UNITED STATES

ConocoPhillips could sell its 25 percent stake in the Rockies Express Pipeline as part of the oil giant's plan to divest $10 billion in assets, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

New York Stock Exchange member firms earned a record $35.7 billion for their broker-dealer operations in the first six months of this year, which is 1-1/2 times above the previous high-water mark set in 2000, the state comptroller said in a report on Tuesday.

Chinese and U.S. regulators are negotiating a pact aimed at encouraging Chinese financial institutions to buy into small and medium-sized banks in the United States, bankers briefed on the plan said on Tuesday.

New York Stock Exchange member firms earned a record $35.7 billion for their broker-dealer operations in the first six months of this year, which is 1-1/2 times above the previous high-water mark set in 2000, the state comptroller said in a report on Tuesday.

Target Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, but remained cautious about the fourth quarter given a budding holiday season price war.

Wall Street fell on Tuesday, slipping from a 13-month high, as a bounce in the dollar weighed on commodity-linked stocks and a report showed U.S. industrial production rose less than expected.

Switzerland will hand over the names of wealthy U.S. clients of UBS suspected of tax evasion or fraud, to settle a bitter row that cut through bank secrecy and threatened to bring the bank to its knees.

As the U.S. continues to watch Congress thrash out a plan to try to cover those without health insurance, a new study shows that people admitted to the hospital for trauma are almost twice as likely to die from their injuries if they are uninsured.

GMAC Chief Executive Al de Molina has resigned, and will be replaced by Michael Carpenter, the troubled lender said on Monday.

World Trade Organization members still have much work to do if they want to achieve their goal of reaching a new deal on opening up global commerce in 2010, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said on Tuesday.

A U.S. clinical study suggests that just half a dose of the Novartis AG H1N1 vaccine may be enough to generate a protective immune response, the Swiss drugmaker said on Tuesday.

The task of harvesting the secrets of Brazil's vast Amazon rain forest that could help in the battle against cancer largely falls to Osmar Barbosa Ferreira and a big pair of clippers.

Pakistani forces have captured most main Taliban bases in their offensive in South Waziristan and will soon fan out into the rugged countryside to hunt for militants there, commanders said on Tuesday.

People who have had repeated flu infections -- or repeated flu vaccines -- may have some protection against the new pandemic swine influenza, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Israel declined comment on Tuesday on a report of new U.S. demands it curb settlement round Jerusalem, but it reaffirmed its determination to go on building on occupied West Bank land that it has annexed to the city.

Chinese President Hu Jintao hailed U.S. President Barack Obama's recognition of sovereignty issues dear to China, after a bilateral meeting in Beijing on Tuesday.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday he was confident the alliance would substantially increase its forces battling Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Chinese and U.S. regulators are negotiating a pact aimed at encouraging Chinese financial institutions to buy into small and medium-sized banks in the United States, bankers briefed on the plan said on Tuesday.

China and the United States agree Iran must show its nuclear program is peaceful and transparent, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday, but Chinese President Hu Jintao was more guarded on the dispute at a summit in Beijing.

U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a forum on job creation with U.S. business leaders on December 3 and then embark on a cross-country tour to discuss economic recovery, the White House said on Monday.

Home Depot Inc posted a higher than expected quarterly profit on Tuesday but warned that there was still a lot of pressure in the U.S. housing and home improvement markets, sending its shares lower.