GERMANY

Some people may be genetically programmed to require longer hours of sleep, according to a new study published in Molecular Psychiatry. The study hopes to reveal the health effects of different sleeping patterns.

A plan by France and Germany to increase fiscal integration in Europe is promising and could help avoid a mass debt downgrade of euro zone countries by Standard & Poor's, a director with the ratings agency said on Tuesday.

European stocks fell on Tuesday on fresh anxieties stemming from the European debt crisis.

Twin blasts in Kabul and the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif aimed at Afghanistan's minority Shiite Muslims killed nearly 60 people on Tuesday as they celebrated Ashura, one of their sect's holiest days, signaling, perhaps, a new sectarian turn in what was one of the war's deadliest attacks.

Stocks advanced on Tuesday and were near session highs as investors showed a muted reaction to the S&P's recent downgrade warning for the euro zone.

Karzai had just attended a summit conference in Germany where’s Afghanistan future and security were being discussed.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in Germany on Tuesday that the European Central Bank was playing a positive role in the euro zone debt crisis, but he played down talk that the U.S. Federal Reserve could boost IMF funding for the crisis.

Tighter oversight of euro zone fiscal policy can be achieved through minor, rapid adjustments to the EU treaty, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told EU leaders in an interim report to be discussed at a summit on December 8-9.

European equities finished weaker in a choppy, thinly-traded session on Tuesday, led lower by retail shares after the world's No.4 retailer Metro issued a profit warning saying the Eurozone debt crisis was undermining consumer confidence.

Patent firm IPCom said on Tuesday it had asked top German cellphone retailers to stop selling phones of HTC, threatening them with legal action, as HTC has not complied with a court ruling on injunction of its sales.

The European Commission is investigating whether e-book publishers owned by Lagardere, Pearson Plc, News Corp and two other firms fixed prices with Apple Inc, blocking rivals and hurting consumers.

Stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday as cautious investors continued to digest the S&P's recent downgrade warning for the euro zone.

Schroders holds the lowest position possible in equities and has extremely high levels of gold and cash, reflecting its concern about recession in the developed world and a failure to resolve the euro zone debt crisis, its chief investment officer said on Tuesday.

David Beckham has ruled out management as a post-playing career, saying he did not enjoy his time as an assistant to England manager Fabio Capello at last year's World Cup.

U.S. stocks were little changed in choppy trading on Tuesday, with cautious investors hoping S&P's downgrade warning for euro zone nations would lead to tighter budget rules at a summit this week.

Stocks were little changed in choppy trading on Tuesday, with cautious investors hoping S&P's downgrade warning for the euro zone would help force budget changes at a European Union summit this week.

On Monday, S&P placed the euro zone nations on “Credit watch,” which means a 50 percent likelihood of a downgrade over the next ninety days.

The two biggest computer giants continued their buying spree as Hewlett-Packard snapped up HiFlex while IBM said it will acquire Curam Software.

The European Commission is investigating whether e-book publishers owned by Lagardere, Pearson Plc, News Corp. and two other firms may have colluded with Apple to block rivals via their pricing deals.

Stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Tuesday as investors hoped S&P's downgrade warning for the Eurozone would help force budget changes at a European Union summit this week.

Stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Tuesday as investors hoped S&P's downgrade warning for the euro zone would help force budget changes at a European Union summit this week.