IBT Staff Reporter

Legg Mason Inc's quarterly loss widened as it pared toxic assets from its books and cut its quarterly dividend 88 percent to 3 cents per share, sending the money manager's shares down 18 percent.

Total construction spending increased 0.3 percent in March, far exceeding expectations. Residential construction spending fell 4.1 percent. Nonresidential construction spending rose 2.0 percent on the month driven by lodging, power and manufacturing. However, the gain is not expected to stick. Nonresidential will likely post declines well into 2010.

The U.S. services sector contracted less severely in April and was back to its October 2008 level, a report showed on Tuesday, adding to evidence the world's largest economy was nearing bottom and moving closer to recovery.

The European Commission on Tuesday published a guide to consumers rights online as it gave a list of actions it is considering taking to help the public use the Internet.

U.S. trade regulators are examining links between Apple Inc. and Google Inc. as the two tech giants share some board members.

A Chrysler lenders group objected on Tuesday to the automaker's plans for a quick sale of most of its assets in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, saying it is structured to achieve political goals, rather than economic ones.

Legg Mason Inc's quarterly loss widened 27 percent as the money manager booked losses from paring toxic assets from its books, and the company cut its quarterly dividend to 3 cents per share from 24 cents a share.

The U.S. services sector contracted less severely in April and was back to its October 2008 level, a report on Tuesday showed, adding evidence the world's largest economy was nearing bottom and moving closer to recovery.

U.S. regulators are working with the top 19 banks on Tuesday to put the final touches on the results of regulatory stress tests, which are expected to reveal about half the banks need more capital but face manageable losses.

Auto and mortgage lender GMAC LLC's loss grew by 15 percent, reflecting an increase in soured loans as the economy weakens.

Molson Coors Brewing Co reported a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, as increased prices and cost cuts helped offset steeper commodity costs, the stronger U.S. dollar and lower sales volume.

The U.S. economy will begin to turn up later this year provided the financial sector continues to mend, although unemployment will remain high for a while, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday.

Molson Coors Brewing Co reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday that soared past Wall Street estimates, helped by price increases, cost cuts and savings from its U.S. joint venture, sending shares up more than 10 percent in morning trade.

U.S. automaker Chrysler LLC won interim court approval on Monday to access a $4.5 billion bankruptcy loan from the U.S. and Canadian governments, pushing it further along toward its planned sale to Italy's Fiat SPA .

Oil slipped from its highest price this year near $55 a barrel on Tuesday as bulging oil inventories and falling energy demand outweighed fragile hopes for an economic recovery.

Trading clients at the European affiliate of BATS Global Markets, BATS Europe, are getting a second choice for processing trades, as the firm announced today the appointment of a second central counterparty for transactions.

Kraft Foods Inc posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit helped by price increases, cost-cutting measures and consumers eating at home more often to save money.

(Corrects reference to public bankruptcy in 5th para)

MillerCoors, the combined U.S. operations of SABMiller Plc and Molson Coors Brewing Co reported first-quarter net profit of $68.5 million on Tuesday and further accelerated the timing of some merger savings.

Stocks slipped on Tuesday as the recent sharp run-up tempted investors to take profits while government stress test results due later this week may show about half of the banks under review need to raise more capital.

Israel's prime minister said on Monday he was ready to begin Israeli-Palestinian peace talks immediately but he made no reference to a Palestinian state, an omission that has dismayed Arab, European and U.S. officials.

Mexico was flying home dozens of its citizens on Tuesday quarantined in China over fears of a new flu virus and announced plans to revive its economy hit by the deadly epidemic, which showed signs of easing.

The new H1N1 flu virus is expected to surge in coming months in the southern hemisphere when the winter season begins, health experts said, calling for continued vigilance even if the virus appears to be mild.

GMAC LLC on Tuesday reported a first-quarter loss that was 15 percent larger than a year earlier. reflecting an increase in soured loans as the economy weakens.

Opponents of Afghan President Hamid Karzai are scrambling to unite behind a single leader in a last-minute bid to field a unified team for the August 20 election, the brother of one of the main hopefuls said on Tuesday.

A man was stoned to death in Iran for adultery but the woman involved in the case repented, the judiciary said on Tuesday, suggesting her life was spared.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dropped plans to attend a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council this month in protest at NATO's expulsion of Russian diplomats, Russia's NATO envoy said on Tuesday.

Masked men armed with assault rifles and grenades killed 44 people at a wedding party in southeast Turkey in a blood feud between families over who should marry the bride, authorities and residents said.

China's People's Liberation Army will hold a big training drill later this year to hone the modernizing force's skills in complex, high-tech warfare, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.