IBT Staff Reporter

Foreign firms set up evacuation plans in Tokyo and parts of northern Japan on Tuesday in a bid to distance staff from a quake-crippled nuclear plant while keeping their businesses running.

There is another fire at the No. 4 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said at dawn on Wednesday.

Four senators on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama's administration to step up its fight against China's hoarding of critical rare earth elements by blocking funding for Chinese mining projects.

The aftermath of Japan's disastrous earthquake and tsunami could temporarily ease the rise in rare earth prices, but overall demand is likely to continue to outstrip supply for the next few years, an industry executive said.

The prospect of extended supply disruption caused by Japan's devastating earthquake drove prices for key technology parts higher on Tuesday.

Stocks fell 1 percent but ended far from session lows on Tuesday on the Federal Reserve's more upbeat economic view and growing sentiment that Japan's nuclear crisis would only temporarily depress shares.

American workers are more pessimistic about their retirement outlook than at any other time in the last two decades, the Employee Benefit Research Institute reported on Tuesday.

Japan's soldiers have been assigned the grim task of searching for victims and survivors of Friday's 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday the U.S. recovery is gaining traction and inflation pressure from soaring energy costs should be short-lived, allowing it to maintain its heavy support for the economy.

A comprehensive settlement between U.S. authorities and banks over alleged mortgage servicing abuses needs to be reached quickly to help the housing market heal, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy on Tuesday, saying the economy was gaining traction while flagging potential inflation risks from costlier energy and food.

The wild popularity of Facebook and other social media sites has spawned a cottage industry of con artists promising average investors a chance to cash in on the frenzy through shares in the companies ahead of their initial public offerings.

Schematic images of the disaster struck reactors of the nuclear power plant Fukushima Daiichi in Japan, helping to understand the various reports about explosions and fires. There are 6 reactor blocks, which are all the same pre-1970 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) General Electric Mark I design.

Apple Inc said it will delay the launch of the iPad 2 tablet computer in Japan, in the wake of last week's earthquake and tsunami.

As a broad sell-off struck world markets Tuesday amid Japan's unfolding nuclear calamity, many professional investors were ready to pounce.

A lawyer for accused hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam attacked a star government trial witness on Tuesday, saying he cut a plea deal to avoid criminal charges of money laundering and tax dodging.

All the figures feature Bieber's old, but signature sweeping hair do. Here is a look at the unveiling at the Madame Tussauds museum in London.

Manufacturing in New York state rose to a nine-month high in March, but a sharp slowing in new orders suggested that economic growth could be less robust in future months.

In a closely-watched patent case before the Supreme Court, i4i has fired a brief at Microsoft saying that the latter wants to overturn a century of precedent in patent law.

As the space shuttle program winds down, NASA signed a contract to have its astronauts hitch rides to the International Space Station with the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Eager buyers formed huge lines last week for a chance to buy Apple's iPad 2 before it sold out.

NEW YORK - Comedian Gilbert Gottfried apologized on Tuesday for a series of jokes made on Twitter about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, comments which got him fired as the voice of insurer Aflac.

After being fired from Aflac, Gilbert Gottfried tweeted an apology.

The Japanese earthquake shook the Earth so violently that it likely moved it from its axis and shortened the day.

NEW YORK - Comedian Gilbert Gottfried apologized on Tuesday for a series of jokes made on Twitter about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, comments which got him fired as the voice of insurer Aflac.

The Federal Reserve maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy on Tuesday, saying the economy was gaining traction while flagging potential inflation risks from costlier energy and food.

At the end of the episode, Womack got down on one knee and proposed to Maynard. What was most surprising came after during the After the Final Rose special aired on ABC.

The Gold Price dropped 3% to four-week lows vs. a rising US Dollar on Tuesday morning, as world stock-market and commodity prices sank on worsening radiation leaks from north-east Japan's earthquake-hit nuclear plants.

EBay Inc said it would allow sellers on its auction site to offer as many as 50 items per month without charging them a listing fee starting next month as it seeks to draw more business to its mature marketplaces unit.