IBT Staff Reporter

CIT Group , the commercial lender that last year emerged from bankruptcy, on Tuesday reported a quarterly profit that dwarfed analysts' estimates.

Oil prices rose toward $80 a barrel to hit the highest level since early May as upbeat corporate results and rallying equities increased risk appetite for the commodity. U.S. stock index futures jumped on Tuesday, setting Wall Street for a fourth straight day of gains, while European shares touched a five-week high.

The euro hit an 11-week high against the dollar and a seven-week high against the yen on Tuesday as solid bank earnings lifted equities and encouraged investors to take on more risk. Strong earnings from Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX) helped lift European shares .FTEU3, with banking stocks .SX7P leading the gains and supporting the market's relief over the results of last week's European bank stress tests.

Upbeat corporate results and a larger-than-forecast increase in home prices lifted U.S. stocks on Tuesday, as Wall Street pursued a fourth straight day of gains.

Occidental Petroleum Corp posted a 57 percent increase in quarterly profit on Tuesday, as higher energy prices gave a big boost to the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, but results still missed expectations.

Lexmark International Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday on strong sales of printers and supplies, and as improved demand for services helped beef up margins.

Many men with low-risk prostate cancer get aggressive treatment, increasing the risk of serious side effects, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

China's central bank said on Tuesday that Chinese economic growth would slow but there would be no double-dip.

Over one-third of investors expect Europe's banks to raise significant capital in the next six months following a health check that forced little fundraising but showed up some weak spots, according to a survey.

Broadband services are getting faster in Britain but the gap is growing between advertised speeds and actual download rates, telecoms regulator Ofcom said on Tuesday.

The court-appointed examiner investigating Tribune Co's bankruptcy said he has found some evidence of dishonesty in the 2007 leveraged buyout of the company, court documents showed.

Almost two-thirds of investors expect Europe's banks to raise significant capital in the next year following a health check that forced little fundraising but showed up some weak spots, according to a survey.

DuPont said on Tuesday that its second-quarter profit nearly tripled due to double-digit sales across all five of its business segments.

European Union competition regulators launched two anti-trust investigations against International Business Machines Corp, suspecting it of abusing its dominant position in the mainframe computer market.

Protesters from environmental group Greenpeace disabled some of BP's 50 petrol stations in central London on Tuesday in protest at the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Upbeat corporate results from both sides of the Atlantic lifted U.S. stock index futures on Tuesday, setting up Wall Street for a fourth straight day of gains.

Chip designer ARM Holdings beat market profit expectations in the second quarter, helped by strong demand for smartphones, netbooks and tablet computers. The British company, whose designs are in more than 95 percent of the world's mobile phones, posted record pretax profit of 43.5 million pounds, up 167 percent, on revenue of 100 million pounds, both ahead of expectations.

Panic and fears over the future of US and European economies have become the best aphrodisiacs for gold, which has been in an uncertain zone for the past few weeks.

A increase in labour disputes between management and workers in China, mostly at foreign-owned factories in the southeast, has raised questions about the country's future as a low-cost manufacturing centre.

UBS flagged a return to client inflows by year-end as strong equities and currency trading gains helped it outdo Deutsche Bank and other rivals, which were hit hard by the European sovereign debt crisis.

Oil giant BP Plc launched a plan to repair its battered image in the United States on Tuesday, ditching its gaffe-prone chief executive and promising to slim down by trebling an asset sale target to $30 billion.

Upbeat corporate results from both sides of the Atlantic lifted U.S. stock index futures on Tuesday, setting up Wall Street for a fourth straight day of gains.

Results from two of Europe's top banks, UBS and Deutsche Bank reassured investors following last week's European Union tests of the sector's ability to withstand financial shocks.

BP on Tuesday confirmed that chief executive Tony Hayward will quit and said it would take a charge as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill amounting to $32.2 billion.

Finally, the US housing sector is back on track posting a 24 per cent growth in June. June's rebound in new home sales should be viewed as a major boost to the US economy. But the problem is that any good news from the world's biggest economic power is a setback to the gold prices, which have been maintaining record levels in the recent past.

Gold held below $1,185 an ounce in Europe on Tuesday, supported by physical demand after this month's slip and a softer dollar, but with a dip in holdings of the largest gold exchange-traded fund undermining sentiment.

Oil prices were steady near $79 a barrel as the fading Tropical Depression Bonnie brought more output back online in the Gulf of Mexico, dampening otherwise buoyant sentiment following positive U.S. macroeconomic data.

The U.S. copyright office issued exemptions to a copyright law, giving legal protection for people who unlock their smartphones like Apple Inc's iPhone.

Toyota Motor Corp will likely be able to build the popular Prius hybrid car in the United States when it is remodeled next, a top executive said on Tuesday.