UNITED STATES

Gold bounced back from a three-week low to trade above $890 an ounce on Tuesday, as the dollar tumbled after the U.S. Federal Reserve unexpectedly slashed interest rates by 75 basis points.

Mizuho Financial Group's $1.2 billion investment in Merrill Lynch marks a turning point for Japan's once-reeling banks which, after shedding bad debt and rebuilding their businesses, are once again looking for opportunities abroad.

Hedge funds with geared wrong-way bets in hot areas such as commodities and emerging markets are feeling the squeeze from market falls, but some top managers are using this opportunity to pick up stocks they like on the cheap.

A day after global markets sank over worries of a possible U.S. recession, the Federal Reserve Bank on Tuesday sought to reduce the risk of further economic trouble by making steep three-quarter point cut in a key interest rate before U.S. markets opened, citing a weakening of the economic outlook.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday fourth-quarter profit sank 95 percent, hurt by more than $7 billion of losses tied to poor trading decisions and mounting credit woes.Net income for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company fell to $268 million, or 5 cents per share, from $5.26 billion, or $1.16, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected a profit of 19 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Treasuries rose on Tuesday after global stock markets plummeted a day earlier as investors fled to more secure government bonds.

The euro dropped to a five-month low against the yen the biggest plunge in European stocks in 6 years on concern the U.S. economy will fall into recession.

Copper fell the most since Nov. 21 in London as investors speculate demand for the red metal will decline.

European stock markets plunged on Monday, recording some of its biggest losses in over 6 years, as investors sold off on concerns the U.S. economy will fall into recession.

Guitar Hero video game hit a industry record on Monday, generating $1 billion in sales in North American retail within 26 months, a market research reported.

The Renault-Nissan (RENA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research) alliance on Monday signed a deal to begin mass producing electric cars as part of an Israeli-led project to develop alternative energy sources and slash oil dependency.

Time Warner Inc.'s HBO will make its content available on the internet where subscribers can download movies and television shows for free, according to news reports.

Stock markets around the world plummeted on Monday, taking their lead from the U.S., where a leading index fell more than 4 percent last week following increased concern that the U.S. will head for a recession.

World stocks nosedived and demand for safe-haven bonds and currencies soared on Monday as fears gripped investors that a deteriorating U.S. economy would drag others down with it. MSCI's main world stock index, a benchmark gauge of stock markets globally, sank 2.6 percent, falling below its 2007 bottom to lows last seen in December 2006.

Time Warner Inc pay TV channel HBO will launch a service on Tuesday to let subscribers download movies and television shows over the Web, joining a crowded market for video on the Internet.

An explosion killed a soldier from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in southern Afghanistan and wounded five others, the force said on Monday.

World stocks took a beating on Monday and demand for safe-haven bonds and currencies rose as fears gripped investors that a troubled U.S. economy would drag others down with it. MSCI's main world stock index was down 1.9 percent, nearing its 2007 low. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was down 2.4 percent, taking its 2008 year-to-date losses to 12 percent.

Venture capitalists invested the most startup funds in the U.S. in six years, despite a slowdown in the nation's economy, according to a new report.

NASA has released new images from a spacecraft showing a side of Mercury which has never been seen before.NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

China now has 210 million Internet users, up 53 percent from the period a year ago and is likely to surpass the U.S this year, according to a Chinese survey.

European banking giant UBS, hit hard by the U.S. subprime crisis, will reduce its investment banking business with staff cuts mainly in the U.S., according to an internal memo to employees on Friday.