JAPAN

U.S. auto sales in March are expected to rise about 12 percent from last year's depressed levels, but high gasoline prices and production problems caused by the Japanese earthquake could slow a recovery, analysts and investors said.

Consumer confidence fell in March a month after hitting a three-year high as expectations about jobs and income growth worsened, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

Tokyo Electric Power Corporation reported finding plutonium in the soil around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, giving further indications that one of the reactor cores has been breached.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday on strength in large-cap tech shares, but continuing global crises kept investors cautious before the quarter's end.

Oil prices turned positive on Tuesday as Gaddafi's troops halted a rebel advance, raising doubts among investors over how quickly the conflict in OPEC member Libya could be resolved.

RBC Capital Markets believes CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) has significant long-term growth potential, while the company's shares are admittedly not cheap.

St. Louis Federal Reserve chief James Bullard urged the U.S. central bank on Tuesday to begin reversing its campaign of monetary easing, saying it could trim its $600 billion bond-buying program by $100 billion.

U.S. stocks were little changed in choppy trading on Tuesday as continuing global crises kept investors cautious before the quarter's end.

U.S. stocks declined in early trade on Tuesday as investors watched geopolitical developments in Japan and Middle East with caution while S&P cut its credit ratings for both Portugal and Greece.

About 4,000 bodies remain unidentified in the three prefectures at the very center of the March 11 earthquake-tsunami catastrophe, according to Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA).

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Tuesday as many investors, cautious about global crises, bided their time before the quarter's end.

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday for a third consecutive day as rebels and government troops battled for supremacy in Libya and more bad news from Japan's stricken nuclear plant sapped investor confidence.

Dollar Gold Prices fell in Asian and early London trade on Monday, dropping 1.3% to a 6-session low of $1411 per ounce as global equities slipped and the US currency rose on the forex market. Silver Prices lost 2.1% to hit a 3-session low beneath $36.50 per ounce.

The much-criticized operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), may become nationalized when the government completes its review of the utility’s handling of the ongoing crisis.

Risks that could lead to a property bubble are still building up in China, and more action is needed to cool speculative fervor, the country's banking regulator said on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Tuesday near the quarter's end as investors took a wait-and-see stance, unsure about the impact of global crises.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's $600 billion asset purchase program could be trimmed by some $100 billion given the recovery in the U.S. economy, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Tuesday.

Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> said on Tuesday it would be some time before they could return to full production after Japan's devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami disrupted supplies to their plants.

Oil prices fell around a dollar on Tuesday in a third day of declines as expectations mounted of a relatively swift restoration of supplies from OPEC member Libya.

U.S. policymakers may not be willing or able to wait for all global uncertainties to be resolved before they begin normalizing loose monetary policy, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a round of corporate results that could show the impact of overseas crises