UNITED STATES

Citigroup Inc was profitable in the first two months of 2009 and is confident about its capital strength, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said, easing concerns about the troubled bank's survival prospects.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday said leaders from the Group of 20 rich and developing economies should agree early next month on principles to guide nations as they revamp financial rules to prevent future crises.

U.S. stocks rose about 5 percent on Tuesday after Citigroup said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009 and a key lawmaker said he expects the restoration of a rule that makes it harder to bet that a share's price will fall.

Iran's top military commander said the new U.S. administration was just as warmongering as its predecessor, but that the United States could not afford to attack Iran, an Iranian news agency reported on Tuesday.

Shares of General Electric Co soared 15.9 percent on Tuesday amid a broad rally in U.S. stocks triggered by assurances from Citigroup Inc that the big bank was profitable through the first two months of 2009.

Stocks jumped on Tuesday, extending strong gains after U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said he expects the SEC's uptick rule to be restored in about a month.

Shares of General Electric Co soared 15.9 percent on Tuesday amid a broad rally in U.S. stocks triggered by assurances from Citigroup Inc that the big bank was profitable through the first two months of 2009.

Citigroup chief executive Vikram Pandit said the banking giant was profitable in the first two months of 2009, generating total revenue in that time of $19 billion, excluding externally disclosed marks.

China said on Tuesday that a U.S. Navy ship involved in a confrontation with its fleet off the southern island of Hainan had violated international and Chinese laws.

NEW YORK - eBay Inc is asking its stockholders to approve a one-time program to let employees exchange their underwater stock options for restricted stock units at a set ratio, according to a U.S. regulatory filing.

President Barack Obama's lifting of restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research puts him at odds with Pope Benedict and the American Roman Catholic Church.

U.S. wholesale inventories fell for the fifth consecutive month in January and sales plummeted amid a slump in demand, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Roche said again on Tuesday that it deemed its $93 per share offer for U.S. biotech group Genentech as fair, after a source familiar with the situation had said the two sides were in talks for a deal at a higher price.

A United Nations investigator urged U.S. allies from Britain to Pakistan on Tuesday to fully investigate whether they helped in secret renditions that led to the illegal torture or disappearance of terror suspects.

Citigroup Inc was profitable in the first two months of 2009 and is confident about its capital strength, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said, easing concerns about the troubled bank's survival prospects.

Merrill Lynch & Co paid Latin American investment banker Alexandre Bettamio, whom it poached from UBS AG, at least $7 million in guaranteed bonuses for 2008, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Companies ranging from Eastman Kodak to Unisys are at risk of defaulting on their debt in the eyes of credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Eli Broad, a former director and shareholder of AIG who joined other investors last year to hatch a plan to reclaim the insurer from federal ownership, said he has thrown in the towel.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday regulators must find a way to safeguard the entire financial system and not just its parts to prevent future crises like the one currently engulfing economies around the globe.

Oil rose above $47 a barrel on Tuesday after reports Saudi Arabia was largely maintaining its supply curbs to Asia and Europe and as analysts expected a drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Prominent banking analyst Meredith Whitney warned that credit cards are the next credit crunch, as contracting credit lines will lower consumer spending and hurt the U.S. economy.