IBT Staff Reporter

Dutch financial services group ING has agreed to buy ShareBuilder Corporation's online brokerage business for $220 million to extend its reach in the United States, ING said on Tuesday.

Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst David Trone on Tuesday downgraded Morgan Stanley shares to in-line from outperform, citing the likelihood the bank will write down asset-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations and other assets by as much as $6 billion.

IndyMac Bancorp Inc, one of the largest independent U.S. mortgage lenders, on Tuesday posted a quarterly loss more than five times larger than it had projected, hurt by mounting delinquencies and a collapse in investor demand to buy its home loans. It was IndyMac's first quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 1998.

The makers of a new movie set in London's Bangladeshi community that infuriated community leaders and sparked heated debate about freedom of speech said the protests were unjustified and exaggerated by the media.

More than a decade since audiences around the world warmed to his story in the film Shine, pianist David Helfgott is playing better than ever and has no plans to slow down, his wife Gillian says.

Hollywood screenwriters went on strike against major film and television studios on Monday, knocking some of America's favorite TV shows out of production in a dispute that hinges on how the Internet is changing the face of show business.

As a strike by Hollywood screenwriters throws dozens of television shows into production turmoil, a new series aimed at TV's target audience of young adults is headed for launch on the Web -- not television.

Nokia would not rule out taking part in Google Inc's new mobile software alliance, which is seen rivaling Nokia's own plans, a spokesman for the world's top mobile phone maker said on Tuesday.

Sony Corp said it plans to launch a lighter version of its PlayStation 2 game console later this month, in a bid to drive sales of the seven-year-old machine heading into the crucial holiday season.

From behind a computer keyboard at his London home, student Younes Tsouli used the Internet to spread al Qaeda propaganda, recruit suicide bombers and promote Web sites that encouraged the killing of non-Muslims.

Hospital chain Tenet Healthcare Corp posted a smaller quarterly loss on Tuesday as in-patient revenue per admission increased.

Mattel Inc, the world's largest toymaker, has recalled 155,000 of its products made in Mexico over safety concerns, an official at the company told Reuters on Tuesday.

Sony Corp says it might have the strongest ever holiday season in the United States as uncertainty over the U.S. economy fails to dent demand for its TVs, cameras and computers, Sony Electronics' top U.S. executive said on Monday.

The world's largest hotelier, InterContinental Hotels, met market forecasts with a 22 percent rise in quarterly profit and shrugged off worries about the impact of financial market turmoil on the lodging industry.

The economy might be edging toward a recession in the wake of mortgage-related credit woes plaguing the financial markets, bankers and analysts said on Monday.

Central bankers past and present warned on Tuesday of more pain to come for the U.S. economy and that banks worldwide could take several months yet to reveal full losses from U.S. subprime mortgage lending. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and billionaire investor George Soros said the downturn in the U.S. housing market had yet to take its full toll on growth.

North Korea's first steps to roll back a nuclear arms program launched about 40 years ago are going well, a U.S. official said on Tuesday after visiting the North's plutonium-producing atomic complex.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said that an army operation is still planned against Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq, but diplomats suggested on Tuesday that any action would now be limited in scope.

Americans are concerned about Iran's nuclear program but split on whether the United States should take military action to shut it down if diplomatic efforts fail, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll released on Monday.

Pakistani police beat and arrested lawyers protesting for a second day on Tuesday against President Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule, while officials under U.S. pressure said an election would be held in early 2008. Opposition politicians, including Benazir Bhutto, have spoken out but there has been no real action on their part so far, and the struggle has been left to the lawyers.

Oil leapt more than a dollar on Tuesday, rebounding to above $95 a barrel as financial players drove volatility.

A tumbling dollar and strong oil prices prompted investors and speculators to buy gold heavily on Tuesday, with the metal hitting a 28-year high and trading about $30 below its record peak.

U.S. stock index futures rose ahead of Wall Street's opening on Tuesday, with a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke likely to take centre stage as corporate and economic data diaries look thin.

The dollar struck fresh all-time lows against the euro and a basket of major currencies on Tuesday as the market continued with its negative view of the U.S. economy.

Citigroup Inc has named veteran financial expert Richard Stuckey to head a new team that focuses on managing its subprime mortgage portfolio, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

ExxonMobil Chemical Co said on Tuesday that it will build a second petrochemical complex in Singapore after completing a detailed study.

Asian markets were volatile on Tuesday with indexes shifting between gains and losses after a turbulent Monday.

Shares of Alibaba.com more than doubled in its debut in Hong Kong debut, marking the largest initial public offering by an e-commerce company since Google Inc.

DirecTV Group, Inc (NYSE:DTV) reports its third quarter earnings on Wednesday as it continues to face challenges from other satellite and Cable providers.