IBT Staff Reporter

The fifth round under the Federal Reserve's TALF program grew to $8.1 billion on Tuesday and is largely being shaped by auto ABS issuers as two new deals join the queue of securities offered ahead of the July 7's subscription deadline.

Amazon.com has closed its third Internet associates program in a week, in Hawaii, as the online retailer steps up an effort to skirt new sales taxes in several U.S. states.

Making a telephone call, sending a text message or reading emails on a mobile phone from across the European Union will cost less from Wednesday.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday that it supports President Barack Obama's push to require large employers to offer health insurance to workers.

The Yemenia Airbus that crashed off the coast of the Comoros Islands Tuesday with 153 people on board had numerous faults and according to French transport minister the jet had been banned from French airspace because of irregularities, the AFP reported.

The cash-for-clunkers program, which encourages consumers to trade-in gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient cars, will likely provide a slight boost to vehicle sales in the third quarter.

The European Union is expected to take a key step towards the Lisbon Treaty becoming law across the continent this week when Germany's highest court rules that the new treaty is broadly compatible with German's constitution.

Seven aftershocks hit Sichuan and its surrounding areas in a day, with thousands of houses and dozens of small bridges destroyed, China News Agency reported on Tuesday.

A little-known Swedish software firm has snapped up file-sharing website The Pirate Bay with the hope of turning the source of legal controversy into a money-spinner that appeals to both users and content providers.

China has delayed indefinitely a much-criticized plan to force manufacturers to bundle Internet filtering software with personal computers sold in the country, in an abrupt retreat hours before the policy was due to start.

Iraq launched its first major energy auction since the 2003-led invasion on Tuesday, awarding its largest field to a BP-led group but doling out far fewer contracts than expected due to tough payment terms.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday that financial markets are showing signs of stabilization, but warned that the global crisis was far from over in developing countries.

The U.S. announced Tuesday it is allocating up to $32 million in funds to modernize the existing hydropower infrastructure in the country.

U.S. consumer confidence took an unexpectedly steep slide in June, figures released on Tuesday showed, suggesting the 18-month-long recession had yet to loosen its grip on the economy.

Very accommodative Federal Reserve monetary policy will stay for an extended period and a premature exit from this strategy could thwart U.S. economic recovery, a top Fed official said on Tuesday.

NVIDIA on Monday said its GPU accelerator design for Adobe Creative Suite 4 boosts speed with the ability to create rich, stunning content in a faster, smoother, and more interactive way.

Mozilla has officially announced the release of its new version of Firefox 3.5 which boosts higher performance and new features.

Cisco Systems Inc is considering offering Web-based alternatives to Microsoft Corp's popular Office software as the networking giant expands on the Internet.

The nurse who was married to Michael Jackson is not the biological mother of the King of pop's two eldest children according to reports from TMZ.

A toddler was rescued from a fatal crash of Yemenia Airways Flight 626 carrying 153 people early Tuesday while trying to land on Comoros amid bad weather, a Yemeni aviation official said.

China will delay the mandatory installation of the controversial Green Dam-Youth Escort filtering software on new computers, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Tuesday.

Price negotiations go beyond the Tuesday deadline as the world's biggest iron ore miners and Chinese steel makers are still in talks for the annual supply deal.

Misguided government policies have already dealt vicious body blows to our economy, but that hasn't stopped politicians this week from launching two new kicks to the groin: a national health insurance plan and a carbon emissions regulation system called cap and trade?

Billionaire investor George Soros on Tuesday predicted a stop-go economy for the United States, saying fears of inflation will drive up interest rates and choke off growth.

U.S. combat troops mostly left Iraq's cities and towns by midnight on Tuesday and redeployed to rural areas until the end of 2011, six years after invading the country and eventaully overthrowing the previous government under its now executed president Saddam Hussein.

The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday sent Congress proposed legislation to create a new regulatory agency with sweeping powers to write and enforce tough new consumer protection rules for banks and other financial institutions.

When stolen goods are recovered from the criminals when the arrest takes place and then no owner comes along and claims the property, what becomes of that property?

The father of Michael Jackson said on Monday in an interview that he did not believe series of concert stress killed his son.

American International Group Inc's chief executive said the government may never relinquish its 79.9 percent stake in the insurer, which has been rescued by $180 billion of federal bailouts.