UNITED STATES

Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Tuesday reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by stronger sales in its international division, tighter control on expenses and efforts to draw customers into its U.S. stores earlier than ever for holiday shopping. The world's biggest retailer said net income rose to $2.86 billion, or 70 cents per share, in the third quarter that ended October 31, from $2.65 billion, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier.

Former US vice president Al Gore is taking on a new role as he joins forces with a Silicon Valley venture capital firm to invest in green business and eco-friendly technology.

Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) said on Monday it will sell three Southern television stations including its three Charlotte radio stations for a total of $683 million.

Last Monday morning, production on Fox's multigenerational family drama pilot The Oaks began in Pasadena.

Stocks rose on Monday, rebounding from last week's heavy losses as investors hunted for bargains in financial services and other sectors.

The former head of UK bank Abbey and veteran troubleshooter Luqman Arnold is preparing a move for Northern Rock which could avoid a sale or breakup, sending shares in the battered lender up as much as 11 percent.

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) faces a federal patent infringement lawsuit by Northeastern University over technology used in its core Web search system, according to legal papers filed last week. The complaint was filed on Nov. 6 in Marshall, in the Eastern District of Texas -- the U.S. court with a history of decisions that are highly favorable to plaintiffs in patent cases -- but the case only came to light over the weekend.

World stocks hit 8-week lows while the yen raced to 18-month peaks versus the dollar on Monday as fears about credit-related losses at financial firms prompted investors to reduce bets on risky trades.

Gold fell more than 2 percent on Monday, as weaker oil prices and recovery in the dollar prompted investors to take profits from the metal's recent 28-year highs.

Metals prices slipped on Monday on fears of waning demand, but mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, engaged in a takeover battle, were among the big gainers on the London stock market.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) said on Monday it would buy Canada's Cognos Inc (Nasdaq:COGN) for $5 billion, snapping up the last major independent maker of business intelligence software.

The yen rose to a 1-1/2-year high against the dollar on Monday, benefiting from a spike in volatility caused by nervousness about credit-related losses at U.S. banks.

Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), the No.2 U.S. entertainment company, plans to launch mobile phone services in Japan early next year to become the newest entrant in an ultra-competitive market.

U.S. oil slid below $95 on Monday after top exporter Saudi Arabia said OPEC would look at raising output to brake oil's ascent towards $100 and safeguard world economic growth.

S&P 500 and Dow industrials were little changed and the Nasdaq fell on Monday as investors looked for bargains in financial shares, while a big drop in oil prices weighed on major energy company shares.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday called on President Pervez Musharraf to end the state of emergency in Pakistan but said the United States would not abandon a key ally in fighting extremism.

Banks worldwide may lose as much as $400 billion from subprime mortgages, as at least one in four of the risky home loans go into default, analysts said on Monday. Mike Mayo, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc, estimated $150 billion to $250 billion of losses based on $1.2 trillion of U.S. subprime loans, and an additional $150 billion of losses on derivatives linked to subprime debt.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday denounced as traitors Iranian politicians who want the country to suspend its nuclear work, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Toyota Motor Corp on Friday detailed plans to study U.S. consumer demand for a version of its hot-selling Prius hybrid that could be recharged at a standard outlet and run on electric power only.

Any new signs that the economy continues to decelerate could make it hard for stocks to regain their footing in the coming days after last week's bruising sell-off and a drop in consumer sentiment to a two-year low.

Oil fell more than $1 on Monday, reversing the previous session's rally, after OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia said the cartel would discuss boosting oil output at an upcoming meeting to cool surging oil prices.