IBT Staff Reporter

The yen weakened across the board on Tuesday as investors waded back into risky carry trades, sparked by moderate gains in global equities and a rise in commodity prices.

Gold surged to a record high above $876 per ounce on Tuesday as investors poured into the market, confident of further upside in the metal with support from a weaker dollar and firm oil.

The credit crisis may be fouling up billion-dollar takeover deals, but if you're a poor African seamstress who needs a loan for a new sewing machine, you could not ask for a better borrowing market to expand your business.

Apple will soon announce steps to resolve European Commission charges that its iTunes stores broke EU rules by setting prices country by country in Europe, people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. The announcement may come later on Tuesday or at the latest by Thursday, the sources said.

U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the Middle East this week will evoke widespread hostility in a region where many view him as a war-monger pursuing U.S.-Israeli hegemony, not peace and democracy. In the Arab street, Bush is seen as the man whose invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq to wage war on terrorism brought chaos to the region and more recruits to al Qaeda.

Microsoft Corp sought to bolster its enterprise search efforts and increase its European presence as it announced Tuesday that it will offer to acquire Norwegian search firm Fast Search & Transfer ASA for about $1.2 billion.

Motorola unveiled a number of new products at this years consumer electronics show, including a revised version of its Rockr music phone, wireless headphones, and a pocket-sized mobile film studio. At the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company rolled out its first set of products since former chief executive Ed Zander resigned late last year.

Intel on Monday, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas revealed its plans for innovating technology that will boost the consumer electronics and entertainment industry through internet.

Panasonic Corp. on Monday, at the CES trade show in Las Vegas revealed its commitment to environmental conservation when its president said the firm will focus much on reducing emissions this year. We removed lead elements from all our products in an effort to make the whole world environmentally friendly, said Toshihiro Sakamoto, President of Panasonic AVC Networks. We are making products that can easily be recycled.

Internet Search Engine Wikia, a project from Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and his company Wikia launched today as a new competitor to major search engines such as Internet search leader Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.com.

Starbucks Corp., the world's largest chain of coffee shops, ousted Chief Executive Officer Jim Donald on Monday and brought former CEO and Chairman Howard Schultz to the post after reporting its worst-ever annual performance and competition from fast-food rivals such as McDonald's.

Technology stocks ended lower on Monday as many of the sector's major players tumbled giving the Nasdaq its seventh consecutive day fall, its longest losing streak since June 2006.

Copper fell on Monday as the demand for the red metal was weakened by concerns over the U.S. economic slowdown.

Oil fell more than $2 per barrel on Monday more after a report of the U.S. Labor department raised concerns that the world's top oil consumer may fall into an economic recession.

Wheat futures fell the most in a week on Monday on speculation the U.S. government will predict bigger harvests than in December for some major exporting countries.

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas kicked off with Panasonic unveiling its latest technology as it envisions at having a wireless and digitalized world.

Players in Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming community can soon watch television shows and movies on demand in addition to playing games, the world's largest software maker said.

The international Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opened on Monday with a call for improved trade policies in the United States and open global market engagement as well as improving immigration conditions.

At the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas, Panasonic unveiled new High Definition (HD) flat screen televisions with enhanced picture quality, and a new slot for SD memory.

Gold futures dropped on Monday, weighed down by a dip in crude oil prices and a strengthening U.S. dampening investors demand for the precious metal.

Consumer electronics sales in the U.S are likely to slow in the upcoming year according to an industry trade group, however the industry will still see growth above 5 percent driven by television and audio products.

Intel Corporation, the world's largest chip maker, unveiled 16 products in International CES 2008 on Monday, including the company's first 45 nanometer (nm) processors chip for laptops.

U.S. Stocks gained momentum during Monday's morning trading as bargain hunters bought beaten-down shares amidst expectations that Friday's jobless report will cause the Fed to further cut interest rates to ward off an economic recession.

Sony Corp.'s computer division, off to a weak start last year versus the highly popular Nintendo Wii game system, got a boost over the U.S. holiday period, selling 1.2 million Playstation 3 video game in a seven week span. The November 23 to December 31 sales were two-thirds as much as the company had sold during the rest of 2007, according to company figures.

CITIC Securities, China's largest listed brokerage, said on Monday its net profit more than quintupled last year.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei average hit a new 17-month low on Monday, beaten down by fresh worries about the U.S. economy that sent Wall Street tumbling and prompted investors to sell chip shares.

Gold drifted further away from its recent record highs on weaker oil prices and a rebound in the dollar, but analysts said on Monday that sentiment was positive.

The dollar rose on Monday after losses the previous session, as investors trimmed bets against the currency given persistent U.S. inflation pressures that may prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates aggressively.

Oil prices at $100 a barrel mean little to Chinese consumers insulated from the global rally by cheap fuel prices, but the latest market peak should sound a warning to Beijing over its disjointed energy policy.