UNITED STATES

AIG is in talks with Prudential Plc to restructure a $35.5 billion deal to sell its Asian life insurance unit to the British insurer, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks extended gains on Tuesday, boosted by Intel Corp, Apple Inc and biotechnology shares, with the Nasdaq Composite briefly up 1 percent.

The top U.S. securities regulator said no single event had been found to explain Thursday's mysterious market plunge but the events were unacceptable and additional safeguards were coming.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors turned their attention back to the strong earnings picture in the United States and fears of a wave of euro-zone debt defaults ebbed.

The top U.S. securities regulator said no single event had been found to explain Thursday's mysterious market plunge but the events were unacceptable and additional safeguards were coming.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, recovering from early losses on strength in the biotech sector after Gilead Sciences unveiled a large stock-buyback program, as well as in large-cap tech firms.

A big U.S. exchange operator said on Tuesday there was no smoking gun to explain Thursday's mysterious market plunge, while regulators and exchanges solidified plans to adopt circuit breakers.

U.S. payroll numbers may be starting to improve, but leaders from a cross-section of manufacturing and transportation companies said this week they remain reluctant to hire too many workers too soon.

U.S. hirings touched their highest level in 15 months in March, while job openings also rose, according to a government report on Tuesday that confirmed a recovery in the labor market was gaining traction.

OPEC on Tuesday said it's forecast for global oil demand remained unchanged at 1.1 percent or by 0.9 million barrels per day. In its monthly oil market report, OPEC said although the economic recovery shows signs of improving momentum, important risks remain that could impact demand growth expectations for this year.

The last recession forced the auto industry to slash costs, shutter factories, tear up contracts and rely on government funding.

Platinum and palladium markets received some good news this week with the auto sales zooming in India and China. Platinum and palladium, two metals used in the high end car exhausts to cut pollution, prices depend mostly on the auto sales across the globe. With India and China reporting huge car sales in April, the prices of platinum and palladium are set to gain from this news.

Sales of Mercedes-Benz brand vehicles rose 15.3 percent to 93,100 units in April, the third German luxury carmaker to confirm that a recovery in demand continued over last month.

The largest U.S. banks would be required to submit to regulators plans for their dismantling in times of severe distress, and securitizations with higher underlying standards would get federal protection, under two proposals to be considered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp on Tuesday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday described the Greek debt crisis as a European problem but one that could have hit U.S. banks if left unattended, a senior Republican senator said.

U.S. consumer confidence improved in May, boosted by the perception that the worst was over in terms of job losses and helped by optimism associated with earlier gains in the stock market, a report released on Tuesday showed.

U.S. stocks managed modest gains at midday on Tuesday, recovering from early losses on strength in the biotech sector after Gilead Sciences unveiled a large stock-buyback program.

U.S. stocks slipped on Tuesday, easing from the previous session's hefty gains as concerns lingered about how Greece will get its budget deficit under control.

U.S. policy-makers must not wait too long to raise interest rates with inflation unlikely to stay at low levels as the economic recovery picks up steam, a top Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

American International Group Inc Chief Executive Robert Benmosche told employees he is confident a $35.5 billion deal to sell its Asian life insurance unit would move forward, a source familiar with the matter said.

(Reuters) - A cancer report that concludes Americans are under constant assault from carcinogenic agents has heartened activists, who hope that finally government and policymakers will pay attention to their concerns.