IBT Staff Reporter

News Corp's Fox brought in $250 million in advertising revenue on the strength of the most-watched Super Bowl ever, according to news reports.

Walt Disney reported greater than expected sales and earnings for its latest quarter on Tuesday mainly to its ESPN cable network and its theme park business as it sought to reassure investors the weakening economy was not affecting the media conglomerate.

Gold futures dropped sharply to end below $900 an ounce Tuesday, the lowest in more than a week, as a surge in the U.S. dollar lowered investment demand for the precious metal. Silver also declined.

U.S. stocks tumbled the most in almost a year on Tuesday after service industries contracted at the fastest pace since 2001, adding to mounting concern the economy is already in a recession.

Reflecting the availability and the falling costs of memory chips, Apple introduced a 16-GB iPhone and a 32-GB iPod touch on Tuesday, however maintained the same price points as the previous iteration of the products.

The New York Giants, winners of this year's Super Bowl, were given a boisterous welcome by thousands of fans in a confetti filled victory parade through the Canyon of Heroes lined by Manhattan's skyscrapers.

Graphics chip maker Nvidia announced on Tuesday that it will acquire physics technology developer Ageia in a move that may bring more realism to gamers

Nokia began the roll-out of its N-Gage gaming service and Share on Ovi media sharing site on Tuesday as falling handset prices spur the world's largest cell phone maker to expand into mobile Internet services.

Time Warner Inc's AOL said on Tuesday it has purchased buy.at, an online affiliate marketing network, as part of a strategy to bolster its Internet advertising operations.

Three global record companies have launched legal proceedings against China's top Internet search engine Baidu.com Inc, accusing it of violating copyright by giving access to music files, an international music trade body said.

Apple Inc on Tuesday introduced models of its popular iPod touch handheld computer and iPhone with double the memory available in previous versions. Apple, which said in January it had sold more than 4 million iPhones since sales began last June, says the iPhone will now also sell with 16 gigabytes of memory.

France threw its weight behind Chad's President Idriss Deby on Tuesday, saying it could intervene against armed rebels who declared they would only stop fighting if Deby quit.

The death toll from Kenya's post-election bloodletting has risen to 1,000, the Red Cross said on Tuesday, as political rivals began the toughest part of their negotiations so far. Fighting in west Kenya in recent days between rival ethnic gangs had increased the number of deaths, the Red Cross said.

Voters in 24 states make their choices in an unpredictable U.S. presidential campaign on Tuesday, with Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a close fight and Republican John McCain aiming for a knockout blow against Mitt Romney.

According to a study by KPMG, the level of fraud in the UK has reached its highest point in 12 years, costing the country over £1 billion every year.

Yahoo Inc. said on Monday it will stop operating its online music service Yahoo Music and divert its customers to Rhapsody music service, which is run by RealNetworks Inc and Viacom Inc, in a deal that will allow Yahoo to promote Rhapsody on its site.

Long-term treasuries fell on Monday as investors shifted investment to riskier investments amid a flood of new notes this week and a reassessment of the U.S. economy.

News Corp said net profit in its fiscal second quarter ended December 31 rose to $832 million, or 27 cents per share, from $822 million, or 26 cents per share, a year earlier.

Copper rose on Monday after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Chile, the owner of the largest producer of copper in the world.

Platinum soared to a record high of $1,800 an ounce for the first time Monday as investors bet that a power shortage in top producing South Africa will tighten global supply for the precious metal. Gold traded 4 percent it record from last week.

U.S. stocks finished lower on Monday following last week's big rally, as investors trimmed positions caused by troubled financial sectors which suffered from several broker downgrades.

The dollar rose against the yen but slipped versus the euro on Monday ahead of several interest rate decisions from several central banks this week.

Natural gas posted gains on Monday after the prices of alternative forms of energy increased.

U.S. Corn and Soybeans futures increased following an increase in demand for the grain in overseas nations, driven by the declining shipping costs.

Preliminary viewer results from the Super Bowl game on Sunday, showed that viewership was up 9 percent from last year's game, according to Nielsen Media Research on Monday.

U.S. Crude Oil Gains on Houston Channel Trouble Oil rose on Monday after weather conditions closed the Houston Ship Channel and fears of a U.S. recession continued.

New orders at U.S. factories reported a fourth consecutive increase in December, though it was the steepest gain since July, hinting that business spending on new equipment is growing, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Olivant Advisers Ltd has dropped out of the the race to take control of ailing British bank Northern Rock plc.

Thousands of civilians fled Chad's capital N'Djamena on Monday after rebels broke off a two-day assault but threatened a fresh attempt to topple President Idriss Deby.