IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. regulators are talking to Citigroup Inc about its capital levels after stress testing the bank, people familiar with the matter said, while The Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America Corp may need billions in new capital.

Nokia Oyj said on Tuesday it would combine its different Internet services tighter together as the world's top cellphone maker tackles Apple's hugely succesful App Store.

Nokia said on Tuesday operator billing would not be available in the United States when its Ovi store opens in May - the latest in a series of setbacks in the U.S. market for the world's top cell phone maker.

Finland’s landscapes are a glorious variation on the theme of forest and water, where the comforts of modern life are never far away. Yet each region has its distinct character, from the wilds of Lapland to the inspiring lakes of the east to the archipelagos of the south-west and the lively attractions of the capital, Helsinki.

Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said on Tuesday he would introduce legislation next week to overturn a three-year-old U.S. ban on Internet gambling.

U.S. stocks rose modestly on Tuesday as a dividend hike at IBM and reassuring data that could signal a bottom in the economic cycle offset concerns that major banks may need to raise more money.

Intel Corp. is the U.S. largest single purchaser of green power with more than 1 billion kilowatt-hours of green power annually, the Environmental and Protection Agency said on Tuesday.

U.S. consumer confidence rose in April to its highest this year with some expectations the economic downturn may be reaching a bottom.

A compromise $3.4 trillion budget blueprint for next year has enough support to pass the U.S. House of Representatives, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday.

The U.S. Treasury has reached an agreement in principle with Chrysler LLC's first-lien lenders that may help the troubled automaker avoid bankruptcy, two people briefed on the discussions said on Tuesday.

Oil prices eased toward $49 a barrel on Tuesday, paring earlier gains after U.S. stock markets rose following encouraging housing and consumer confidence data.

California's housing-market slump showed hints of improvement in March, with sales of existing single-family homes increasing 64% from the prior-year period and median home prices rising month-to-month for the first time since August 2007, according to a trade group report.

The U.S. banking system could be free of government money within a year, the powerful chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee said on Tuesday.

Pfizer Inc and Bristol-Myers Squibb reported lower earnings that beat expectations on Tuesday, but the U.S. drugmakers relied on aggressive cost cuts to make up for disappointing sales.

Anxiety over a global flu crisis and the health of some U.S. banks rattled hopes on Tuesday that the financial system was stabilizing, but U.S. and other data suggested confidence was returning to consumers.

Cablevision Systems Corp plans to roll out super-fast Internet access connections that can allow a customer to download a full-length high-definition movie in less than 10 minutes.

U.S. consumer confidence posted its biggest jump in more than three years in April while the slump in home prices showed signs of slowing in February, adding to hopes that the recession may be waning.

U.S. house prices tumbled nearly 19 percent in February, but for the first time since October 2007 the decline was not a record, suggesting the housing market might be closer to a bottom.

Citigroup Inc is talking to the U.S. government about its capital levels after receiving the early results of its stress test, but if it needs more capital it does not expect the government to provide it, people familiar with the matter said.

Shareholders of Fortis approved the sale of assets to France's BNP Paribas in Belgium on Tuesday, bringing the carve-up of the stricken group a step closer to conclusion.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said on Tuesday he would introduce a bill next week to overturn a three-year-old U.S. ban on Internet gambling.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said on Tuesday he would introduce a bill next week to overturn a three-year-old U.S. ban on Internet gambling.

Spanish firm Abengoa Solar announced on Monday it began operations of PS20, the largest solar power tower plant in the world, with the capacity to supply enough energy for 10,000 homes.

U.S. lawmakers plan to take a closer look this week at the federal government's response to the swine flu outbreak that has sickened people in five states and killed dozens in Mexico.

The Treasury reached an agreement with Chrysler LLC's lenders that may help the troubled automaker avoid bankruptcy, a source briefed on the matter said on Tuesday.

A former U.S. soldier on trial in the gang rape of an Iraqi girl and the murder of her and her family in the war zone in 2006 was caught in a perfect storm of insanity, his lawyer told a jury on Monday.

Stocks recovered from opening losses to post modest gains on Tuesday as housing and consumer confidence data fueling hopes a recession was easing offset concerns that major banks may need to raise more money.

Somali gunmen freed two European aid workers Tuesday without receiving a ransom after holding the pair hostage for nine days in one of the world's most dangerous places for relief agencies.

Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has damaged the country's relations with the international community, a moderate challenger to the president in the June presidential vote said on Tuesday.