IBT Staff Reporter

More U.S. chief executives got pay raises than had their pay cut in 2008, a year when billions in taxpayer dollars went to prop up struggling companies and millions of workers lost jobs, according to an AFL-CIO survey released on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama's lifting of U.S. curbs on family travel and remittances to Cuba will bring divided families closer and supplement stressed budgets on the island, Cubans and Cuban Americans said on Monday.

More than 8,000 Philippine and United States troops began annual war games this week, underscoring their strong security ties despite controversy over the conviction of a U.S. Marine on rape charges.

Hungary's parliament endorsed Gordon Bajnai as prime minister on Tuesday, giving the political independent a mandate for austerity measures aimed at reviving an economy kept afloat by an IMF-led bailout.

A Hong Kong student union is holding a student vote on whether China should apologize for its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananamen Square 20 years ago in which hundreds were killed.

Deere & Co said it would combine its main worldwide agricultural equipment division with its smaller commercial and consumer equipment unit to reduce costs, starting on May 1.

Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will attend next week's United Nations conference on racism in Geneva, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

An Iranian-American journalist has gone on trial in Iran for spying for the United States and a verdict is expected soon, the judiciary said on Tuesday.

Thai anti-government protesters in Bangkok surrendered on Tuesday, giving the harried prime minister some breathing space to try to fix the worsening economy.

Somali pirates hijacked two more cargo vessels and opened fire on a third on Tuesday in attacks that showed their determination to continue striking shipping in the area's strategic waterways.

North Korea said on Tuesday it saw talks on ending its nuclear weapons program as useless and it planned to restart a plant that makes arms-grade plutonium, state media quoted its Foreign Ministry as saying.

Deere & Co said on Tuesday it will combine its worldwide agricultural equipment division with its commercial and consumer equipment unit into a single division to reduce costs, starting on May 1.

North Korea said on Tuesday it would quit international nuclear disarmament talks and restart a plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium after the United Nations chastised it for launching a long-range rocket.

President Barack Obama will give Americans a progress report Tuesday on his steps to rescue the recession-hit economy, telling them there are signs of recovery but by no means are we out of the woods just yet.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold $5 billion of stock to help fulfill what it called its duty to repay a federal bailout, but the government fears a quick return of the funds would put other banks in a bad light.

Stocks fell on Tuesday after an unexpected drop in retail sales dampened recent optimism over the state of the U.S. economy.

General Motors stock fell sharply in Frankfurt on Tuesday on renewed bankruptcy fears, weighing on autos stocks across the region, as peer Chrysler pinned its hopes on a tie-up with Fiat .

Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly fell in March, snapping two months of increases, as motor vehicle and electronic good purchases declined, according to a government report on Tuesday that indicated subdued consumer spending amid rising unemployment.

General Motors Corp is recalling nearly 1.5 million Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac mid-sized cars due to a potential leak of engine oil that could cause an engine fire.

Oil erased an earlier gain to fall below $50 a barrel on Tuesday after weak U.S. economic data refocused attention on falling global oil demand and forecasts for rising U.S. supplies.

Sales at U.S. retailers fell in March, snapping two months of increases, a government report showed on Tuesday, indicating the recession was far from hitting bottom as mounting unemployment depress consumer spending.

Stocks opened lower on Tuesday after data showed retail sales and producer prices came in worse than expected in March, offsetting earnings from Johnson & Johnson.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has a duty to return the $10 billion it received in a U.S. government bailout, as it moves to benefit from an expected recovery in capital markets, its chief financial officer said.

Confidence among U.S. small businesses was stuck at 35-year lows in March, with employers stepping up layoffs even as the recession-hit economy shows some signs of improving, according to a survey.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc posted much higher-than-expected first-quarter profit as it took more trading risk, and said it plans a $5 billion common share sale to help pay back government funds.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open after data showed retail sales and producer prices came in worse than expected in March, offsetting earnings from Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs.

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said its quarterly earnings fell, hurt by generic competition for its Risperdal schizophrenia drug and the strong dollar, but lower costs enabled the company to beat Wall Street expectations

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said its quarterly earnings fell, hurt by generic competition for its Risperdal schizophrenia drug and the strong dollar, but lower costs enabled the company to beat Wall Street expectations

Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly fell in March, snapping two months of increases, as motor vehicle and electronic good purchases declined, according to a government report on Tuesday that indicated subdued consumer spending amid rising unemployment.