IBT Staff Reporter

The Federal Reserve debated in October whether it needed more evidence the economy had been damaged by the housing slump and market turmoil before deciding to cut rates as an insurance policy, minutes of the meeting released on Tuesday show.

Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company, on Tuesday posted a wider third-quarter loss and said it may slash its dividend and raise new capital as it works through what it called an extremely difficult year for housing and credit markets.

The dollar dropped to a record low versus the euro on Tuesday, amid worries that credit-market turmoil will result in slower economic growth and lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve.

Stocks rose slightly following strong results from Hewlett-Packard Co. and a gain in the price of oil boosted energy companies which encouraged bargain investors to trade before the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting.

Investor confidence sank to its second lowest level in at least nine years in November as fears about the credit crisis combined with worries over a deteriorating world economy, State Street said on Tuesday.

AT&T opened its first U.S. West Coast AT&T Experience Store on Tuesday as it looks to provide consumers with a one-stop look at its consumer technologies.

China and India may be strong enough to make up for a slowdown in the world's largest economy

World stocks rebounded on Tuesday and the dollar fell sharply, hitting new record lows against the euro and Swiss franc, as speculation swirled that the U.S. Federal Reserve would meet to cut interest rates.

European shares rose early on Tuesday as tech and energy stocks helped the market bounce back from the previous session's sharp drop but banks such as UBS and Credit Suisse slipped again on credit market concerns.

Oil rebounded from early lows to trade above $95 a barrel on Tuesday, boosted by recovering stock markets after talk of another cut in U.S. interest rates to help economies navigate the credit crisis.

The dollar hit a record low against the euro on Tuesday as U.S. homebuilding permits fell to a 14-year low in October, stoking fears about housing sector weakness and expectations of lower U.S. interest rates.

India's Strides Arcolab and South Africa's Aspen on Tuesday struck multiple deals -- three for acquisitions and a cancer drugs joint venture -- boosting Strides' shares 20 percent.

Lehman Brothers Private Equity Partners Ltd has led the fundraising of nearly $10 million for Chinese travel search engine Qunar.com, in its first deal in China's consumer Internet sector, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Haitong Securities, China's third-largest listed brokerage, has completed a multibillion-dollar private share placement, priced at more than 35 yuan per share, its president Li Mingshan said on Tuesday.

A group of investors led by U.S. buyout firm J.C. Flowers & Co LLC will bid about $1.8 billion for up to 32.6 percent of Shinsei Bank Ltd, putting more money into the Japanese bank it helped resurrect in one of the most lucrative private equity deals ever.

H&R Block Inc, the largest U.S. tax preparer, said on Tuesday that Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Ernst had resigned, following mounting losses tied to subprime mortgages.

Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company, on Tuesday posted a wider third-quarter loss and missed analysts' estimates as a jump in failing loans forced it to set aside $1.2 billion. Its shares fell more than 14 percent before the market open after reporting a net loss of $2 billion, or $3.29 a share, compared with a loss of $715 million, or $1.17 a share, in the year-ago period.

Shares in Swiss-based bank UBS AG fell to a near 2-1/2 year low on Tuesday on renewed fears the group may have to make more hefty writedowns for exposure to assets hit by the subprime crisis.

The Ethiopian baby adopted by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie was conceived after her mother was raped, the woman said this week.

Nintendo Co Ltd on Tuesday unveiled two special editions of its DS handheld gaming unit as the video-game maker seeks to keep up fans' enthusiasm for the popular device heading into the holidays.

Deutsche Telekom's mobile unit T-Mobile is coming under fire from competitors over its exclusive sales deal for Apple's iPhone in Germany.

Ten Southeast Asian leaders signed a historic charter on Tuesday that aims to create an economic bloc encompassing a half-billion people, but controversy over Myanmar threatened to spoil the ASEAN party.

Relief workers and the Bangladesh army, air force and navy intensified efforts on Tuesday to reach millions of survivors of a cyclone that killed nearly 3,500 people along the Bay of Bengal.

The European Commission hit Sony Corp and two other Japanese producers of videotape with fines totaling nearly 75 million euros ($109.8 million) on Tuesday for fixing prices

A bipartisan group of lawmakers including a Democratic presidential hopeful is calling on the makers of video games to review the industry's ratings system.

Iran has agreed to hold a new round of talks soon with the United States on how to improve security in Iraq, Iran's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Pakistan freed thousands of lawyers and opposition activists held under emergency powers on Tuesday, as President Pervez Musharraf arrived in Saudi Arabia, where old foe Nawaz Sharif lives in exile.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned that Moscow would not remain indifferent to NATO's muscle-flexing and said Russia's nuclear forces would be ready for an adequate response to any aggressor.

The United Nations has slashed its estimates of how many people are infected with the AIDS virus, from nearly 40 million to 33 million.