expected to show housing starts rose to their highest level in eight months.

Former President Kim Dae-jung, a giant in South Korea's shift to democracy who won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to forge a reconciliation with the prickly communist North, died on Tuesday at the age of 85.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday, rebounding from a steep drop the previous session, ahead of data expected to show housing starts rose to their highest level in eight months.

A judge on Monday approved a deal for the sale of Michael Jackson merchandise, but delayed making a decision on a traveling exhibition dedicated to the King of Pop, amid objections from the singer's mother.

Tribune Co chief executive Sam Zell is close to giving up his claims to buy a 40 percent stake in the company, the New York Post said, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Details of a landmark settlement of the U.S. tax case against Swiss bank UBS are expected this week, which should help the bank restore its image and open the way for the Swiss state to sell its UBS stake.

Eyeing a fresh wave of public offerings, Lazard Ltd has hired former Goldman Sachs Group Inc equity-markets banker Tom Tuft, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, a bounce from Monday's decline, as investors braced for data on new housing starts.

World stocks and commodity prices recovered on Tuesday from the previous session's sell-off, which was prompted by concerns over the pace of global recovery, while the Japanese yen and safe-haven U.S. government bonds eased.

American International Group Inc , the insurer that received billions of dollars in a U.S. bailout, said on Monday that it will pay newly-appointed Chief Executive Robert Benmosche an annual salary of $7 million.

Global miner Rio Tinto agreed to sell its Alcan packaging unit for about $2 billion to Australia's Amcor Ltd , easing its debt burden after an ill-timed acquisition two years ago.

Oil was steady above $67 a barrel on Tuesday, after falling the previous day to its lowest level in two weeks, amid persistent worries over the pace of the global economic rebound and revival in energy demand.

Asian shares clawed their way back from early lows on Tuesday following wild swings in Shanghai, as investors worried whether more bouts of profit taking will spell the end of the bull market that emerged from the financial crisis.

Asian stocks and the Australian dollar edged higher on Tuesday but shares in Shanghai were highly volatile, keeping nerves frayed about whether another bout of profit taking would hit global markets.

Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday, following Shanghai shares into the red and keeping nerves frayed about whether further profit taking will end the bull market that emerged from the financial crisis.

Market Wisdom or Hazard? Huge Credit Card Scam Caught; Justice for Broker Fraudster

One of the stock market's favorite accepted nuggets of wisdom is the notion that there's a pile of money waiting in the wings, itching to jump back into the market.

CIT Group Inc , a cash-strapped corporate lender scrambling to stay afloat, on Monday reported a second-quarter loss and said it continues to pursue a turnaround plan outside of bankruptcy court.

Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios and Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group closed a financing deal on Monday, putting the final touch on a three-year, $825 million pact for up to six films a year.

Cable television's Sundance Channel on Monday unveiled a video-on-demand service offering documentaries and international films endorsed by Sundance festival founder Robert Redford and often available the same day the movies hit theaters.

Kiss, the self-proclaimed

Britain's Academy of Contemporary Music is opening its first U.S. branch in Oklahoma City, with ambitious plans to enhance touring opportunities in the region, as well as educate students for a career in the music business.