IBT Staff Reporter

A widening price gap, fuelled by a weak pound, is behind the current shortage of some medicines in Britain as more drugs are exported by middlemen for profit, the pharmaceutical industry said on Tuesday.

Hungary plans to issue new convertible bonds worth around 800 million euros before Sept. 28 to refinance expiring debt held by pharmaceutical firm Gedeon Richter GDRB.BU, the state asset management company said.

Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate.

First-half sales and profits fell at British medical technology group Corin (COCRG.L), hit by weak demand for its Cormet hip resurfacing product and lower sales to U.S. orthopaedics giant Stryker (SYK.N).

Stock index futures were higher on Tuesday on news that Ben Bernanke will be renominated as chairman of the Federal Reserve and ahead of key consumer confidence and housing data.

Bank of America Corp and the top U.S. securities regulator sought to persuade a judge to approve their $33 million settlement of a civil lawsuit over the lack of disclosure of billions of dollars of bonuses at Merrill Lynch & Co.

Uncertainty over Australian and New Zealand plans to cut carbon emissions is hurting businesses in both countries, undermining stock market valuations and raising financing risks, big Australasian firms said on Tuesday.

The United States needs to have a climate change law in place before international talks on a climate pact begin in December, two top Obama administration officials said on Monday.

Stock index futures were slightly higher on Tuesday on news that Ben Bernanke will be renominated as chairman of the Federal Reserve and ahead of key consumer confidence and housing data.

Top office products retailer Staples Inc on Tuesday reported a 38 percent drop in quarterly profit as costs increased.

The U.S. Department of Energy said on Monday it has awarded $27.6 million of funding to evaluate the potential risks of storing carbon dioxide underground, which is seen as a way to control global warming.

Russia's largest lender, state-run Sberbank, will lend power major RusHydro 20 billion rubles ($626.2 million) to help it repair a power station crippled in an accident last week.

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Money-market mutual funds undermine the strength of the U.S. financial system and should be regulated more like banks, Bloomberg reported former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker as saying in an interview.

France's proposed carbon tax is expected to be included in the 2010 budget but will probably be set below the 32 euros per metric ton level recommended by a special advisory panel, Budget Minister Eric Woerth said on Tuesday.

The yen rose broadly on Tuesday, advancing in particular against the euro and sterling as a retreat in European shares from a 10-month high the previous day undermined demand for currencies considered to be high-risk.

Repeat offenders who persist in illegally downloading music from file-sharing sites such as Limewire could be blocked from accessing the Web under British government proposals issued on Tuesday.

General Motors may make clear within the next 24 hours whether it wants to keep its European carmaker Opel rather than sell it, a German labor representative said on Tuesday.

General Motors may make clear, within the next 24 hours, whether it wants to keep its European carmaker Opel rather than sell it, a German labor representative said on Tuesday.

Taiwan's Asustek is pinning its recovery hopes on emerging markets such as China as the pioneer of netbooks struggles to compete with bigger rivals such as Hewlett-Packard and Acer.

Oil fell below $74 a barrel on Tuesday in a drop on broader global stock markets from 10 month highs hit in the previous session .

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed start for Wall Street on Tuesday after U.S. shares ended flat in the previous session as investors took a breather from a four-day rally.

Oil fell below $74 a barrel on Tuesday, down for the first time in six days as Chinese shares plummeted on renewed concerns over the economic recovery, after reaching a 10-month high a day earlier.

Asian shares slipped along with commodities on Tuesday in a reversal of the previous day's solid gains, with many investors sticking to the sidelines and awaiting more clues on whether the economic recovery is picking up steam.

U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Tuesday, keeping him on the job of guiding the world's largest economy out of its deepest downturn since the Great Depression.

A federal appeals court in New Orleans said on Monday that accused swindler Allen Stanford must stay in jail until his fraud trial.

Oil fell below $74 a barrel on Tuesday, down for the first time in six days on softer Asian shares as renewed concerns over the economic recovery emerged, after reaching a 10-month high a day earlier.

Michael Jackson was killed by a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol, according to findings unsealed in court documents by the Los Angeles chief medical examiner.

Americans swamped auto dealerships on Monday during the final hours of the government's popular cash-for-clunkers program, which offered rebates of up to $4,500 to trade in older gas guzzlers.