IBT Staff Reporter

Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered unveiled a surprise 1 billion pound ($1.7 billion) fundraising on Tuesday as it beat expectations with a record mid-year pretax profit.

A yet-to-be-completed factory building collapsed in a severe thunderstorm Tuesday in northern China, killing 17 and injuring three, but journalists were hindered to report on it, local media said.

The Pentagon has ordered a review of its use of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, citing concerns that security could be compromised, officials said on Tuesday.

Duke Energy Co. said its profit declined 21 percent in the second quarter to $276 million or 21 cents per share from $351 million or 28 cents per share a year earlier as the economy affected commercial sales prices.

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ban on so-called flash orders is imminent, a senior lawmaker said on Tuesday -- just before the agency itself said it was drawing up plans to ban the controversial services offered by some stock exchanges.

U.S. consumers spent more in June and pending sales of previously owned homes also rose, data issued on Tuesday showed, but the biggest drop in incomes in four-and-a-half years pointed to a slow recovery from the worst recession in decades.

After a four year government investigation, General Electric Co. will pay a $50 million fine over its alleged misuse of hedge fund accounting which in one case, regulators said allowed GE to avoid missing analysts' earnings expectations.

Stocks edged higher on Tuesday as better-than-expected data on home sales underpinned signs of an economic recovery, but the gains were capped as investors took profits in shares that propelled the recent rally.

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ban on flash trades is imminent, a senior lawmaker said in a statement on Tuesday.

PepsiCo Inc won over its two largest bottlers by raising its takeover offers more than 20 percent to $7.8 billion, giving investors a welcomed but not unexpected windfall.

General Electric Co will pay a $50 million civil penalty to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it misled investors with some fraudulent accounting in 2002 and 2003.

U.S. homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc reported a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday, as it navigates its way through the worst housing slump the nation has seen since the 1930s.

Severe rain, which has been lashing China's southwest Chongqing since Sunday, has killed one person and affected 117 towns and 380,000 people as of 6:00am Tuesday. Four people reported missing have still not been found.

Melissa E. Hathaway is stepping down from its position as a United States Acting Cyber-security Chief. The acting senior director for cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security Councils is reportedly leaving her position later this month. Hathaway headed President Obama's 60-day review on the nation's cyber-infrastructure.

Disagreement within the Obama administration over reshaping U.S. financial regulation flared on Tuesday, with top bank regulators defending their turf against key parts of a broad bank supervision overhaul plan.

A YouTube video showing a 7-year-old boy at the wheel of a sport utility vehicle -- with his family cheering him on -- has prompted an investigation by Quebec police and family services, police said on Tuesday.

General Electric Co will pay a $50 million civil penalty to settle charges that it had misled investors with some fraudulent accounting in 2002 and 2003, the largest U.S. conglomerate said on Tuesday.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose at a faster-than-expected pace in June, advancing for the fifth straight month for the first time in six years, a real estate trade group said on Tuesday.

The resignation of Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt from Apple's board of directors may not be enough to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission, which plans to continue its ongoing investigation into the close relationship between the two tech giants.

Oil steadied over $71 a barrel on Tuesday as expectations for a crude inventory rise in top consumer the United States damped investor optimism.

One third of European Union citizens say they have never used the Internet, compared with 40 percent in 2007, an EU study showed on Tuesday.

General Electric Co. says it will pay a $50 million penalty to settle government charges that its accounting procedures violated provisions of U.S. securities laws and increased its reported earnings to mislead investors in its financial statements, federal regulators said Tuesday.

Toshiba Corporation on Tuesday unveiled the world's largest memory card equipped with fastest data transfer rates for reading and writing speed of 60Mbps and 30Mbps respectively.

Nikon on Tuesday introduced new lines of Coolpix point-and-shoot mini cameras with stunning functionalities such as built in projector, touch screen capabilities and is equipped with OLED technology.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in June for a fifth straight month, another encouraging sign of life for the struggling housing market, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. The higher than expected rise was boosted by low interest rates and bargain home prices.

General Motors is taking more time to negotiate with Magna and RHJ International over the planned sale of its European arm Opel, the U.S.-based company said on Tuesday.

Compact cars and hybrids have proved to be top sellers under the government's trade-in program, according to government data.

U.S. stocks slipped on Tuesday, weighed by profit-taking in some of the shares that propelled Wall Street to a nine-month high.

Women with mild or severe high blood pressure during pregnancy - a condition known as pre-eclampsia - should have labor induced after 37 weeks' gestation, according to a new study.