IBT Staff Reporter

General Electric Co said on Tuesday it would buy back Berkshire Hathaway Inc's preferred stake in the largest U.S. conglomerate, handing back a lifeline it grabbed during the 2008 financial crisis.

More than 1 in 7 Americans is living in poverty, according to the 2010 Census. But what does it mean to be below the poverty line?

The U.S. News and World Report's Rankings of the Best Colleges for 2011

Whitney Houston is negotiating to return to the big screen in Sony's remake of the 1976 film Sparkle, TheWrap has confirmed.

Hollywood continues to churn out a lazy stream of remakes and sequels. The latest? Point Break.

Russell Moore felt it was time to strike out on his own three years ago after working more than two decades at the birthplace of new American cuisine -- Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.

Going in, you knew there would be blood.

British artist Richard Hamilton, regarded by many as the father of pop art, died on Tuesday. He was 89.

Intel Corp and Google Inc launched a development partnership on Tuesday, the latest effort by the world's dominant maker of PC microprocessors to break into the booming smartphone market.

Star bond fund manager Jeffrey Gundlach and his inner circle plotted to destroy Trust Company of the West by forming a competing firm while they were still employed by TCW, a TCW attorney said in closing arguments in a trial over alleged theft of trade secrets.

Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc slashed its long-term forecasts, acknowledging that it will find it harder to drive growth even after cutting thousands of jobs in a sweeping reorganization.

A report released Tuesday by the United Nation's Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showed that seizures of cocaine and amphetamine-type stimulants such as ecstasy and meth, have increased dramatically, with 592 kilograms confiscated in 2008-09 compared with 179.5 kilograms just six years prior to the federal findings.

The forecasts will be key for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion this quarter, as investors grope for hints that the company's long downturn is coming to an end.

Canada has obtained U.N. approval to unfreeze $2.2 billion in Libyan assets for humanitarian aid and reestablished its diplomatic mission in Tripoli on Tuesday, government officials said.

The euro single-currency system could be derailed unless European leaders resolve the debt crisis, a situation that has already prompted Fiat SpA and its affiliate Chrysler Group LLC to examine the timing of vehicle introductions, Fiat's CEO said on Tuesday.

Trust Company of the West plotted to fire its star bond fund manager Jeffrey Gundlach before he and his inner circle ever began downloading information, Gundlach's lawyer told jurors.

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc will reach a targeted 2.5-times leverage ratio earlier than expected and at the end of the third quarter will set a capital plan likely to include share buybacks, its chief executive said.

Microsoft Corp handed out 5,000 sleek Samsung tablet computers running a test version of Windows 8 at its annual developer conference on Tuesday, hoping to stoke excitement over its new operating system.

Cisco Systems Inc Chief Executive John Chambers remains upbeat about technology spending by customers in an uncertain economy and pledged on Tuesday to drive growth in emerging markets.

Private equity group CVC is considering a bid for Orange Switzerland despite resistance from seller France Telecom to let it into the auction for Switzerland's third largest mobile phone company, four people familiar with the situation said.

Private equity group CVC is considering a bid for Orange Switzerland despite resistance from seller France Telecom to let it into the auction for Switzerland's third-largest mobile phone company, four people familiar with the situation said.

Stocks edged higher on Tuesday as investors bought shares beaten down in recent weeks despite uncertainties about euro zone sovereign debt and the economy.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan called for tax reform to be part of an urgent effort to put the U.S. economy back on track.

London-based explorer Tullow Oil's long-running deal to bring France's Total and China's CNOOC into a $10 billion oil project in Uganda is near its conclusion, the east African country's energy minister said.

South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare could spend some $800 million on acquisitions, its deputy CEO said, as Africa's biggest generic drugs maker looks for further targets, particularly in Latin America.

Cats genetically modified to glow in the dark may give vital clues to the treatment of the AIDS virus, U.S. scientists have found.

Kleenex is hoping that consumers will pay significantly more per tissue to soothe their noses with coconut oil, aloe extract and ingredients often used in anti-aging creams.

Crisis? What crisis?There may be turbulence in the euro zone, a downgrade in the U.S. credit rating, tumbling stock prices and fears about climate change making consumers clamor for low emission vehicles, but at the Frankfurt car show it's the high priced, high-powered, high emission vehicles that are drawing the crowds.

Dell Inc, the world's second-largest computer maker, is cautiously optimistic that its strong performance in Europe and Asia will continue, but is concerned about U.S. government spending, an executive said.