IBT Staff Reporter

Brent crude oil dipped below $124 a barrel on Tuesday as the dollar rose from a three-year low and traders weighed the impact on the market of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's death.

Greece insisted on Tuesday any restructuring of its debts would be a disaster for the economy, but financial markets continue to view it as likely and are betting that the euro zone debt crisis will worsen.

India's central bank raised interest rates by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points on Tuesday and declared it would battle stubbornly high inflation even at the cost of some economic slowdown, casting doubt over the government's ambitious growth targets.

Sony Corp. said that hackers had breached the Sony Online Entertainment site, resulting in it being shut down and compromising yet more customer information.

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc reported quarterly results roughly in line with expectations and said it expects by the second half of the year to complete its review of which company businesses are appropriate to keep.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday as strength in the dollar pressured commodity prices and investors eyed a possible pullback in equity prices after a recent run-up.

The final chapter of the El Classico will be played out at the Nou Camp as Barcelona hosts Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi final.

German reinsurer Hannover Re slashed its full-year net profit outlook after heavy claims from earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand took their toll in the first quarter.

Infineon's decision to exit the wireless business to focus on chips for cars and energy-efficient machines has paid off, as strong second-quarter results let the German chipmaker raise its full-year outlook.

Finance ministers of China, Japan and South Korea are mindful of the challenges from inflation, rising commodity prices and the increasing volatility of capital flows to the region, a draft statement seen on Tuesday ahead of a trilateral meeting showed.

Honda Motors has announced a recall of certain 2001 through 2003 model-year Honda and Acura vehicles to fix an airbag problem.

Tokyo Electric Power may be asked to shoulder half of an estimated $49 billion in total compensation for damages stemming from its crippled nuclear power plant with other power firms to bear the rest, a Japanese newspaper reported on Tuesday.

India's central bank raised interest rates by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points on Tuesday and signaled it would battle stubbornly high inflation even at the expense of the government's economic growth ambitions.

Germany's Infineon raised its outlook for the full year after a strong second quarter and thanks to high order levels but cautioned that Japan remained a potential risk to supplies and production.

North Korean computer hackers were responsible for bringing down the network of a South Korean bank last month, prosecutors in Seoul said on Tuesday, in the latest of a string of cyber attacks thought to have originated from the secretive state.

Metro AG , the world's fourth largest retailer, reported flat first-quarter sales, missing expectations, and confirmed its forecasts for the year. The German group, which runs cash and carry markets, electronics outlets, department stores and hypermarkets, said on Tuesday the late timing of Easter meant sales came in at the prior year's level of 15.5 billion euros.

Sony CEO Howard Stringer faced criticism of his leadership after the consumer electronics giant revealed hackers may have stolen the data of another 25 million accounts in a second massive security breach.

South Korea's top two telecoms operators SK Telecom and KT Corp said on Tuesday they had suspended online sale of Apple's popular iPad 2 tablet due to tight supplies less than a week after they launched the sale.

Asian shares fell on Tuesday, with falling commodity prices dragging on mining stocks, while the Aussie dollar eased after the central bank held interest rates and Canada's currency rose as the ruling Conservatives won a federal election.

Using a mixture of humor and bravado, Twitter users flouted a ban on reporting early Canadian election results on Monday, running the risk of a C$25,000 fine ($26,300) and mocking an outdated law.

South Korean police said on Tuesday they had raided Google Inc's Seoul office on suspicions the Internet search firm's mobile advertising unit AdMob had illegally collected data, the latest setback to its operations in the country.

Pfizer Inc is expected to report slightly lower quarterly earnings on Tuesday, but investors will be more focused on any signs the world's biggest drugmaker will further shrink itself to weather looming competition from generic drugs for its Lipitor cholesterol fighter.

The trustee for bankrupt Thornburg Mortgage Inc has sued Goldman Sachs, Barclays and other big banks for a combined $2.2 billion, blaming them for the former home loan company's bankruptcy.

Thousands of Libyans attended today's funeral of Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi, the youngest son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed after air strikes by coalition forces last Saturday together with his 3 children (grandchildren of Gaddafi).

The Navy SEALs has killed Osama bin Laden in the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden, was tracked down and shot to death at the compound by a team of US forces.

Twitter has made an offer to acquire TweetDeck, a popular third-party software application for using Internet social networking services, for up to $50 million, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Banks made credit easier to get in the first quarter but small companies and consumers were less enthusiastic about borrowing than big firms, showing credit markets thawing unevenly.

Wall Street banks and major market players said they are equipped to comply with derivatives reforms, but accused regulators of dragging their feet on clarifying how and when they will go into effect.

A day after Osama's death, US President Barak Obama has announced that he will visit Ground Zero in New York to meet the victims of 9/11 terror. Obama marked the anniversary of Sept. 11 at the Pentagon in each of his two years as president until now.