MARKETS / FINANCE

Fitch Ratings upgraded Ford Motor Co to investment grade on Tuesday, marking a key step that brings the second-largest U.S. automaker closer to reclaiming its Blue Oval trademark.

Wall Street was set to struggle at the open on Tuesday after sharp losses in the previous session and on continued concerns about Europe's debt crisis.

Russian gold miner Highland Gold posted a 15 percent drop in net profit to $104 million for 2011, hit by falling production and rising costs.

Gold prices steadied near $1,640 an ounce in Europe on Tuesday as a softer tone to the dollar arrested the previous session's slide, but traders largely stuck to the sidelines ahead of a key monetary policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Stock index futures crept higher on Tuesday after sharp losses in the previous session but continued concerns about Europe's debt crisis could mean gains are short lived.

Stock index futures crept higher on Tuesday after sharp losses in the previous session but continued concerns about Europe's debt crisis could mean gains will be slight.

Hong Kong's anti-graft agency is looking into payments totaling more than U.S. $2.5 million to a former top public servant as part of the city's corruption investigation involving two billionaire brothers who run Asia's largest property developer.

JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday named Jeff Urwin as its new chief executive Asia Pacific, taking over from Gaby Abdelnour who announced in March that he will be leaving the firm.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.37 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.35 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.48 percent at 4:35 a.m. EDT.

The Bank of Japan is likely to ease monetary policy on Friday by boosting asset purchases by up to 10 trillion yen ($123 billion) and in doing so may extend the maturity of government bonds it targets to around three years, according to sources familiar with the central bank's thinking.

Google's former chief executive, Eric Schmidt, is slated to testify on Tuesday as Oracle's final witness in the first part of a high stakes trial over smartphone technology, attorneys said in court.

European share markets and the single currency staged modest recoveries on Tuesday, after steep losses caused by the worsening performance of the euro zone economy and a sharp rise in concern over the political will to fix its fiscal problems.

Google Inc executives Larry Page and Eric Schmidt and filmmaker James Cameron are among those bankrolling a venture to survey and eventually extract precious metals and rare minerals from asteroids that orbit near Earth, the company said on Tuesday.

Asian shares fell and the euro was under pressure on Tuesday as political uncertainty and slumping business in Europe raised fears the euro zone could struggle to push through austerity measures and may stay in recession longer.

Asian shares inched up on Tuesday but gains were limited as political uncertainty and disappointing data in Europe raised fears the euro zone could struggle to push through austerity measures and may stay in recession until late in the year.

Swiss food group Nestle SA may sell about 10 to 15 percent of the $11.9 billion baby food business it is buying from Pfizer Inc to address antitrust concerns, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

The union representing seven work groups at bankrupt American Airlines will vote starting next week on the carrier's best and final contract offer, with results expected before unions testify in a hearing on the airline's request to void their contract, three sources said on Monday.

Stocks fell on Monday as political turmoil in Europe cast doubts on the euro zone's ability to push through measures to end its debt crisis and as Wal-Mart sank following a report it stymied a bribery probe.

At this point, the question of whether a new war between Sudan and South Sudan has started is a matter of semantics, not facts. The real question now is who will win?

The world's largest airline is looking to expand its fleet of narrow-body jets, and has dropped European planemaker Airbus from pre-order talks.

Facebook Inc's first-quarter revenue climbed 45 percent to just over $1 billion as daily active users leapt 41 percent, the world's largest social network disclosed ahead of its landmark initial public offering.

American Airlines kicked off a week-long court hearing on its bid to abandon union contracts, telling a judge on Monday that its bankrupt parent, AMR Corp, cannot survive without major concessions from its labor force.

U.S. stocks fell more than 1 percent on Monday as political turmoil in Europe cast doubts on the bloc's ability to push through measures to end its debt crisis and as Wal-Mart sank following a report it stymied a bribery probe.

American Airlines on Monday kicked off a week-long court hearing on its bid to abandon union contracts, telling a judge that its bankrupt parent, AMR Corp, cannot survive without major concessions from its labor force.

Stocks slid on Monday as resurgent uncertainty in Europe cast doubts on the bloc's ability to push through measures to end its debt crisis, while Wal-Mart weighed on the Dow after a report it stymied a probe into bribery allegations.

Thomson Reuters Corp said on Monday it is selling its Healthcare business to private equity firm Veritas Capital for $1.25 billion in cash.

Why Barcelona are unlikely to slip-up again against Chelsea in a competition that has long been their priority this season.

Hollande is predicted to win the second round of voting against Sarkozy, which will take place on May 6.

For those fans of classic platform adventure games, Nintendo just announced that the upcoming sequel to Super Mario Bros. for the 3DS device will be launching in August. The follow up will be tailored to on-the-go gaming, according to Nintendo’s official press release. This reveal lines up nicely with the long-time gaming company’s recent announcement that a Kirby anniversary title will also launch later this year.