MARKETS / FINANCE

Swiss bank UBS AG said it expects to report a modest third-quarter net profit, easing concerns about the impact of the $2.3 billion rogue trading loss uncovered last month as the bank chalks up gains on credit derivatives.

The European Central Bank is likely to leave interest rates unchanged when it holds the last policy meeting of Jean-Claude Trichet's presidency on Thursday, but may open the door to a cut under his successor and reintroduce some of its most potent crisis-fighting weapons.

Greek public sector workers blocked the entrances to several ministries on Tuesday to protest against austerity measures, disrupting talks with EU and IMF inspectors on a vital aid tranche.

Gold prices fell Tuesday, weighed down by panicking investors preparing for the fallout of a Greek sovereign debt default -- damage to European banks and falling business activity on the continent and perhaps the U.S. -- by dumping stocks and abandoning the euro and buying dollars.

The Supreme Court let stand on Monday a ruling that a traditional Internet download of sound recording does not constitute a public performance of the recorded musical work under federal copyright law.

Stock index futures fell on Tuesday, a day after equities hit 13-month lows, as European officials considered making banks take bigger losses on Greek debt and on expectations Greece would default soon.

Some tech experts and observers still seem torn over whether Apple will unveil an iPhone 5G, an iPhone 4S, or both today at its Let's talk iPhone event at company headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

Stock index futures fell on Tuesday, a day after equities hit 13-month lows, on increased worries about a major banking crisis in Europe and expectations Greece would default soon.

Gold mining companies in the second quarter reported their first consecutive quarterly net hedging in 10 years, driven by new hedges by small producers, metals consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS and French bank Societe Generale said on Tuesday.

Two Western luxury-goods giants are taking a controversial tack in the fight on Chinese knockoffs, by targeting the U.S. branches of major Chinese banks that allegedly do business with the pirates.

The CME Group raised trading margins on platinum and copper futures, hoping to tame volatility in products that have fallen sharply as markets witness what is turning out to be the worst rout since the 2008 financial crisis.

A battered pickup truck pulling up to Huaying Trading's back street office in Goma is about all that remains of Congo's once-bustling resources business as an impending U.S. crackdown on so-called conflict minerals scares most buyers away.

Look out Republican presidential nomination race frontrunner Rick Perry. Here comes Herman Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO. Cain is gaining momentum, and starting to make a run after his Florida straw poll victory.

Japanese electronics firms are suffering from the downturn in European consumption and the euro's slump to a 10-year low against the yen, senior executives from Sony Corp, Panasonic Corp and Fujitsu Ltd said on Tuesday.

Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were finally set free of the charges of the murder of Meredith Kercher on Monday by an Italian court. After spending almost four years in jail, the controversial trial of the murder of the British student has finally come to an end, but leaving everyone perplexed.

World stocks hit a fresh 15-month low on Tuesday and the dollar rose to a nine-month peak as fears over a major banking crisis in Europe mounted along with expectations Greece could soon default, accelerating a global economic slowdown.

Switzerland, despite bank settlements with the United States to disclose tax evaders, remains the top refuge for financial secrecy, according to a new international ranking of tax haven countries.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.5 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.5 percent at 0841 GMT.

Swiss bank UBS said on Tuesday it expects to report a modest net profit for the third quarter after a $2.3 billion rogue trading scandal.

European stock index futures fell on Tuesday, after global stocks sank to a 15-month low, as investors shed riskier assets on growing doubts over Greece's ability to avoid default that fueled fears of global financial turmoil and recession.

World stocks fell to a 15-month low and the euro tumbled to its weakest level against the yen in more than a decade on Monday as growing expectation of a Greek default increased fears of another global recession.

Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi urged Europe on Tuesday to come up with a transparent scheme to resolve the Greek debt crisis, to help stabilize the world economy and keep the euro from weakening too much against the yen.

Asian stocks extended losses on Tuesday from the previous day's steep declines as investors continued to flee from riskier assets on growing doubts over Greece's ability to avoid default, fuelling fears of global financial turmoil and recession.

Franco-Belgian financial group Dexia vowed on Tuesday to clean up its balance sheet, with France and Belgium poised to act, after concerns about its exposure to Greece and a Moody's warning about its liquidity pummelled its shares.pummeled

Euro zone finance ministers and officials met on Monday to discuss the European Financial Stability Facility bailout fund and the economic situation in Greece.

Euro zone finance ministers are reviewing the size of the private sector's involvement in a second international bailout package for Greece, a move that could undermine the aid program and hasten the threat of a Greek default.

Shares of American Airlines parent AMR Corp fell as much as 41 percent on Monday on growing fears the third-largest U.S. airline is headed for bankruptcy, although the carrier said Chapter 11 is not our goal.

Stocks slumped in heavy volume to a 13-month low on Monday as investors dumped bank shares on fears that Greece's worsening financial crisis could cause a large European lender to fail.

Stocks slumped in heavy volume to a 13-month low on Monday as investors dumped bank shares on fears that Greece's worsening financial crisis could cause a large European lender to fail.