IBT Staff Reporter

New York City is taking specific steps to strengthen its media sector through job creation as the industry suffers through an ongoing economic slowdown, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today.

Microsoft Corp., which has been fined 1.68 billion euros ($2.34 billion) in European Union antitrust cases, is in preliminary talks to settle two additional probes before EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes leaves office, four people familiar with the negotiations said.

Sun Microsystems Inc will distribute an Internet-based PC backup service from tiny industry pioneer Carbonite, which competes with tech industry giants EMC Corp and Symantec Corp.

California IOU recipients can turn to credit unions and check-cashing storefronts if a state budget deal does not appear by Friday and if three major banks refuse to accepting the notes beyond Friday as planned, analysts said on Tuesday.

The top regulator of U.S. futures markets is considering a clampdown on excessive speculation in energy and commodity trading by restricting holdings of big players, part of a broader move by the Obama administration to stabilize the financial markets.

Yahoo! Inc and the National Football League's players union settled a lawsuit on Monday over whether the Web company should pay royalties for using players' data on its fantasy league game, both sides said on Tuesday.

Signaling more forceful U.S. support, President Barack Obama called for the reinstatement of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday even while noting he has been no friend of American policies.

Socks fell to their lowest level in 10 weeks on Tuesday as talk of a second government stimulus plan heightened fears that the economy is not yet on the path to recovery and that the corporate earnings season starting this week will be weak.

China, Russia and Brazil will use this week's G8 summit in Italy to push their view that the world needs to think about a new global reserve currency as an alternative to the dollar, officials said on Tuesday.

U.S. leaders should be open to the possibility of a second stimulus package to jolt the economy out of a recession still causing job losses, House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday.

The Libyan government had invested $500 million of its cash reserves with accused swindler Allen Stanford's firm as of late 2008, a court filing showed on Tuesday.

For once, the adoring crowds were absent as Barack Obama visited Russia this week.

General Motors Corp asked a federal bankruptcy court on Tuesday for permission to drop 38 U.S. dealers who have rejected the automaker's offer of a payout to wind down their operations.

The United States Natural Gas Fund suspended issuance of new shares because it ran out of them, Bloomberg reports on Tuesday.

The public memorial service of Michael Jackson began at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Staples Center Los Angeles after Jackson's family and closest friends attended a gathering at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills on Tuesday morning.

Energy prices are forecasted to increase through the second half of 2009 due to stronger than anticipated global economic activity, primarily in Asia, the U.S. Energy Department said today in its short-term energy outlook for July.

Hong Kong's H1N1 tally has exceeded1000 with 41 new cases conformed, the Department of Health (DH) said on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell more than $1 to below $63 a barrel on Tuesday as growing uncertainty over an economic recovery spurred investor risk aversion.

Stocks tumbled on Tuesday, sending the Nasdaq briefly down 2 percent, as investors worried that the economy remains far from a robust recovery that would underpin corporate profits.

Queen Latifah, one of the many celebrities that paid tribute to Michael Jackson at the singer's public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday- said how much she loved and admired the King of Pop.

U.S. antitrust regulators have approved a Nokia Siemens bid for a portion of Canada's bankrupt Nortel Networks Inc, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.

Sony and Samsung Corp on Tuesday introduced new series of ultra-portable mini notebooks designed for casual computing, web surfing with eco-certified for mercury free LED backlit.

The 35th G8 summit will be held in L'Aquila, Italy from 8 to 10 July. Leaders from the G8 rich nations and the major developing countries will together discuss the most important global economic and political issues.

East Asian economies - Singapore and Hong Kong SAR - occupied the top two positions in the Enabling Trade Index (ETI) ranking, followed by Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released on Tuesday in the Global Enabling Trade Report 2009.

Hong Kong's official foreign currency reserve assets has risen for four consecutive months to $207 billion in June, up $1.9 billion on May, the Monetary Authority said on Tuesday.

PARIS - French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said sales of vehicles and knocked-down kits fell 14 percent in the first six months of the year.

U.S. antitrust regulators have approved a Nokia Siemens bid for a portion of Canada's bankrupt Nortel Networks Inc , the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.

Tribune Co has agreed to terms for the sale of the Chicago Cubs to a group led by private equity investor Marc Utay, giving the company two offers to submit to the bankruptcy court, two sources familiar with the sale process said on Tuesday.

Virtualization software VMware Inc is slashing prices to ward off increasing competition from billionaire Larry Ellison's aggressive technology giant Oracle Corp.