IBT Staff Reporter

A Chinese industrial machinery company has reached a preliminary agreement with General Motors Corp. to buy the American car maker’s Hummer automobile brand, according to reports.

General Motors Corp on Tuesday reported U.S. sales for May.

A late month surge in sales from Chrysler dealerships that are losing their franchises as part of the automaker's bankruptcy may have driven U.S. auto sales in May to levels above those seen in recent months.

Officials at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat have been accused of damaging the ancient site by installing light bulbs.

General Motors Corp said it reached a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand, part of an effort to drop four unprofitable vehicle lines and leave bankruptcy as a leaner company.

Solar power modules maker Energy Conversion Devices Inc. is being guarded about its outlook for 2009 as the credit crunch and economic recession restrains funding for solar energy projects.

The spread of H1N1 flu in Australia, Britain, Chile, Japan and Spain has nudged the world closer to a pandemic, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

The first sighting off Brazil's coast of possible wreckage from a missing Air France jet signals the start of what could be one of the most challenging operations ever mounted to retrieve the tell-tale black box.

Two Lufthansa jets believed to have been in the same area half an hour before the missing Air France flight are to provide clues for the investigation, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

There's reassuring news for coffee lovers with type 2 diabetes. Drinking even fairly high amounts of coffee does not raise the risk of developing heart diseases in diabetic men or increase their risk of dying early, according to a brief report in the medical journal Diabetes Care.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes shot up by 6.7 percent in April, the biggest monthly gain in 7-1/2 years, according to a report on Tuesday that buttressed views the U.S. recession was easing.

Oil rose on Tuesday as U.S. pending home sales data added to optimism the economy may be turning around, boosting expectations of a rebound in fuel demand.

Nintendo Co Ltd has sold more than 15 million units of its Wii Fit system in just over a year, taking advantage of a growing interest in video game consoles for physical fitness enthusiasts.

Search planes scoured the dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean early on Tuesday, looking for the remains of an Air France jetliner that disappeared in a severe storm with 228 people on board.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated Republican congressman John McHugh as secretary of the Army, the latest move to tap an opposition party member for the Democratic administration's top ranks.

General Motors Corp said it reached a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand, part of an effort to drop four unprofitable vehicle lines and leave bankruptcy as a leaner company.

U.S. employers and recruiters have largely given up expectations for an increase in hiring this year, and more are cutting starting salaries, according to a semi-annual survey by Dice Holdings Inc.

T-Mobile, the mobile arm of Deutsche Telekom, said on Tuesday it would start selling its next device running Google Inc's Android operating system in early summer.

Clinton-era Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt has signed on as an advisor to Goldman Sachs Group Inc , the Wall Street firm announced on Tuesday.

The flagship mobile computer N97 will begin selling in more than 75 countries this month, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks reduced earlier gains on Tuesday as financial shares came under pressure after several companies announced stock offerings. Major indexes had been higher in morning action after better-than-anticipated housing data bolstered hopes that the recession is abating.

Improving markets and a need to recoup 2008 losses will prompt investors to pour $50 billion into hedge funds this year and slow redemptions, Barclays Capital said in a report on Tuesday.

Only a tenth of all Twitter account holders are responsible for sending over 90 percent of all the messages sent on the site.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes in April unexpectedly saw their biggest monthly gain in 7-1/2 years, a report from a trade group on Tuesday showed, buttressing views the U.S. recession was easing.

The bank on Tuesday touted the speed with which it has raised $33 billion in capital to nearly meet a government mandated goal that will serve to protect the bank from a worse than expected downturn in the economy.

Stocks dipped on Tuesday as key housing data provided further evidence the U.S. recession was easing, but gains in home builders' shares were offset by the financial sector's losses after several companies announced stock offerings.

Organic and natural foods distributor United Natural Foods Inc's quarterly profit beat market expectations on tighter expense control and lower fuel costs, and the company raised its 2009 earnings outlook.

Eurozone unemployment has jumped to its highest level in nearly ten years. The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in the 16-country region rose from 8.9% in March to 9.2% in April, according to Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office.

Dollar General Corp reported a sharply higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, as cost-conscious consumers flocked to the discount retailer's stores for bargains in the recession.