IBT Staff Reporter

A bill to curb sharp practices in the credit card business was on track for approval by the U.S. Senate as early as Tuesday, with President Barack Obama expected to sign it into law before the end of the month.

The pace of contraction in world economic output appears to be easing and recovery could begin at the end of this year, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told Spanish television on Tuesday.

Home Depot Inc reported a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday as the world's largest home improvement chain reined in its expenses.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and other banks have applied to repay billions of dollars they borrowed under the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.

Comcast Corp and the U.S. National Football League are close to a deal in which the league-owned NFL Network would be put on a widely distributed tier of the cable operator, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the talks.

The world's top cellphone maker Nokia Oyj said on Tuesday it plans to cut a further 490 jobs as part of its global cost cutting program.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Teen idol Miley Cyrus has a message for Internet critics calling her fat -- cyber-bullying can seriously scar people, leading them to hurt themselves.

Oil rose to a fresh six month high above $60 a barrel on Tuesday as unrest in key producer Nigeria and a U.S. refinery outage kindled concerns over oil fundamentals after weeks of equity-led rallies.

World stocks rose for a third day running on Tuesday with banking stocks leading the gains in Europe, while oil hit a six-month peak.

Asian shares climbed to their highest level in seven months on Tuesday on fresh hopes the global recession is easing, and oil hovered at six-month peaks as supply concerns helped buoy up prices.

U.S. crude for June rose above $60 a barrel ahead of expiry on Tuesday, extending gains from a six-month high settlement a day earlier amid supply concerns over Nigeria and a U.S. refinery.

Asian shares climbed to their highest level in seven months on Tuesday on fresh hopes the global recession is easing, while oil hovered at six-month peaks as supply concerns helped buoy prices.

Walt Disney Co on Tuesday launched a new website offering merchandise from its theme parks and resorts as the entertainment group seeks new revenue sources during a slump in business at Disneyland and other parks.

Geithner says markets mending but jobs at risk

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp plans to shift the burden of resolving the financial crisis by charging banks fees based on their assets instead of their domestic deposits, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Monday.

Fairfield Greenwich Group, has been sued by the trustee for Bernardo Madoff’s now inactive money management firm, seeking $3.54 billion.

Despite tightening regulations due to the economic downturn and in the wake of the high profile Madoff ponzi scandal, Luxembourg hopes to gain an advantage over even more highly unregulated investment centers, the chairman of a leading funds association there said.

American Express said Tuesday it would cut about 4,000 jobs, or 6 percent of its worldwide workforce, along with other reductions in spending, as the company said it was taking a “cautious outlook” as the economy moves toward a recovery.

Oil prices steadied around $59 a barrel on Tuesday after settling a day earlier at a six-month high on supply concerns from Nigeria and a key U.S. refinery, as investors looked to equities and the dollar for further cues.

Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp said on Tuesday its loss-making mobile phone joint venture with Sweden's Ericsson will likely seek at least 100 million euros ($135.5 million) in funds by March.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 2.8 percent on Tuesday buoyed by gains in exporters such as Canon Inc after the yen retreated against the dollar.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc expects its core business to make a net profit by year's end with the personal computer market potentially stronger in the second half, Chief Executive Dirk Meyer said on Monday.

Japan's Nikkei stock average jumped 3.2 percent on Tuesday, with Honda Motor Co and other exporters gaining after the yen retreated against the dollar.

Nvidia Corp Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang said the downturn in chip demand appears to have bottomed out and is now growing nicely.

Iomega unveils a BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive 500GB USB 2.0 to be available in June while other Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 family of drives are now available.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans to name former U.S. President Bill Clinton as his special envoy to Haiti, in a move that could attract investment and help stabilize the country, officials said on Monday.

Nine major Japanese electronics companies gave the financial report for FY 2008 by May 15, and all but Mitsubishi Electric Corporation reported loss.

Israel’s largest oil refineries on Monday said its first quarter fell 11 percent particularly in its diesel demand despite oil prices increases in the current global recession.

The market did some strange things today. Those who follow it (and maybe trade it), will tell you it went up. The catalyst: communists lose some Indian political leverage, which will usher American style... socialism... in India, and homebuilders apparently are building homes again. The first item is open to discussion (mostly by political pundits), however to assume that the Indian market can sho...