IBT Staff Reporter

Most securitization markets remain closed and some financial institutions remain under pressure despite advances in some financial markets since September, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers on Tuesday.

U.S. companies, consumers and communities may grow so addicted to government financial help that cutting them off could trigger another recession soon after the current one ends.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will order a crackdown on waste and cost overruns in U.S. government procurement that he estimates will save up to $40 billion a year, an administration official said.

Merrill Lynch & Co's 10 highest-paid employees got a total of $209 million in cash and stock in 2008, up slightly from $201 million they received a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal said, citing reviewed figures.

A court appearance on Wednesday by accused swindler Bernard Madoff for a hearing over a potential conflict of interest involving his lawyer, Ira Sorkin has been postponed, a judge's clerk said on Tuesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed confidence on Tuesday his economic reforms would work as senior officials began lobbying Congress to support the administration's jaw-dropping budget proposal.

Citigroup Inc said on Tuesday it will allow some newly unemployed homeowners to temporarily reduce payments on their mortgages.

Citigroup Inc said on Tuesday it will allow some newly unemployed homeowners to temporarily reduce payments on their mortgages.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday as investors bet U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would shed light on plans to shore up the financial system a day after Wall Street slid to a 12-year low.

General Electric Co Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt took responsibility for the U.S. conglomerate's tarnished reputation as a growth company, in a letter to shareholders released Monday.

Netbook web surfers beware. That low-cost netbook you're using could be a high-speed gateway into your life, bank accounts, passwords and other personal data.

California surgeon Calvin Lee has barely picked up his violin for 15 years but on Monday he was named a member of the first YouTube Symphony Orchestra and next month he plays at Carnegie Hall with the group.

Oil rose above $40 a barrel on Tuesday after a 10 percent slump on Monday but showed no sign of a return to last week's bull run as global equities extended a fall on worries about the global economy and outweighed OPEC's strong compliance with supply curbs.

Blackstone Group LP Co-founder and Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman's pay fell 99 percent in 2008, a year that saw the private-equity firm post a $1.33 billion loss.

Microsoft may create up to 3,000 jobs as it raises investment in research and development by $1 billion this year, its chief operating officer said on Tuesday.

The global economic downturn will be considerably deeper than even the International Monetary Fund forecast a month ago, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's chief economist Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel told Reuters.

Citigroup Inc is hoping to create joint ventures with third parties as a way of shedding businesses it does not want, the New York Post reported on Tuesday, citing high-level insiders at the New York bank.

The global economic downturn will be considerably deeper than even the International Monetary Fund forecast a month ago, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's chief economist Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel told Reuters.

Offshore tax havens used by rich Americans in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and other nations are targeted for shutdown by bills offered on Monday by Democrats in both chambers of the Congress.

Chrysler vice-chairman Jim Press said on Tuesday the auto maker was hopeful the automaker had all the criteria necessary to receive additional U.S. government loans.

The Obama administration is not interested in escalating a dispute with Switzerland over bank secrecy laws, Switzerland's top justice official said on Monday after meeting with her U.S. counterparts.

Oil hovered above $40 a barrel on Tuesday, after slumping 10 percent overnight as the deepening global recession threatened to crimp energy demand further, outweighing OPEC's strong compliance with supply curbs.

Intel Corp will develop its low-cost chips for ultra-small laptops with Taiwan's TSMC for a range of electronic devices, helping both firms expand into new markets amid a deepening global recession.

The Obama administration's plan to begin the flow of credit in the financial system among certain types of assets by creating multiple investment funds to purchase them , people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial services Committee, said Monday that while some functions of mortgage finance will remain with the banks, some will remain with a public entity, according to the New York Times

HSBC Holdings Plc, the largest European bank, on Monday announced it would initiate a rights offering to raise 12.85 billion pounds ($17.7 billion) as it copes with heavy losses in the United States.

Former American International Group Chairman Hank Green Berg sued the company on Tuesday.

A bill proposed in the U.S. Senate on Monday would shut down some offshore tax haven opportunities.

Microsoft Corp is testing a new version of its online search service internally under the name of Kumo.com, a spokesman for the software company said on Monday.