IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks logged another 14-month high on Tuesday as a surge in existing home sales indicated more stabilization in housing and boosted optimism about the economic recovery.

Wireless provider Vodafone said Monday it will release the Apple iPhone on its network on January 14, officially becoming the latest UK phone network to offer the popular smartphone.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped to the highest level in nearly three years last month, the latest sign the economic recovery was gaining steam after growing below expectations in the third quarter.

Stocks rose on Tuesday as a surge in existing home sales indicated more stabilization in housing and boosted optimism about the economic recovery.

The U.S. military commander in northern Iraq defended on Tuesday a new policy imposing strict penalties, including possible jail time, for troops who become pregnant or get other soldiers pregnant.

A survivor of the Nazi death camp at which John Demjanjuk is accused of helping to kill 27,900 Jews recalled in court on Tuesday losing his wife after a three-day train journey to the extermination center.

Boeing has gained complete control of critical Dreamliner 787 assembler Global Aeronautica, LLC as it looks forward to boosting manufacturing productivity of its much-delayed new plane.

Members of an Islamic militia and plainclothes men attacked the house of a senior pro-reform cleric, Grand Ayatollah Yusuf Sanei, in the Shi'ite holy city of Qom on Tuesday, a reformist website said.

The Colorado parents of Balloon Boy were charged $42,000 from local, state and federal agencies for the October hoax claiming their 6-year-old son had flown away in a helium-filled balloon.

Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, has been ordered by a federal court to alter its popular Word software or stop selling the product after it lost its appeal of a $200 million patent-infringement verdict won by a Canadian company.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said on Tuesday Comcast Corp Chief Operating Officer Stephen Burke has been elected to its board of directors.

A consumer credit rule for creditors based in a law passed in 2003 will get its first required implementation in 2011

Your roving Whiskey reporter just came back from the Big Apple last week after a short afternoon's jaunt to the Japan Society. Lest you think I'm going to tell you to invest in kimono (like carry trade sweethearts did a few years back), don't be fooled.

The fiancée of former Cincinnati Bengals receiver, Chris Henry, tearfully spoke at his funeral Tuesday about how the former player changed her life.

Apple's plan of offering television subscription via the Internet might receive a boost with U.S. media companies CBS and Walt Disney's probable participation in the venture, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

U.S. consumers headed online to take care of last-minute holiday shopping, with shoppers on the East Coast spurred by a snowstorm that kept many home from stores, analytics firm comScore Inc said on Tuesday.

Stocks rose on Tuesday, briefly lifting the S&P 500 to a 14-month high, as a surge in existing home sales indicated more stabilization in housing, increasing optimism about the economic recovery and prospects for profits.

Chris Albrecht, formerly the head of Home Box Office Inc, was named the chief executive officer of premium movie provider Starz LLC.

Dubai World is likely to press for more time to restructure its $22 billion debt so markets can recover, which will ease credit conditions and enable it to sell assets at higher prices, bankers and analysts said.

Singer LeAnn Rimes and her husband, Dean Sheremet, have reached a confidential divorce settlement which will be finalized in June 2010 according to reports from PEOPLE.

Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday it will tweak its Word application to remove a feature judged to be a breach of patent, ensuring that it will be able to continue selling one of its most widely used programs.

The New York Yankees have traded back right-hander pitcher Javier Vazquez in a five-player deal with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, the club confirmed in a statement released today.

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the threat of sanctions Tuesday, claiming his government is now 10times stronger than a year ago.

Only a few days ago, Yelp insiders seemed on the verge of taking home a $500 million holiday gift basket courtesy of Google, which was in talks to acquire the online publisher of local business reviews.

The chief financial officer of CIT Group Inc is retiring, adding another executive search for a board that is already looking for a chief executive officer.

Jones Soda Co (JSDA.O), which is exploring strategic alternatives, said privately held beverage company Big Red Holdings Corp offered to buy it for 30 cents per share, a 55 percent discount to the stock's Monday close.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a computer security breach targeting Citibank in which a gang of Russian hackers stole tens of millions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported.

American Greetings Corp said it will wind down its party goods manufacturing operations, affecting about 225 jobs, and take related charges.

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T), the world's largest carmaker, said on Tuesday its global output rose 22 percent in November from a year earlier to 719,362 vehicles.