IBT Staff Reporter

Saudi Arabia persuaded OPEC to raise oil output by 500,000 barrels per day on Tuesday in a gesture to consumer nations worried by the economic impact of $77 oil and rapidly diminishing fuel stocks.

Americans stood in silence to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed in the September 11 attacks on Tuesday as Osama bin Laden resurfaced to praise the suicide hijackers who carried them out six years ago to the day.

Twenty of the world's top polluting nations have agreed to discuss binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Germany's environment minister said on Tuesday.

Reducing emissions and raising fuel efficiency are the magic words at the Frankfurt International Motor show (IAA) as manufacturers and suppliers go all out to out-do each other -- or at least out-talk each other.

Soldiers in motor boats rescued thousands of marooned people and helicopters air-dropped food as the number of people made homeless after some of the worst flooding in years in India's northeast rose to 3.5 million.

A leftist rebel group claimed responsibility on Tuesday for bomb attacks on Mexican oil and gas pipelines earlier this week, and threatened more assaults against the state-owned oil company.

A series of attacks on Mexico's fuel pipelines this summer has raised fears the key energy supplier could slide into a Nigeria-style struggle to keep its oil and gas flowing, experts said on Tuesday.

U.S. and Chinese officials agreed on Tuesday to take immediate steps to stop the use of lead paint in toys made in China following toy recalls that have scared American parents ahead of holiday shopping.

Oil closed at a record high over $78 on Tuesday after an OPEC deal to ramp up production failed to calm concerns about thinning world inventories.

The dollar neared a record low against the euro on Tuesday as expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut continued to erode the greenback's appeal to global investors.

The slump in U.S. housing stocks to new four-year lows is hurting some well-known investors who recently added home builders and housing-related stocks such as KB Home and Pulte Homes Inc to their positions.

AT&T Inc said on Tuesday it was launching a new corporate advertising campaign, with ads designed to convey a younger, edgier style associated with wireless.

No one could accuse management guru Don Tapscott of being unambitious. The co-author of best-seller Wikinomics wants to teach governments to harness the power of the Internet to reinvent democracy.

The chief of Advanced Micro Devices Inc said on Monday a new chip with four processing brains would help the underdog company win back market share from rival Intel Corp and does not see any sign consumers are holding back on new computers -- yet.

NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile phone carrier, said it may restructure its regional sales units, as it battles a price war against aggressive rivals seeking to grab market share.

Japanese venture capital firm SBI Holdings Inc and Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co Ltd said they would launch an Internet bank this month, joining a crowded race to manage Japan's $13 trillion in household financial assets.

Oil explorer Cairn Energy said its Indian subsidiary had received a key approval for a pipeline critical to exploiting its Rajasthan fields but still awaits full government clearance for the plan.

Chinese machinery maker Sany Heavy Industry Co will sign a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. state of Georgia on Wednesday to build a $60 million plant, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Co President Katsuaki Watanabe said on Tuesday he expected a slight decline in the U.S. auto market in 2007 to around 16.3 million units.

Toyota Motor Corp expects its European sales to grow five to 10 percent in 2009, after a 5 percent rise forecast for next year, a top executive of the automaker's regional operations said on Tuesday.

Countrywide Financial Corp shares closed down almost 2 percent on Tuesday following a report the largest U.S. mortgage lender was working on a strategic investment similar to the deal with Bank of America Corp last month in which it received a $2 billion injection.

GMAC, the finance unit once controlled by General Motors Corp, said on Tuesday Citigroup will double its asset-backed funding facilities to $21.4 billion as it struggles with subprime mortgage losses.

SunTrust Banks Inc, the seventh-largest U.S. bank, on Tuesday said it may need to write down the value of some mortgage-related assets, reducing third-quarter earnings by 20 cents per share.

H&R Block Inc, the largest U.S. tax preparer, said on Tuesday it will fire 575 workers at its Option One Mortgage Corp subprime lending unit, on top of 615 job losses announced on May 15.

Stocks rallied on Tuesday, bolstered by confidence the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, another round of upbeat outlooks from technology companies, and solid sales from McDonald's Corp.

OPEC exporters agreed to increase their oil production for the first time in more than two years, raising output by 500,000 barrels per day to bring more oil supplies to the market.

ImClone Systems inc. announced Tuesday that the cancer drug Erbitux showed positive results, meeting its goal of increased survival rates of patients with advanced lung cancer.

Biofuels, often seen as a benefit for the climate, farmers and countries, may in fact hurt the environment and push up food prices.

Consumers are carrying a record $907 billion in credit card debt, and that looks likely to jump now that the housing slump has blunted another popular financing tool -- home equity loans. Americans cashed out hundreds of billions of dollars in home equity as credit came cheap in a five-year housing boom that ended about 18 months ago.