UNITED STATES

U.S. benchmark lending rates could stay near zero for a couple of years based on the amount of slack now in the economy, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen said on Tuesday.

The recession is likely to end later in 2009, ushering in a frustratingly slow recovery marked by continued high unemployment, a top Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

Bizarre in life, Michael Jackson's complex personal affairs are taking even stranger twists in death, with sketchy reports on Tuesday of plans for an elaborate public memorial and questions over the parentage of his children.

Gannett Co. Inc Co, which owns top-selling newspaper USA Today, is laying off more than 1,000 staff to try and combat persistent declines in revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Tuesday that public anger over the U.S. financial crisis and subsequent bailouts could cause big problems if this escalated into a political challenge to the independence of the U.S. central bank.

General Motors Corp's chief executive told a U.S. bankruptcy court on Tuesday that the sale of GM's main assets to government-backed New GM must win court approval in order for the automaker to survive.

The New York Power Authority agreed on Tuesday to sell low-cost power to Yahoo Inc to build a data canter and to Sunworks Solar LLC to build a solar panel manufacturing plant.

U.S. securities regulators are considering changing how companies are required to disclose stock options awarded to executives, people familiar with the Securities and Exchange Commission's thinking told Reuters on Tuesday.

U.S. securities regulators are considering changing how companies are required to disclose stock options awarded to executives, people familiar with the Securities and Exchange Commission's thinking told Reuters on Tuesday.

Joost, an early pioneer in bringing popular TV shows and movies to the Web, is dropping its consumer service, cutting jobs and losing its high-profile chief executive as it struggles to find revenue to survive.

U.S. investigators say 10 or more people associated with imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff could face criminal charges in the coming months, a law enforcement source said on Tuesday.

Republican senate candidate Norm Coleman gave up his fight for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, congratulating rival Al Franken. Earlier today, Minnesota's highest court upheld a decision by a lower court declaring Franken the winner in last November's election.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it was pressing ahead with its five-month-old lawsuit against UBS AG to force the Swiss bank to identify thousands of U.S. clients with secret UBS accounts.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as an unexpected drop in consumer confidence cooled recent optimism about an economic recovery, but Wall Street still closed out its best quarter in a decade.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday that it supports President Barack Obama's push to require large employers to offer health insurance to workers.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as an unexpected drop in consumer confidence cooled recent optimism about an economic recovery, but Wall Street still closed out its best quarter in a decade.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared democrat Al Franken as the winner of Minnesota's disputed U.S. Senate seat over Republican Norm Coleman.

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson's body will return to his Neverland Ranch on late Thursday morning. And a public viewing has been set on Friday, the CNN confirmed on Tuesday.

The worldwide IT market took a major plunge in the current fiscal quarter but will soon to recover by the end fourth quarter and into 2010, according to Forrester analyst research on Tuesday.

Oil fell 2 percent to below $70 a barrel on Tuesday after a drop in U.S. consumer confidence data in May added to concerns over a potential economic rebound.

Minnesota's Supreme Court upheld a ruling on Tuesday declaring Democratic candidate Al Franken as the winner of the state's U.S. Senate seat, beating incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in last November's election.