IBT Staff Reporter

Stock index futures rose sharply on Tuesday as upbeat Chinese and German data boosted optimism about the global economy after the S&P 500 index ended flat in 2011.

Food prices may ease in 2012 due to a slowing global economy, though no drastic drop from high levels is expected, the new director-general of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Tuesday.

BP has called on contractor Halliburton to pay all costs and expenses it incurred to clean up the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which the oil major previously put at around $42 billion.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday as investors returned to the market optimistic about the global economy after Wall Street ended flat in 2011.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones futures and Nasdaq 100 futures up 1.1 to 1.9 percent at 6 a.m. EST.

Banks cut their intake of one-week European Central Bank funding by just under 15 billion euros on Tuesday, as they continued to readjust their borrowing needs having recently gorged themselves on the ECB's first ever offering of three-year cash.

Oil major Total SA signed a $2.3 billion deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp and EnerVest, continuing a trend of European and Asian oil and gas companies buying into U.S. shale plays.

Policymakers marked the 10th anniversary on Sunday of the introduction of euro notes and coins by urging governments in the currency bloc to save and consolidate to overcome their debt crisis.

Computer hackers published details of thousands of active Israeli credit cards after breaking into Israeli websites, the chief executive of Israel's largest card company said Tuesday.

Resilience in the manufacturing sector and a surprise drop in German unemployment lifted global stocks and the euro on Tuesday but positive sentiment is seen vulnerable to a daunting schedule of first quarter debt issuance in Europe.

BMW expects the global premium car market to grow more than twice as fast as the overall auto market this year, the German carmaker's finance chief told a German newspaper.

Demi Moore, Adam Brody and Eric Roberts have joined the cast of Lovelace, a biopic about porn actress Linda Lovelace, the producers announced on Monday.

Police arrested a Hollywood man believed to be a German citizen on Monday in connection with a wave of 53 arson fires across Los Angeles that terrorized neighborhoods over the holiday weekend.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has rung in the New Year with a new Twitter account that includes praise for Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum and opinions on President Barack Obama's policies and the Steve Jobs biography.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has downgraded Indian utility vehicle and tractor maker Mahindra and Mahindra to 'underperform' from 'neutral', saying it expects slower earnings growth.

The International Monetary Fund will release as early as this summer the results of health checks on Japanese banks, including their ability to withstand the European debt crisis and weak economic growth, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

The first of Vale's giant dry bulk vessels to arrive in China has completed delivery of its iron ore cargo, shipping data showed on Tuesday, a key step forward in the Brazilian miner's plan to cut shipping costs to its biggest market.

With time running out, rivals of surging Republican Rick Santorum raised doubts about his conservative record on Monday in hopes of heading off a last-minute victory by the former senator a day before Iowa kicks off the 2012 presidential election season.

If hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert wants to save one of the oldest retail empires in the United States, he should consider shutting down Sears Holdings Corp's Kmart discount chain and focus on revamping its Sears department stores.

Economists trimmed forecasts for Brazil's inflation rate for 2012 for a fifth week, after estimating that consumer prices last year topped the official target for the first time since 2003, a central bank weekly survey showed on Monday.

Sprint Nextel Corp extended a December 31 deadline for LightSquared Inc, with which it may share infrastructure, to get a regulatory clearance for operating a planned telecommunications network.

SANTIAGO, Jan 2 - Chile's state copper giant Codelco said on Monday it exercised a disputed option to buy a stake in Anglo American's south Chile mining assets, but is willing to consider taking a smaller stake if Anglo proposes a formula that safeguards its full value.

Caterpillar Inc's Electro-Motive unit has decided to lock out locomotive manufacturing workers in London, Ontario, after finding out the Canadian Auto Workers told members not to strike following the breakdown of contract negotiations.

Germany's Lufthansa told passengers on Monday to brace for higher ticket prices as it refuses to shoulder the costs of a carbon trading scheme at the centre of a brewing trade spat.

Shaky Europe. Political gridlock. Volatile markets.

SANTIAGO, Jan 2 - Chile state copper giant Codelco on Monday said it had exercised a $6 billion option to buy mining assets in southern Chile, but global miner Anglo American defied the move, setting the stage for a lengthy legal battle.

Will Wright, the designer behind successful video game simulations including SimCity, The Sims and Spore, is at it again. Only this time, rather than controlling virtual people or creating space creatures, the protagonist of HiveMind is the actual player.

Will Wright, the designer behind successful video game simulations including SimCity, The Sims and Spore, is at it again. Only this time, rather than controlling virtual people or creating space creatures, the protagonist of HiveMind is the actual player.

Will Wright, the designer behind successful video game simulations including SimCity, The Sims and Spore, is at it again. Only this time, rather than controlling virtual people or creating space creatures, the protagonist of HiveMind is the actual player.