UNITED STATES

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. President Barack Obama he would not run for re-election unless Israel dropped its refusal to freeze settlements, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday.

U.S. home prices rose for the fourth straight month in August and shoppers spent more last week, providing evidence consumer demand could be stabilizing.

Iran will accept the framework of a U.N.-drafted nuclear fuel deal, but will demand some important changes, al Alam state television reported on Tuesday.

A run-off vote in Afghanistan's presidential election must take place even if President Hamid Karzai's challenger quits the race, Karzai's camp said on Tuesday.

An al Qaeda-linked group has said it carried out the twin suicide bombings that killed 155 people in Baghdad on Sunday and revived doubts about security in the run-up to Iraq's elections in January.

Democrats in the Senate are trying to make progress on a climate change bill to give a boost to an international global warming summit in Copenhagen in December.

Bruce Springsteen canceled a performance in Kansas City on Monday after the death of his cousin who was the assistant road manager of the E Street Band.

Wall Street was set for a modestly lower open on Tuesday as worries the market's seven-month rally was reaching an end offset data showing U.S. home price rose more than expected.

Actress Scarlett Johansson will make her Broadway debut starring in a revival of American playwright Arthur Miller's drama A View from the Bridge, the show's organizers said on Monday.

Valero Energy Corp reported a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday as weak fuel demand in the slow economy weighed on results for the largest U.S. refiner.

BP Plc beat third-quarter earnings forecasts by a big margin in a sign Chief Executive Tony Hayward's restructuring plans were delivering results, with cost cuts ahead of targets and oil and gas output up strongly.

S&P 500 index futures moved higher on Tuesday after a report showed U.S. home prices rose in August for the fourth-straight month, surpassing forecasts.

Gears Begin Moving on Climate Bill ; Smart Grid to Get Big Boost; Corporate Spending Set to Rise

NBC Universal could be floated on the stock market if France's Vivendi decides to sell its 20 percent stake in the group majority-owned by General Electric Vivendi's chief executive said.

The United States welcomes the rise in the yuan's exchange rate in recent years but wants the currency to climb further, visiting Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Tuesday.

Senior UBS AG executive Mark Branson will head Swiss regulator FINMA's banking unit, the Swiss watchdog said on Tuesday, in a move likely to reignite debate over close ties between regulators and large banks.

Matt Damon is in discussions to star in Ethan and Joel Coen's remake of the John Wayne Western True Grit. Josh Brolin, who starred in the brothers' No Country for Old Men, is also in talks for a major role.

BP Plc beat third-quarter earnings forecasts by a big margin in a sign Chief Executive Tony Hayward's restructuring plans were delivering results, with cost cuts ahead of targets and oil and gas output up strongly.

The dollar slipped against the euro on Tuesday as traders took a breather from steep gains made in the U.S. currency the previous day which had knocked the euro from a 14-month high.

The dollar slipped against the euro on Tuesday, pausing from the previous day's broad gains as the yield on 10-year U.S. government bonds retreated from a two-month high, removing some support for the U.S. currency.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday will announce $3.4 billion in government grants to help build a smart electric grid that will save consumers money on their utility bills, reduce blackouts and carry power supplies generated by solar and wind energy, the White House said.