IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks were set to open flat to slightly higher on Tuesday, with sentiment underpinned by data showing a surprise jump in U.S. housing starts and by hopes that banks may be seeing some stabilization.

Oil slid below $47 a barrel on Tuesday, although staying within the trading range it has held so far this month, ahead of United States inventory data expected to show a build in crude oil stocks.

Rio Tinto named a new chairman to help get a planned $19.5 billion tie-up with China's Chinalco approved, as Australian politicians opposed to the deal raised their level of protest on Tuesday.

A drastic climate shift such as a thaw of Greenland's ice or death of the Amazon forest is more than 50 percent likely by the year 2200 in cases of strong global warming, according to a survey of experts.

The global market for photovoltaic solar power grew 110 percent last year due to explosive growth in Spain, a report said on Monday.

Magellan Midstream Partners said on Monday it had signed a joint agreement with Poet, the largest U.S. ethanol producer, to study building a dedicated pipeline to carry the biofuel from the U.S. Midwest into the Northeast.

Mining group Rio Tinto has appointed Jan du Plessis, the chairman of British American Tobacco Plc , to also head its board, the firm said on Tuesday.

Consumers around the world, worried about reliable energy supplies and pollution, said their nations should reduce use of oil, natural gas and coal to make electricity in favor of nuclear and renewable power, according to a 20-country survey by Accenture.

Luxembourg said on Tuesday it would seek an out-of-court deal to end a protracted legal row about money UBS clients lost to Bernard Madoff that is damaging the country's reputation as a financial center.

Stock index futures signaled a bounce on Tuesday, with sentiment underpinned by hopes that banks may be seeing some stabilization, although there was caution ahead of data that could show the recession taking a further toll on the housing market.

Nokia Oyj will slash 1,700 jobs globally over the coming few months because of falling demand, the world's top cellphone maker said on Tuesday.

Companies and celebrities ranging from Arsenal football club to actress Scarlett Johansson filed a record number of cybersquatting cases in 2008 to stop others from profiting from their famous names, brands and events, a United Nations agency said on Sunday.

Dell Inc unveiled its luxury Adamo laptop on Tuesday, calling it the world's thinnest notebook as it seeks to compete in the high-end ultraportable market defined by Apple Inc's MacBook Air.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat to higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, after Alcoa slashed its dividend and issued a plan to raise cash, and ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy-setting meeting.

Australian politicians turned up the heat against Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc's planned $19.5 billion tie-up with China's Chinalco, with one taking out television ads on Tuesday to push for the deal to be blocked.

Video clips on YouTube, updates on Facebook, blogs, and an online voter registration campaign.

From IT labs to photo grabs, a Japanese humanoid robot will soon be strutting her hard- and soft-ware stuff on the fashion catwalk.

Asian stocks jumped to a one-month high on Tuesday, with banks extending gains on hopes the struggling global financial system is stabilizing, despite reports showing the U.S. economy is deteriorating further.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is offering to lend money to more than 1,000 staff who have been squeezed by the financial crisis, the New York Times said.

General Growth Properties Inc , the No. 2 U.S. mall owner, said on Monday some of its lenders had agreed give it more time to refinance its debts, pushing off yet again the threat of bankruptcy.

The Hearst Corp plans to roll out the final print edition of its ailing Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Tuesday then move it online, ending speculation about the fate of the 146-year-old newspaper as crumbling advertising and the Internet wallop the industry.

Anticipating restrictions on bonuses, officials at Citigroup Inc and Morgan Stanley are exploring ways to sidestep tough new federal caps on compensation, the Wall Street Journal said.

Intel Corp accused Advanced Micro Devices Inc of breaching the terms of a cross-licensing agreement between the two rival chip makers, a charge that AMD denied on Monday.

Asian stocks climbed on Tuesday, with banks extending gains on hopes the struggling global financial system is stabilizing, despite reports showing the U.S. economy is deteriorating further.

U.S. retail sales of Apple Inc's Mac computers fell 16 percent in February on a unit basis, even as low-cost netbooks helped Windows-based PCs sales rise 22 percent, research group NPD said on Monday.

Advisers to bondholders of General Motors Corp said on Monday they have presented a framework plan to President Barack Obama's autos task force and the ailing No. 1 U.S. automaker that provides the company's best chance for an out-of-court restructuring.

U.S. credit card defaults rose in February to their highest level in at least 20 years, with losses particularly severe at American Express Co and Citigroup amid a deepening recession.

On March 16 marketing firm PureMatter celebrated the recent achievement of twelve ADDY Awards.

UCBH Holdings, Inc said today it has recorded an additional loan loss about $40 million pre-tax, will allows the company’s fourth quarter net loss to $$82.9 million increase and 2008 full year net loss increase of $76.4 million from $50.1 million as previously reported.