IBT Staff Reporter

Bank of America's Merrill Lynch has recently closed the Tokyo office of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity , a major international investment arm of the U.S. bank.

Oil fell toward $50 a barrel on Tuesday, paring early gains after European equities turned lower, as investors continued to track share movements to try and gauge the strength of the global economy.

European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark on Tuesday criticized the decision made at the G20 summit to boost the IMF's Special Drawing Rights as ill thought through and potentially inflationary.

Part-nationalized British lender Royal Bank of Scotland said the state's holding in the group will rise to 70.3 percent from 58 percent after its private sector investors largely shunned a sale of new shares.

World stocks turned lower and European currencies fell on Tuesday after data showed the euro zone economy shrank more than previously thought, fanning concerns about the impact on corporate profits from the economy.

A team of hedge funds managers at Societe Generale is leaving to set up their own hedge fund with capital from the French bank, La Tribune reported on Tuesday.

A quarter of the world's companies, and 40 percent in the United States, plan to freeze salaries this year, but employees in South America and India can look forward to robust rises, a global survey shows on Tuesday.

Australia's government will build a A$43 billion ($31 billion) high-speed broadband network, leading a new private-public company, after rejecting bids by companies that it said failed to offer value for money.

About half a dozen investment managers have put forward bids, ranging between $400 million to $800 million, for troubled insurer American International Group's asset management business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Asian stocks slid on Tuesday, snapping a five-day rally as concerns about the health of U.S. banks resurfaced, while expectations that Australian rates would not fall much further kept the Australian dollar steady.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors braced for aluminum producer Alcoa's quarterly results that will kick-start a keenly awaited U.S. earnings season.

Dutch financial services group ING Groep NV has no plans to sell its direct banking operation ING-DiBa in Germany, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

World stocks steadied on Tuesday after hitting a two-month high in the previous session, while European stocks rose as investors awaited the start of U.S. corporate earnings season.

World stocks steadied on Tuesday after hitting a two-month high in the previous session, while European stocks rose as investors awaited the start of U.S. corporate earnings season.

Asian stocks slid on Tuesday, snapping a five-day rally as concerns about the health of U.S. banks resurfaced, while expectations that Australian rates would not fall much further kept the Australian dollar steady.

Germany's Commerzbank is preparing to issue an offer document to a handful of potential investors in General Motors' Opel unit, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing sources close to the automaker.

Business software maker Salesforce.com on Tuesday launched a slimmed-down version of its customer-management services that existing customers will be able to access for free using high-end mobile phones.

In the growing netbook market, Microsoft is now leading the race seeing an 86% increase over the 12months, pushing the software making to a dominant position.

Oil was steady around $51 a barrel on Tuesday, awaiting direction from stock markets and U.S. oil inventories after a near 3-percent loss on Monday when Wall Street tumbled.

Microsoft officials confirm that the firm and its partners are going to allow Windows 7 users to downgrade not just to Windows Vista, but also to Windows XP.

Airlines like money and it turns out that the best way for airlines to make money is to ensure that there are as few empty seats on a plane as possible.

Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday, snuffing a five-day rally as uncertainty about U.S. banks pushed dealers to take profits on recent gains, while investors' reduced willingness to take risks lifted the U.S. dollar and yen.

Pending home sales have edged up, hinting at a possible pickup of sales activity in coming months, according to the National Association of Realtors.

LOS ANGELES - Discovery Communications chairman and founder John Hendricks waited 17 years for the moment when Amazon and Sony would battle for dominance in the world of portable electronic book readers.

The 10-year Treasury yield has been creeping up despite the efforts by the Federal Reserve to bring it down. TALF (Term Asset Lending Facility) is being utilized to buy government bonds,

Russia called on other leading powers on Monday to stay focused on nuclear talks with North Korea as Washington pushed for a strong response from a divided U.N. Security Council to Pyongyang's rocket launch.

The months' supply of existing housing inventory has fallen to less than 10 months in January and February after being in the double digits for most of 2008.

U.S. securities regulators will consider about 4 proposals to restrict short selling, a type of investing blamed for accelerating the severe downturn in financial services stocks.

Oil was steady at $51 a barrel on Tuesday, awaiting direction from stock markets and U.S. oil inventories after a near 3-percent loss on Monday when Wall Street tumbled.