UNITED STATES

Autism is growing at an alarming rate in the United States. Just 20 years ago, about one in 5,000 children were diagnosed with the disorder. The current rate, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is 1 in 110.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Tuesday as upbeat earnings from Adobe Systems, and a couple of M&A deals buoyed sentiment.

Leisure company Carnival Corp. & Plc reported a 29 percent rise in fourth quarter profit, as 4.9 percent capacity increase and higher revenue yields drove revenue growth.

The world's major central banks said on Tuesday they would extend emergency supplies of U.S. dollar funding to money markets, in a sign that authorities remain concerned about financial instability as governments grapple with debt problems.

During a rainstorm in Washington in early 2009, amid the furor over Wall Street's post-bailout bonuses, an American International Group employee pulled out an umbrella that had the insurer's name on it.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil lawsuit against energy giant BP Exploration and Production Inc. and eight other companies, accusing them of violating the Clean Water Act and has asked the court to hold them liable without limitation under the Oil Pollution Act for all removal costs and damages caused by the oil spill, including damages to natural resources.

The Noah’s Ark replica will be like a reminder to the world to save the planet once more, though this time in a metaphorical ark featuring best environmental policies and practices. It gets initial nod for tax breaks.

For companies competing in the global marketplace, getting the right talent in the right place at the right time represents the most significant challenge today in terms of driving future growth.

UK campaign to tighten immigration hits a setback, but the Coalition is set on keeping up its election promise. David Coleman, Professor of Demography at Oxford University, asserts that Britain should tighten immigration policy and explains negative effects.

The Treasury Department plans to sell a large piece of its stake in American International Group in two stock offerings next year, officials briefed on the situation told Reuters.

Gold prices will keep rising over the next two years to hit $1,600 per ounce by the end of 2011 and $2,000 by end of 2012, as fresh shocks to the global financial system are expected, an analyst has said.

A federal grand jury has indicted five people in connection with an identity theft and tax fraud conspiracy in the Middle District of Alabama, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced.

Stocks rose on Tuesday as solid earnings and a new flurry of merger action laid the foundation for a steady upward trend in the equities market that investors believe will continue.

Mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity has surpassed $2.2 trillion for the first year since 2007 and it could be still busier in the coming year, according to Thomson Reuters data.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has sold his memoirs to two publishing houses and is expected to have a manuscript ready in March, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday.

High-speed Internet has had the greatest technological impact on society over the past decade and is the technology most people say they cannot live without, according to a new poll.

The demand for gasoline might never get back to levels seen during 2006, as alternate forms of fuel gain more popularity, a report by AP said.

Santa Google has extended its free US and Canada VoIP calls service through Gmail to 2011.

U.S. regulators may force big financial firms to award half or more of their executive pay in the form of stock or other deferred compensation instead of cash, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.

Internet search engine Google Inc is hiring people to fill over 70 vacant positions in India in different areas to meet its business requirements.

Stocks rose on Tuesday as earnings and mergers supported a steady upward trend in the equity market that investors say has further to run.