IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. producer prices fell unexpectedly in March and also notched the largest year-over-year decline since 1950 as energy prices slipped, government data on Tuesday showed.

The threat of tougher regulation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should ease industrial opposition to a cap-and-trade market on greenhouse gases, a U.S. lawmaker said on Monday.

Corn ethanol's future is already muddied by concerns that it requires a substantial amount of energy to produce and that heightened demand makes corn more costly in human food and livestock feed. Now, with climate change concerns mounting and drought becoming more of a problem in many areas, the water-intensive nature of creating ethanol also is a growing concern.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat to higher open on Tuesday as strong earnings from Goldman Sachs lifted bank shares and, Johnson & Johnson results were slightly above forecast, while investors awaited U.S. retail sales for March.

Oil rose above $50 a barrel on Tuesday, recovering after an earlier fall, as a stock market rally countered the impact of weakening global oil demand and forecasts for rising U.S. supplies.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Tuesday as strong earnings from Goldman Sachs lifted bank shares and investors awaited the latest news on the consumer from Johnson & Johnson results and U.S. retail sales for March.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc may succeed in its bid to pay back U.S. taxpayer money with the help of a $5 billion common share sale, but it may still not get the freedom it wants from intense public scrutiny.

Swiss bank UBS is cutting 3 percent of its Asia-Pacific staff, in what banking sources said was part of a fresh round of global job cuts at the crisis-hit bank.

S&P 500 stock index futures were slightly lower on Tuesday as investors digested Goldman Sachs's plan to issue equity after strong earnings, and prepared for Johnson & Johnson results and economic data.

Dutch Philips Electronics NV said on Tuesday it would accelerate restructuring measures in the second quarter after its first-quarter results swung to a loss and missed analyst expectations.

Qantas Airways Ltd forecast on Tuesday its first second-half loss in six years and unveiled capacity and job cuts as Australia's biggest airline battles a slump in passenger demand and rising competition.

Cisco Systems Inc plans to set up a research center in South Korea and invest or lend $500 million in the country's technology and telecom sectors, the Korean presidential office said on Tuesday.

Cisco Systems Inc plans to invest or lend about $500 million in telecom operators and technology infrastructure in South Korea over the next five years, the country's presidential office said on Tuesday.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.05 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, at 5:47 a.m. EDT, while futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 0.2 percent.

Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said on Tuesday China would not do anything to harm U.S. interests such as dumping Treasuries, adding that solid capital returns support the dollar's attractiveness.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing if Bank of America Corp violated federal securities law by failing to disclose to shareholders Merrill Lynch's plan to pay $3.62 billion in bonuses before they voted for the merger of the banks, the Financial Times said.

Swiss bank UBS said it will cut 240 jobs in Asia-Pacific to cut costs, as Asian economies slow in a global financial crisis.

Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said on Tuesday that China would not do anything to hurt U.S. interests because the fate of the two economic giants was closely entwined.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing if Bank of America Corp violated federal securities law by failing to disclose to shareholders Merrill Lynch's plan to pay $3.62 billion in bonuses before they voted for the merger of the banks, the Financial Times said.

Qantas Airways Ltd forecast on Tuesday its first second-half loss in six years and unveiled capacity and job cuts as Australia's biggest airline battles a slump in passenger demand and rising competition.

World stocks rose toward a three-month high on Tuesday after strong earnings from Goldman Sachs , while jitters about other corporate earnings kept government bonds and the low-yielding yen on a firm footing. Goldman surprised investors by posting a much higher than expected first-quarter profit and said it planned a $5 billion common share sale to pay back government funds. Other bank...

UBS , the world's biggest banker for the rich, will cut 240 jobs in Asia-Pacific across all business lines as part of a global cost cutting exercise, the bank said on Tuesday.

Dutch Philips Electronics NV said on Tuesday it would accelerate restructuring measures in the second quarter after its first-quarter results swung to a loss and missed analyst expectations.

Asian shares rose to a six-month high on Tuesday after Goldman Sachs' stronger-than-expected profit signaled the worst could be behind for U.S. banks, but plenty of concerns about the global economy still remain.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and New York state prosecutors are investigating whether investment firms made improper payments of millions of dollars to intermediaries to gain business from the state's pension fund, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The number of computer viruses is growing extraordinarily fast and shifting from phishing e-mails to being hidden in seemingly safe websites such as a local bed and breakfast, says Internet security company Symantec Corp in a new report on Tuesday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing if Bank of America Corp violated federal securities law by failing to disclose to shareholders Merrill Lynch's plan to pay $3.62 billion in bonuses before they voted for the merger of the banks, the Financial Times said.

Dutch Philips Electronics NV said on Tuesday it would accelerate restructuring measures in the second quarter after its first-quarter results missed analyst expectations.

A lawyer for five investors claiming $64 million filed court papers on Monday that may force fraudster Bernard Madoff into personal bankruptcy, according to a Reuters.