BUSINESS

Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve's influential vice chair, said on Tuesday the U.S. central bank has room to ease monetary policy further, possibly by providing more information on the path of interest rates.

Stocks mostly rose for a second straight day on Tuesday as a rebound in consumer confidence and soothed fears over Europe whetted investors' appetite for risky assets.

Zynga's road show with investors for its initial public offering will start next Monday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve's influential vice chair, said on Tuesday the U.S. central bank has room to ease monetary policy further to support a tenuous economic recovery.

Stocks mostly rose for a second straight day on Tuesday as a rebound in consumer confidence and soothed fears over Europe whetted investors' appetite for risky assets.

The Conference Board's U.S. consumer confidence index jumped in November to 56.0 from a upwardly revised 40.9 in October, the private business research group reported on Tuesday.

Single-family home prices declined in September, highlighting the fragility of a market that is struggling to get back on its feet, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

Wall Street rose for a second straight day on Tuesday as consumer confidence bounced back from a 2-1/2 year low in November, feeding appetite for risky assets.

Retailers reported strong sales last week as shoppers took advantage of discounts and longer store hours for the start of the holiday shopping season.

Italy's borrowing costs hit a euro lifetime high of nearly 8 percent on Tuesday, taking the debt crisis to a new level of intensity hours before new prime minister Mario Monti was to meet euro zone finance ministers to set out his economic reform plans.

Stocks opened little changed on Tuesday as a strong rally in the previous session limited upside even as Italian bond yields fell from session highs.

Single-family home prices declined in September, highlighting the fragility of a market that is struggling to get back on its feet, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Tuesday after Italian bond yields fell from session highs amid hopes a meeting of European finance ministers will be a step forward in resolving the region's debt crisis.

French spirits group Remy Cointreau said on Tuesday it was actively looking for acquisitions after cutting first-half debt and said it had the firepower to seal deals worth up to 800 million euros ($1.07 billion).

American Airlines and its parent company AMR Corp filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday after failing to win a labor deal with pilots and suffering from mounting fuel costs.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday after Italian bond yields fell from session highs amid hopes a meeting of European finance ministers will be a step forward in resolving the region's debt crisis.

Italian borrowing costs hit euro lifetime peaks at a debt auction on Tuesday as investors demand ever higher premiums to keep funding the country, in a sign that the sovereign debt crisis is nearing make-or-break point.

Thomas H. Lee Partners is interested in buying the U.S. operations of Yahoo Inc, breaking away from other bidders that are for now eyeing either a minority stake or teaming up with the Internet giant's partners in Asia, sources familiar with the matter said.

British government borrowing will fall much less than expected because of slower economic growth, finance minister George Osborne said on Tuesday, erasing any room for error in the coalition government's deficit reduction plan.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday on investor relief over a well-received Italian bond auction that showed the highly indebted country still had access to capital markets.

Worries about the euro zone's debt crisis worsened in November and dragged the European Commission's economic and consumer sentiment index to a two-year low, heightening the risks of a recession in Europe.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.15 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.27 percent at 4:19 a.m. ET.

British finance minister George Osborne will pave the way for several more years of deep government spending cuts, when he reveals forecasts for much weaker growth and a borrowing overshoot of 86 billion pounds over the coming years.

In the past week Hungary's bonds have become junk, the forint has slumped to a near-record low against the euro and the OECD has said the economy is headed for recession next year.

Many ski resorts across Switzerland, Austria and France have been opened, but in vain, for the Alpine regions are experiencing the warmest autumn in 147 years and have little snow.

When Novo Nordisk's chief financial officer met marketing colleagues last Friday the conversation moved far beyond the usual discussion of sales and performance. Jesper Brandgaard asked a simple, far-reaching question: how would the firm set prices for two pivotal new insulin products if the euro collapsed?

Euro zone finance ministers are to agree on Tuesday the details of bolstering their bailout fund to help prevent contagion in bond markets, under pressure from the United States and ratings agencies to staunch a two-year-old debt crisis.

A two-day rally in European shares came to a halt on Tuesday, while the euro slipped from highs on investor caution ahead of an Italian bond auction and widespread skepticism over whether European policymakers will be able to prevent debt contagion.

When Novo Nordisk's chief financial officer met marketing colleagues last Friday the conversation moved far beyond the usual discussion of sales and performance. Jesper Brandgaard asked a simple, far-reaching question: how would the firm set prices for two pivotal new insulin products if the euro collapsed?