IBT Staff Reporter

A computer developed for the world's poor children, dubbed the $100 laptop, has reached a milestone: It is now selling for $200.

Internet media company Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it is adding media-playing features, large file transfers, new languages and other tools to its instant messaging service.

A Federal Reserve interest rate cut this week is no sure thing and officials are not seriously considering a half-point reduction in overnight rates, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday without citing sources.

Web search leader Google Inc is expected to announce advanced software and services enabling handset makers to bring Google-powered phones to market by mid-2008, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Turkish Cobra helicopters pounded Kurdish rebel positions near the Iraqi border on Tuesday and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed Ankara's readiness to send troops over the frontier despite U.S. opposition.

Russia will file a claim to the gigantic mineral wealth of the Arctic seabed with the United Nations by the end of the year, Russia's natural resources minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

North Korea is on track to disable its nuclear program by the end of this year as its differences with the United States have mostly been resolved, a U.S. envoy said on Tuesday.

Iran will not back down in a nuclear dispute with the West and is not interested in talks with the United States, its president said on Tuesday ahead of a previously unannounced visit by Russia's foreign minister.

U.S. State Department investigators looking into the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad last month offered immunity deals to Blackwater security guards, The New York Times reported on Monday.

Prices of existing single-family homes in the U.S. dropped further in August in their worst erosion since June 1991, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller national home price index. The index, which measures 10 major metropolitan areas has fallen a total of 5 percent year-over-year. Its worst decline was a 6.3 percent drop in 1991.

The dollar edged up from the previous day's record lows versus a basket of major currencies on Tuesday as investors marginally trimmed expectations the Federal Reserve will cut rates this week.

Oil fell more than a dollar on Tuesday, as profit-taking pulled the market down from record highs that were fuelled by a Mexican supply shut-down and a weak dollar.

Stock index futures fell on Tuesday after a Wall Street Journal article cast doubt on the chances for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut on Wednesday.

Asian stocks and oil prices retreated from their peaks on Tuesday and the dollar halted its slide as investors held their fire ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting, where an interest rate cut is widely expected. European stocks also looked set for a weaker start,

Shares of BEA Systems were closed flat on Monday after the expiration of bid from enterprise software maker Oracle to acquire BEA.

Crude oil prices dropped below $93 a barrel on Tuesday, after hitting record highs a day earlier on concerns of production reductions in Mexico and record lows for the dollar.

The Fed is deciding between a quarter point interest rate reduction and no cut at all, with a half-point cut unlikely to be considered, according a report by the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting where policy makers are expected to make an a cut in interest rates.

The dollar gained on the euro after falling to record lows on Tuesday but expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates this week could lead to a fall once again.

Oil jumped to a record high near $94 a barrel on Monday as stormy weather disrupted supplies from giant exporter Mexico and the dollar wallowed near record lows.

Gold rallied to its highest level in 28 years on Monday and targeted $800 an ounce as oil surged to a record peak and the dollar tumbled on speculation over a U.S. interest rate cut.

Stocks rose on Monday as investors bet that the Federal Reserve will cut benchmark lending rates this week and that soaring commodity prices will boost profits of metal and energy producers.

A lack of significant new drugs and products, declining sales of lucrative flagship franchises and fierce competition have set off a wave of restructuring moves among the biggest names in health care. In many cases, restructuring is a euphemism for eliminating thousands of jobs, and it remains to be seen whether these moves are quick fixes to prop up dwindling profits, or a recognition of the industry's harsh new reality.

Dishes, toys, jewelry and backpacks that have not yet been recalled all carried worrisome levels of lead, the nonprofit Consumers Union said on Monday.

A senior U.N. nuclear agency official said cooperation with Iran was "good" ahead of talks on Monday about Tehran's disputed atomic work, after an Iranian warning that new U.S. sanctions could harm ties with the agency.

Helicopter gunships bombed Kurdish rebel positions in southeast Turkey on Monday and the government flexed its military muscle with big national day parades and flypasts in major cities.

Expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut this week boosted world stocks for a third straight session on Monday and sent the dollar to record lows, while surging energy and gold prices buoyed emerging markets.

The dollar recovered from lifetime lows against the euro and a major currency basket on Monday, helped by speculation the Federal Reserve will cut U.S. interest rates by only a quarter of a percentage point this week, rather than by half a point.

Oil leapt to a record high for a third day on Monday, surpassing $93 as investors bet on another U.S. interest rate cut this week, the dollar struck new lows and Mexico briefly halted one-fifth of its oil production.