IBT Staff Reporter

Sterling fell sharply against the dollar yesterday as downbeat Consumer Confidence data further dampened the sentiments of investors.

The dollar held on to slight gains against the euro on Wednesday as investors expect the Federal Reserve will pause its current string of interest rate cuts after one more quarter point decline today.

MasterCard's profit more than doubled in the first quarter as more customers outside the United States used their credit and debit cards for purchases.

South African Nationwide Airline has ceased operations until further notice due to financial hardships, the airline announced on Tuesday.

The Zimbabwe Police have released detained MDC members of the opposition party following pressure from lawyers for Zimbabwe's MDC party and a court ruling issued by the Harare High Court.

3Com Corp. on Tuesday named a new CEO who will be based in China, after it unsuccessfully sought to win a U.S. government approval to sell a minority stake to China's biggest telecom gear maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

United Rentals Inc. said late Tuesday that its first-quarter profit rose to $38 million, or 34 cents a share, from $30 million, or 28 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Countrywide Financial Corp, the biggest U.S. mortgage lender by value of loans, reported an $893 million loss for the first quarter on missed mortgage payments, rising home foreclosures and writedowns.

Genentech Inc. and Biogen Idec Inc. shares slumped on Tuesday as the companies said their drug Rituxan failed a late stage trial to examine the efficiency of the drug in patients with lupus.

In a regulatory filing released Friday, the chief executive of Continental Airlines received $6 million in compensation from the company last year, down 9.3 percent from 2006.

Citigroup, the largest U.S. Bank, is looking to raise an additional $3 billion in capital as it seeks to stabilize its finances, announcing on Monday that it is offering more stock to investors.

Boston Properties Inc. a real estate developer and owner of office properties reported late Tuesday a steep decline of 90 percent in net income for the first quarter.

Avon Products Inc., the largest door direct seller of cosmetics, said Tuesday its net income rose 23 percent helped by stronger sales in Brazil, Russia and China.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. posted a better than forecasted net income in the first quarter that rose 69 percent, supported by DVD sales of Shrek the Third and Bee Movie.

Soybeans tumbled for the fifth consecutive session on concerns of reduced demand as the dollar regains.

Wheat declined on Tuesday after a U.S. government report showed that winter crop conditions improved reducing concern that global inventories will decline.

Royal Dutch Shell and BP Plc, the two largest public oil companies in Europe, reported record profits on Tuesday for the first three months of the year as oil prices reached new highs.

Copper futures in New York closed with a steep decline as the dollar rallied lowering appeal of commodities ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.

Shares of pharmaceutical giant Merck put pressure on the Dow, after losing 10 percent as the Food and Drug Administration rejected its cholesterol drug Cordaptive, one of the key drugs in its pipeline.

Oil giant BP said on Tuesday that its profits had risen 48 per cent to $6,588 million in the first quarter of 2008. The company said that its net cash from operating activities in the quarter was $10.9 billion, up from $8.0 billion one year ago.

Relatives of a woman and her son who died after receiving treatment with the drug Heparin made by Baxter International Inc. urged a congressional subcommittee Tuesday to protect patients from unsafe drugs.

Mastercard Inc., the world's second largest credit-card company, said its earnings more than doubled in the first three months of 2008 on higher use outside the US, helping the company to surpass its larger rival Visa Inc.

Gold futures fell sharply Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened against major currencies and declining oil prices pressured investment demand for the precious metal.

McGraw-Hill Cos Inc said on Tuesday quarterly earnings fell 44 percent on a slump in its Standard & Poor's ratings agency, which critics accuse of helping to inflate the credit bubble. The company has also lowered its full-year forecast.

Crude futures fell more than $3 a barrel on Tuesday as the North Sea pipeline restarted operations and the dollar gained strength versus the euro.

Dollar paired gains due to profit booking after a three day rally ahead of the FOMC meet.

Sterling rose against the dollar yesterday as the traders took clue from the slightly brighter stock market sentiment.

Treasuries rose on Monday in light trading as bond investors expected a Federal Reserve cut in the benchmark interest rate later in the week.

Honeywell International Inc. a diversified technology and manufacturing company said on Monday that it will buy Metrologic Instruments Inc. for $720 million and the company will merge with Honeywell's Automation and Control Solution business.