IBT Staff Reporter

Dow Chemical Co posted a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, but said demand in the United States and Europe remained slack, sending its shares down more than 2 percent.

The Internet potentially will lose one of its main sources of bestiality videos under a ban approved Tuesday by the upper house of the Dutch parliament.

The Lancet medical journal formally retracted a paper on Tuesday that caused a 12-year international battle over links between the three-in-one childhood MMR vaccine and autism.

Former stock trader Zvi Goffer, dubbed Octopussy in the sprawling Galleon hedge fund insider trading case, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday along with six others to securities fraud charges.

Chocolate maker Hershey Co defended its decision to back away from a Cadbury bid and a bigger stake in the global confectionery market, saying it remained confident about its growth prospects and was raising its dividend.

Toyota Motor's unprecedented recall of millions of vehicles with accelerator problems is taking a toll on sales and may force the world's largest automaker to cut 2010 sales forecasts.

Stocks rose to session highs on Tuesday as investors scooped up shares of big manufacturers, energy companies and major banks, including JPMorgan Chase .

Spyker Cars has set Saab an ambitious 2012 profit target as it stressed development funding was secured despite needing more cash to fund its acquisition of the ailing Swedish auto brand.

Oil rose above $75, gaining for the second day on Tuesday, on prospects that demand will increase due to strong economic data from China and the United States, the world's top two energy consumers.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appealed to Republicans on Tuesday to join a bipartisan bid to wrestle down soaring deficits that he blamed largely on the former Bush administration.

Bank of New York Mellon said on Tuesday that it would buy an investment servicing unit from PNC Financial Services Group for $2.31 billion.

Dow Chemical Co posted a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday as volumes doubled in emerging markets and earnings from joint ventures mushroomed.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the Oscar nominations on Tuesday for the 82nd annual Academy Awards.

Iran said on Tuesday it would soon hang nine more rioters over the unrest that erupted after the June presidential vote, and the leader of the opposition said such repression showed the 1979 Islamic revolution had failed.

Continental Airlines and five men went on trial on Tuesday for their alleged role in the crash of an Air France Concorde that killed 113 people in 2000 and brought an end to an era of luxury supersonic travel.

Gloomy budget forecasts will shadow President Barack Obama as he takes his economic message on the road on Tuesday, seeking to reassure Americans he has a plan to tackle high unemployment and surging debt levels.

The property investment arm of Morgan Stanley (MS.N) is in final talks to sell a Chinese apartment complex to a unit of Singapore's Keppel Land (KLAN.SI), sources close to the deal said on Tuesday.

White House adviser Paul Volcker will urge Congress to curb the risks taken by large banks to help prevent them from being treated as too big to fail, according to testimony obtained by Reuters on Monday.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Tuesday as earnings reports from companies including economic bellwether United Parcel Service Inc encouraged investors.

U.S. aerospace giant Boeing Co said on Tuesday it expects new orders for commercial aircraft this year to fall short of deliveries and no increase in demand until 2012.

(In Feb 1 story, corrects $159 million to billion in first paragraph, and corrects name of defense secretary in paragraph 6)

(In Feb 1 story, corrects $159 million to billion in first paragraph, and corrects name of defense secretary in paragraph 6)

Stock index futures rose slightly on Tuesday as investors were encouraged by strong earnings from companies, including economic bellwether United Parcel Service.

Pepsi Bottling Group Inc , which is due to be acquired this quarter by PepsiCo Inc , reported a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as productivity improvements offset a slight dip in worldwide sales.

President Barack Obama will propose on Tuesday using $30 billion from the TARP bank bailout program for a small business lending fund to try to spur job growth in a critical sector of the U.S. economy.

Stock index futures rose slightly on Tuesday ahead of housing and retail sales data, while investors awaited White House adviser Paul Volcker's testimony before a Senate panel urging that lawmakers curb risks taken by large banks.

Hershey Co posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and is on target to meet its 2010 earnings forecast as it has been gaining market share in its main brands.

British oil major BP Plc reported a lower than forecast 33 percent rise in fourth-quarter replacement cost profit as refining margins were squeezed and warned that an operational turnaround could slow this year.

Kraft Foods is set to receive enough acceptances from Cadbury shareholders to seal its 11.7 billion pounds ($18.6 billion) takeover by around 1700 GMT (12 noon EST) Tuesday and start the tough integration of Cadbury's 45,000 worldwide employees.