IBT Staff Reporter

Millions of Iranians have suffered serious disruption recently in accessing email and Internet social networking sites, raising concerns authorities are stepping up censorship of opposition supporters ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. reported higher quarterly results, helped by strong demand for its namesake luxury brand, sending shares of the designer apparel and accessory company up 23 percent.

Wynn Resorts Chief Executive Officer Steve Wynn played down a U.S. regulatory inquiry into a company donation at the heart of a bitter legal battle embroiling his $15 billion casino empire, hitting back at his largest shareholder and accuser in a memo to employees.

Wall Street was set for a lower open Tuesday after weaker-than-expected January U.S. retail sales data curbed investors' appetite for risky assets.

Rating agency Moody's warned it may cut the triple-A ratings of France, Britain and Austria and it downgraded six other European nations including Italy, Spain and Portugal, citing growing risks from Europe's debt crisis.

The European Central Bank's profits from Greek bonds could be used to help restructure Greece's debt, Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said, spelling out how the ECB's funds could play a role in Athens' debt deal.

Stock index futures were little changed Tuesday as upbeat data from Germany offset Moody's ratings downgrade of six euro-zone countries and investors remained concerned about the financial health of the region.

Avon Products Inc's reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results as sales slid in every market except Latin America and the cosmetics direct seller lost sales representatives.

Stock index futures edged up Tuesday after upbeat data from Germany offset ratings agency Moody's downgrade of six euro zone countries.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has taken a lot of heat from his decision to ban worship services from public schools, defended his administration's decision Monday.

Ronald Ra Diggs Herron was charged with three counts of Murder, including one he tweeted about.

After a week of grabbing the attention of sports headlines, Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has increased the profits of Madison Square Garden and the Knicks establishment.

As a part of its subway-wide maintenance program, MTA will shut down the Seventh Avenue 1, 2 and 3 lines at night in order to provide needed repair to the line.

After the arrest of Gregory Atkins, a 56-year-old teacher's aide who is accused of sexually abusing an eight-year-old students, angry parents turned to Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott to demand answers and justice.

U.S. agri-business giant Monsanto said on Tuesday it will appeal a French court ruling that found it responsible for the poisoning of a farmer who inhaled a weedkiller in what is the first such case to reach court in France.

The European Union is likely to take action against Spain's newly installed government by May for delaying austerity measures ahead of a regional election next month, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

The European Union is likely to take action against Spain's newly installed government by May for delaying austerity measures ahead of a regional election next month, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Output at factories in the euro zone tumbled in December, reflecting a sick European economy that probably shrank at the end of 2011 but it is hoped will recover this year.

The Bank of Japan boosted its asset buying program by $130 billion on Tuesday and in the face of political pressure set an inflation goal of one percent, signaling a more aggressive monetary policy to pull an ailing economy out of deflation.

When it comes to hiring top commodity traders, what goes around comes around. Wall Street, after years of poaching the best and brightest from specialized commodity firms, is losing the war to keep the essential traders who know how to arbitrage copper or store crude .

India's government is investigating whether local units of U.S. Internet giants Google Inc and Yahoo Inc may have violated the country's foreign exchange laws, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Asian nations shopped for aircraft and military hardware at the region's biggest aerospace and weapons bazaar on Tuesday as a new report said China's defense spending would exceed the combined spending of all major countries in the region within three years.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open for equities on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 down 0.1 to 0.2 percent.

Rating agency Moody's warned on Monday it may cut the triple-A ratings of France, the United Kingdom and Austria, and it downgraded six other European nations including Italy, Spain and Portugal, citing growing risks from Europe's debt crisis.

Boeing Co said on Tuesday it signed its largest ever commercial airplane order with Indonesia's Lion Air in a deal worth $22.4 billion.

Samsung Electronics Co said on Tuesday it is considering various options to improve competitiveness of its loss-making LCD flat-screen business but declined to comment on a media report that it may spin off the operation.

Global shares and the euro eased and safe-haven German government bonds rose on Tuesday as demand for riskier assets stalled after ratings agency Moody's downgraded six European nations, taking the shine off the Bank of Japan's policy easing.

The U.S. Federal Reserve should do all it can to reduce very high unemployment and bring inflation back up to more desirable levels, a top Fed official said on Monday.

U.S. and European regulators approved Google Inc's $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc and said they would keep a sharp eye on the web search giant to ensure patents critical to the telecommunications industry would be licensed at fair prices.