IBT Staff Reporter

The ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index rose to -15 in the latest week from -17 in the previous period on Tuesday, edging up consumer confidence, though still deep in the negative.

Stocks rallied the most in four years and gold jumped to a 27-year high as the Fed slashed interest rates and raised hopes amid a protracted housing slump and credit turmoil.

Gold reached a 27-year peak on Tuesday after the U.S. Federal reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate a larger-than-expected half a percentage point on credit worries in U.S. Financial markets.

International investors bought $19.2 billion in long-term U.S. securities in July, the lowest inflow in seven months, the Treasury Department said on today.

Prices paid to U.S producers fell sharply in August according to data released on Tuesday, painting a gloomy picture for U.S growth.

Oil jumped to a peak over $82 a barrel after the U.S Federal Reserve slashed interest rates and elevated concerns of a low winter supply.

The dollar dropped to a record low versus the euro on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate by half a percentage point, its first cut in four years.

For the first time in four years, amid concern that the economy could be constrained by tightening credit conditions, members of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on Monday decided to cut the Fed funds rate by 50 basis points to 4.75 percent, giving stocks a strong boost.

A new Bollywood film is aiming to lash out at the attitude of sensationalizing news by the Indian media and present the negative impact it can have on the lives of people.

Alisher Usmanov's $40 million donation to keep an art collection in Russia is an irreversible decision, he says.

The mortgage lending crisis deepened on Tuesday, as Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc said it will quit most lending and cancel its dividend, while Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co posted a big quarterly loss and said its survival remained in doubt.

Intel Corp, the world's largest chipmaker, will be able to make microprocessors with features as small as 32 nanometers within two years, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

Microsoft Corp wants video gamers to finish the fight when the last chapter of its Halo trilogy comes out next week, but a carefully crafted merchandising strategy will make sure Master Chief lives on for years to come.

The world's top cellphone maker, Nokia, unveiled on Tuesday a new phone model, the Nokia E51, for corporate users and said it still expects to fast growth in the mobile e-mail market.

Everything is being done to maintain the stability of the British economy after a bank crisis, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday.

Boeing Co said on Tuesday that China will require 3,400 new airplanes worth about $340 billion over the next 20 years, raising its forecast for the country's booming aviation arena.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's Japanese unit, Seiyu Ltd, boosted its annual loss forecast by 76 percent due to a charge to cut about 7 percent of its work force as it battles sluggish sales.

India's top drug makers are in the race to acquire U.S.-based generic drug maker, Par Pharmaceutical Co Inc, two Indian newspapers reported on Tuesday.

Indian outsourcing companies are shifting some of their operations to China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Kenya in a bid to stay competitive as higher wages, expensive property prices and a rising rupee eat into profits.

China Construction Bank, the country's second-biggest bank by assets, said on Tuesday it had raised 58 billion yuan ($7.7 billion) in the country's largest domestic IPO.

Home builder sentiment fell for a seventh straight month in September as tougher mortgage requirements hindered sales from bloated inventories, the National Association of Home Builders said on Tuesday.

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama proposed up to $85 billion in tax cuts for about 150 million Americans on Tuesday, paid for by raising capital gains and dividend taxes on wealthy investors.

Their helicopters buzz through the Baghdad sky, their patrols bristle with the latest weaponry and their armored vehicles carry the latest hi-tech gadgets.

A free trade agreement with Peru is headed for approval in Congress, but trade deals with Panama and Colombia face problems, a senior Democrat in the House of Representatives said on Tuesday.

A group of institutional investors, state officials and environmental groups called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday to force publicly-traded companies to disclose climate-related risks along with other factors that affect their business.

Yasuo Fukuda appeared on Tuesday to be a shoo-in to become Japan's next prime minister but his rival, hawkish former foreign minister Taro Aso, vowed to battle on against all odds.

News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said on Tuesday that he was leaning toward making online Wall Street Journal free, but had made no decision yet.

Commerzbank is bracing itself for a higher-than-predicted loss from investments related to risky U.S. mortgages that is set to knock a hole in profits, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co, a struggling subprime mortgage lender, on Tuesday posted a $260.2 million quarterly loss and said it remained unsure it would survive the fallout from a slumping U.S. housing market.