MARKETS / FINANCE

U.S. stocks sank on Tuesday on increasing worries that there could be more bank failures and concerns that equity prices may have run ahead of the economic recovery.

A U.S. tax probe against Swiss bank UBS has killed traditional offshore banking and wealth managers will have to improve their offers to survive, bankers and industry experts said on Tuesday.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as investors fretted that prices may have run too far ahead of the economic recovery even as data showed the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in August after a long slump.

Bank of America is offering to repay part of the U.S. government bailout money, starting with the $20 billion it received in January to help with the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website late on Monday.

Robert Benmosche, the new CEO of American International Group Inc, said he regrets tough comments he made about New York's attorney general, saying he was trying to bolster a demoralized AIG work force.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after a survey showed the U.S. manufacturing sector returned to growth in August after a prolonged slump.

A key gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity likely rose in August, which would bring the index into positive territory for the first time since just after the recession began, according to a Reuters' poll of economists.

(Corrects first paragraph to show U.S. manufacturing is expected to have expanded for the first time since just after the recession began, not since the recession began.)

Stocks opened lower on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of the economic recovery looked set to eclipse data expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

Oil rose above $70 a barrel on Tuesday in choppy trade, as the market awaited U.S. data expected to indicate economic recovery and higher fuel consumption in the world's biggest energy market.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of an economic recovery looked set to eclipse a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

The reinvigorated market for initial public offerings has sparked a rash of new filings by prominent companies that have been waiting for years for the chance to go public, setting the stage for potentially billions of dollars in IPOs by the end of the year.

Euro zone unemployment hit a 10-year high of 9.5 percent in July and is seen rising further before a nascent economic recovery supports the job market, denting hopes that consumer spending will boost growth.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as ongoing concerns over the strength of an economic recovery looked set to eclipse a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded in August.

Worrying about the looming threat of unemployment can be more damaging to a person's health than actually being jobless, according to a U.S. study.

(Corrects first paragraph to show U.S. manufacturing is expected to have expanded for the first time since just after the recession began, not since the recession began.)

Oil fell below $70 a barrel on Tuesday, mirroring weaker equity markets, and dragged by data showing Britain's manufacturing sector dipped unexpectedly in August.

U.S. consumers satisfaction with credit cards plummeted in 2009, driven by anger due to fees and higher interest rates, according to a J.D. Power and Associates poll released on Tuesday.

Stock index futures fell on Tuesday, ahead of report expected to show U.S. manufacturing expanded for the first time since the recession began, as fears persist about the strength of the global recovery.

Global stocks eased on Tuesday as buoyant shares and economic data in China failed to erase concern over the durability of the recent rally, while the yen held firm after a landslide election win for Japan's opposition.

Almost all U.S. cities are cutting spending to compensate for declining revenues, but the worst may be yet to come, according to a report released Tuesday by the National League of Cities.

China's vast manufacturing sector kept up its steady recovery last month, ignoring the gloom engulfing the Shanghai stock market, a pair of surveys showed on Tuesday.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fall 0.5-0.6 percent, pointing to a weaker start for Wall Street on Tuesday.

A key gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity likely rose in August, which would bring the index into positive territory for the first time since the recession began, according to a Reuters' poll of economists.

U.S. retailers are likely to get an incomplete mark for the key back-to-school season when they report August sales this week, as a later Labor Day is expected to pull some sales into September, pressuring August results.

The U.S. pay czar has begun reviewing the appropriateness of the richest pay packages proposed by firms that received billions of dollars in government aid.

Nokia has delayed to next year the launch of its music service in the United States, the world's largest music market, Forbes magazine reported online on Monday, quoting a Nokia spokeswoman.

The Australian Dollar opens stronger on Tuesday at 0.8435 after shrugging off worse-than-expected local data yesterday where gross operating profits fell 7.8 per cent in the June quarter and business inventories shrank 3.4 per cent.

The Federal Communications Commission will open an inquiry to examine the various technologies to block children from watching programs with sex and violence, the agency's chief said on Monday.