IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. bank earnings reached a more than four-year high in the third quarter, but regulators are warning that the industry faces challenges that include the risk of the European debt crisis washing up on U.S. shores.

Spanish bank Santander SAN.MC> will sell a 7.8 percent stake in Santander Chile , worth around $1 billion dollars, to help meet capital requirements amid Europe's spreading crisis, the Chilean affiliate said, sending the local unit's shares plunging.

Stocks fell on Tuesday as record-high yields at a Spanish debt auction and a downward revision of U.S. economic growth raised concerns about the global economy.

As winter chills set in, it's time to dust off the skis and head to the hill! But before you do, check out this guide to the best of the East. This ski season preview has you covered for season dates, best runs, and directions to the top resorts.

Tony Rezko, a one-time adviser to the embattled former Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich, has been sentenced to ten-and-a-half years in prison.

Nebraska lawmakers on Tuesday voted unanimously to reroute a controversial proposed U.S.-to-Canada oil pipeline away from an ecologically-sensitive region in the state, and the governor quickly signed the measure into law.

The California Supreme Court declined to give local governments carte blanche to hike health premiums for retired workers, saying on Monday that retirees could have a right to such benefits in some circumstances.

Iraq has signed contracts worth $396 million with South Korea's Hyundai Engineering to build two power plants as it tries to increase electricity supplies, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Garrett Uekman, a freshman tight end in University of Arkansas was reported dead at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville on Sunday. The cause of the death is yet to be found. According to Lt. Mat Mills in the university police department, there was nothing suspicious about Uekman’s death. However, his body will be sent to Arkansas state medical examiner for an autopsy.

Twilight fans can have their very own fairytale wedding experience next year when Carolina Herrera's CHNY boutiques begin selling gowns in the same design as worn by Bella Swan in Breaking Dawn - Part 1, the apparel maker's spokesman said on Monday.

David Beckham helped lead the LA Galaxy to a coveted MLS Cup victory on Sunday with a performance that validated the former England skipper's decision to abandon Europe for a life in Los Angeles.

Legal experts say that a new inquiry into the 30-year-old death of actress Natalie Wood is highly unlikely to lead to charges against the late actress's husband, Robert Wagner, or anyone else.

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore visited a Beverly Hills home for counseling last weekend, making a last ditch attempt to save their marriage even as Kutcher tried to woo Demi back with a $100,000 car as her birthday gift. The couple, who announced an end to their marriage last Tuesday, arrived separately at the 'Kabbalah House' and went through a one-hour counseling to lift them out of depression, according to reports. However, it didn't seem to work out as both of them came out looking d...

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan is finally ready to remove the shroud from his much-anticipated final Batman movie.

Sidney Crosby made his hotly anticipated return to the NHL Monday night, netting two goals and adding two assists in a game that is sure to go down as one of the biggest in Crosby lore when all is said and done.

Good news, Andy Cohen fans: Cohen's high-pitched talk show Watch What Happens: Live is growing to more than twice its current size.

Qualcomm has won a first deal for its new Mirasol display technology by supplying the South Korean Kyobo Book Center's new e-reader.

J.P. Morgan will soon announce it has bought a 4.7 percent stake in the London Metal Exchange from defunct U.S. brokerage MF Global, two people familiar with the situation said, making it the exchange's largest shareholder.

U.S. stocks were little changed in a choppy session on Tuesday as markets reacted to headlines about Europe's debt crisis and digested data showing the U.S. economy grew more slowly than previously thought.

Euro zone banks' demand for central funding surged to a two-year high on Tuesday, and U.S. funds cut their lending to the bloc's banks, tightening a squeeze that looks unlikely to ease this year.

Some of the world's biggest financial firms are locked in a battle over the control of large banks in the $300 trillion market for privately traded derivatives in the United States.

Fox News viewers are less informed on current events than people who don't follow the news at all, according to a new study from Fairleigh Dickinson University. MSNBC viewers fared poorly as well, while people who got their news from Sunday morning news shows and NPR were the most informed overall.

After more than 28 years of hosting the syndicated American television morning talk show, Regis Philbin has finally stepped down, albeit with his typical jokes.

Los Angeles investigators reopened the case of Natalie Wood's death on Friday and said that Wood's husband Robert Wagner was not a suspect.

U.S. stocks slipped on Tuesday as worry over Europe's debt crisis and weaker U.S. economic growth than previously thought kept selling pressure on for a fifth straight session.

Iraq said on Tuesday it would slap sanctions on U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil for signing a deal with the Kurdish region, which it said came without any approval from either Baghdad or Washington.

U.S. bank earnings reached their highest point since the second quarter of 2007 but the industry continues to have trouble boosting revenue with the economy struggling.

Some of the world's biggest financial firms are locked in a battle over the control of large banks in the $300 trillion market for privately traded derivatives in the United States.

Manchester United will welcome Portuguese giants Benfica at Old Trafford, in their Uefa Champions League group stage encounter.