UNITED STATES

The Federal Reserve is likely to hold off offering the economy fresh stimulus at a meeting on Tuesday as it weighs encouraging signs on the recovery against risks coming from Europe.

Retail sales rose less than expected in November as a drop in receipts for food and beverages weighed against stronger sales of motor vehicles, tempering some of the expectations of a strong holiday shopping season.

A U.S. Congressional panel has frozen $700 million in aid to Pakistan until it gives assurances that it is helping fight the spread of homemade bombs in the region, a move one Pakistani senator called unwise and likely to strain ties further.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is yet to hit U.S. shores officially but some lucky Android fans seem to have already acquired the highly anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich-powered smartphone from Best Buy and Verizon retail stores over the weekend.

There are only a few persons who are still remembered after their death as they have left their remarkable legacy behind them, and Steve Jobs is one of those personalities who will be remembered for Apple's iPhone and iPad.

Papua New Guinea's governor-general decided on Tuesday that the two men claiming to be the resource-rich country's prime minister must negotiate a solution, leaving a tense political deadlock unresolved.

Apple Inc is in talks to buy Israel's Anobit, a maker of flash storage technology, for as much as $500 million, according to a report published on Tuesday.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc and its Indonesian workers' union expect to sign a pay deal on Tuesday to end a three-month strike that has crippled production at the world's second-biggest copper mine, two sources told Reuters.

The Kansas based ultra conservative Tea party group defended its depiction of President Barack Obama as a Skunk. The Hutchinson based Patriot Freedom Alliance had posted an image with a caption that run The skunk has replaced the eagle as the new symbol for the president. It is half black, it is half white, and almost everything it does, stinks,

One in five employees suffers from a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, and many are struggling to cope, according to a new report released Monday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international economic organization of 34 countries including the U.S.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday following an equities selloff the day before, but anxiety over Europe's debt crisis was seen keeping markets jittery ahead of the Federal Reserve's assessment of the U.S. economy.

The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus has been released in the UK, Japan and Canada, while customers in the United States have been eagerly awaiting its release. The latest Google Android phone will runs only on the Verizon network and is rumored to be hitting stores in U.S. on Dec. 15.

Newt Gingrich has said a lot of outrageous things in his time, and he is proud of it: early in his congressional career, he vowed to define his political opponents out of existence. Here are 10 of his most memorable -- and offensive -- quotes.

Futures pointed to a slight rebound on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.46 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.41 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.34 percent at 5:28 a.m. ET.

Gold hardly moved Tuesday with prices stretched between stronger physical demand from Asia and Eurozone worries, including bank weakness and more sovereign debt downgrades.

Futures pointed to a slight rebound on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.46 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.41 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.34 percent at 5:28 a.m. ET.

Currently, Texas representative Ron Paul stands at third position in the Lowa caucus polls. He is tied with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 17 points. If his public meetings at the state of Lowa are anything to go by, then he might register surprises at the ballot.

As the Department of Justice gears up for a rare criminal trial against a publicly traded company, the Taiwanese defendant wants to argue that prosecutors just don't get Asian business culture.

Senate Republicans Monday blocked Mari Carmen Aponte, President Obama's choice to be ambassador to El Salvador, stating there were unresolved questions about whether Cuban intelligence officials tried to recruit her as a spy in the 1990s.

European stocks and the euro steadied on Tuesday after sharp sell-offs on disappointment about last week's EU summit but any gains could be short lived due to lingering concerns over credit rating downgrades and the health of the banking sector.

Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest bank to fail in U.S. history, said it reached a settlement in a dispute between shareholders and certain creditors that had prevented the bank from emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.