COMPANIES

Jay Leno's new prime-time experiment on the struggling NBC network pulled in big audiences, according to early ratings figures on Tuesday, but mostly underwhelmed TV critics.

Coach Inc said on Tuesday it had hired the head of luxury brand Prada's U.S. operations to run its new Reed Krakoff division, which will sell handbags, shoes and jewelry.

MetroPCS Communications Inc said it has selected the infrastructure and initial handset providers for its fourth-generation long term evolution broadband service, which is expected to launch in the second half of 2010.

Pulte Homes Inc dominates an annual ranking of customer satisfaction in 24 major U.S. housing markets, according to an annual survey.

Lotus, one of the most successful and glorious names from Formula One's past, will return next year with a Malaysian-owned team replacing BMW-Sauber as the 13th entry on the starting grid.

Lloyds Banking Group topped the list for complaints to a consumer watchdog in the first half of the year with payment protection insurance drawing over a quarter of all cases in the finance sector.

Italian engineering company Trevi Finanziaria Industriale's order portfolio could rise to 1.2 billion euros ($1.7 billion) by the end of the year, driven by emerging markets, its CFO said on Tuesday.

Biogen Idec Inc said on Tuesday it would be premature to conclude that the risk of developing a potentially deadly brain infection increases the longer patients take its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri.

Supermarket operator Kroger Co posted quarterly profit below Wall Street estimates and trimmed its full-year forecast, sending its shares down 6.3 percent.

SunTrust Banks Inc will repay its $4.9 billion government bailout as soon as regulators allow and its credit problems stabilize, CEO James Wells said on Tuesday.

Duke Energy Corp picked Convergys Corp to provide billing and customer management solutions in support of the utility's smart grid initiative for its four million electric and gas customers in five states, the companies said in a release Tuesday.

Grand Canyon Education Inc said its share offering was priced at $16.50 a share, at par with the stock's last closing price.

South Africa's communications regulator said on Tuesday it was unsure if mobile phone group MTN's proposed tie-up with India's Bharti Airtel would get approval before the end of the year.

MTS, Russia's top mobile operator, said on Tuesday it had decided not to bid for a 51 percent stake in Kazakh provider Mobile Telecom Service.

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's biggest mobile operator, will sell its 16.5 percent stake in cell phone company U Mobile this month, pulling out of the Malaysian market.

Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA), Hong Kong's fifth-biggest lender, plans to buy a minority stake in Golden Eagle Asset Management Co, seeking to tap rising Chinese demand for wealth management services, two people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Real estate equity funds dominated Lipper's ranking of top-performing funds in August, as expectations of an impending property market recovery prompted a rally in European property stocks. Of the top 20 UK-registered equity funds ranked by fund tracker Lipper, a unit of Thomson Reuters, 11 were real estate funds of which nine are invested in the UK or Europe.

NEW YORK - U.S. copper futures headed higher at the open on Tuesday, after upbeat reports of rising retail sales and producer prices reinforced optimistic views about the economic recovery.

The 1,400 U.S. mechanics who maintain United Parcel Service Inc's worldwide fleet of 263 aircraft authorized a strike against the company, union officials said on Tuesday, though contract talks between the company and the workers will continue later this month.

Starbucks Corp Chief Executive Howard Schultz obtained a roughly $14 million paper profit by exercising nearly 1 million stock options on Monday.

German carmaker Opel needs to cut capacity and workforce quickly to return to profitability, but any decision on restructuring the company would not be driven by political considerations, Opel Chairman Carl-Peter Forster said on Tuesday.

News that European car sales rose for a third consecutive month in August helped lift the mood at the Frankfurt Motor Show, where automakers will showcase green technology they hope will transform the industry.

World number two truck maker Volvo (VOLVb.ST) said on Tuesday truck deliveries fell 52 percent year-on-year in August as markets across the globe remained mired by the economic downturn.

Chinese electric car maker Tianjin Qingyuan Electric Vehicle Co is in talks with Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) to develop an electric version of a van made at the German automaker's joint venture in southeast China, a source said on Tuesday.

The head of Porsche's (PSHG_p.DE) core sports car business said he was warily upbeat about a rebound in 2010 after unit sales sank nearly a quarter -- twice as fast as revenue -- in the fiscal year to the end of July 2009.

Top U.S. consumer electronics chain Best Buy Co reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday on weak sales of items such as videogames and cameras, but raised its forecast for the full year.

Car-rental company Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc said it will close about 10 more locations in the rest of 2009, as part of its pre-announced plan to do away with underperforming and non-profitable locations.

Opel workers aim to avert closure of a Belgian factory in Antwerp following a takeover by Canadian automotive group Magna (MGa.TO) by shortening working hours there, Opel's labor leader said on Tuesday.

EBay Inc shares rose on Tuesday after Piper Jaffray upgraded the stock of the online auctioneer, citing improved Web traffic and improved customer satisfaction with its website.