IBT Staff Reporter

President Barack Obama will participate in a meeting on Thursday with executives of U.S. credit card companies, the White House said.

What's in a handshake? The clasping of hands by President Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has set off a debate over what kind of signal Obama was sending.

Coca-Cola Co reported a lower quarterly profit on Tuesday that met Wall Street estimates as the weak global economy led to slower international sales growth.

President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a $100 billion U.S. loan to the International Monetary Fund to boost the IMF's resources and urged a bigger stake in the IMF for emerging powers.

State Street Corp , one of the world's biggest institutional investors, reported a 10 percent drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday and said that it had $5.9 billion in unrealized losses in its investment portfolio.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer United Technologies Corp reported a 27.8 percent fall in quarterly profit as a slumping economy crimped demand for its jet engines and air conditioners.

The Treasury still has about $134.6 billion available in its coffers from last fall's bank bailout package and that should be enough for it to avoid asking Congress for more money, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

Merck & Co , which plans to buy rival drugmaker Schering-Plough Corp later this year, reported lower-than-expected sales and earnings that it attributed to the global economic slowdown.

Britain should only support energy production from burning wood and other biomass where proven carbon cuts result, said a report by the Environment Agency, a public body which advises government. Investors and energy companies plan to invest billions in developing British power plants running on wood chips, straw and other biomass, in response to UK climate change policies which add a premium for generation of low-carbon electricity.

Caterpillar Inc , the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, reported its first quarterly loss in 17 years on Tuesday, pulled into the red by more than half a billion dollars in charges from its wave of recession-triggered layoffs.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday on concerns about the state of corporate profits after several major U.S. companies reported disappointing quarterly results and even cloudier outlooks.

UnitedHealth Group Inc posted slightly lower first-quarter profit on Tuesday as membership in commercial plans for employers fell, but the results topped analysts' expectations, and the insurer backed its 2009 profit forecast.

MUZU.TV, an Irish-based video Web site which has won plaudits from the music industry for the way it pays artists when their music is played online, has signed a deal with the world's largest label Universal.

Solar stocks have skyrocketed since March on optimism about government efforts to stimulate demand for the clean energy source, but analysts warn that with earnings season beginning, investors in the high-flying sector are in for a strong dose of reality.

Schering-Plough Corp , which Merck & Co is in the process of acquiring, reported higher-than expected first-quarter earnings on Tuesday as the drugmaker cut costs.

The U.S. Treasury's plan to purge toxic assets from banks' balance sheets is vulnerable to fraud and abuse and needs tough rules against conflict of interest, the government's bailout watchdog said on Tuesday.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp said first-quarter profit fell by more than half as fees tumbled, and the bank slashed its dividend 63 percent in an effort to build capital.

Royal Dutch Shell still plans to start exploration drilling next year in Alaska's potentially oil-rich Chukchi Sea in spite of a new legal setback, a company manager in Alaska said on Monday.

Wal-Mart Inc's plan to eliminate jobs at its China unit has met with resistance from the up to 1,400 workers involved, the U.S. retailer said on Tuesday.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday on concerns about the state of corporate profits after several major U.S. companies reported disappointing quarterly results and even cloudier outlooks.

UnitedHealth Group Inc posted slightly lower first-quarter profit on Tuesday as membership in commercial plans for employers fell, but the results topped analysts' expectations, and the insurer backed its 2009 profit forecast.

Honda Motor Co. President Takeo Fukui said on Tuesday the U.S. market has shown signs of having bottomed out since the start of April.

Cisco Systems Inc on Tuesday introduced new network security products to help protect companies' Web-based software and services from attacks on their networks.

The Obama administration will make about $500 million available to Chrysler LLC through the end of this month as it seeks to reach an alliance with Fiat, and up to $5 billion through May to help General Motors Corp restructure outside of bankruptcy, an independent oversight report on the Treasury Department's corporate rescue fund said on Tuesday.

Chemical maker DuPont reported a 59 percent fall in quarterly profit, trimmed its full-year outlook and said it would cut more jobs as weak economic conditions continued to constrict demand.

Caterpillar Inc , the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, reported its first quarterly loss in 17 years on Tuesday, pulled into the red by more than half a billion dollars in charges from its wave of recession-triggered layoffs.

Shares of Caterpillar Inc fell 3.2 percent to $29.51 in premarket trade on Tuesday after the heavy equipment maker posted its quarterly results.

LG Electronics Inc posted a smaller-than-expected 25 percent fall in first-quarter operating profit on Tuesday and said it expected improving sales of mobile phones and air conditioners to drive a recovery in the quarters ahead.

Chemical maker DuPont reported a 59 percent fall in quarterly earnings, cut its full year 2009 earnings forecast due to weak demand, and said it will undertake additional cost cutting measures.