IBT Staff Reporter

Oil tumbled nearly $2 a barrel below $70 on Tuesday as Hurricane Dean lost strength, easing concerns of supply disruptions from Mexico and the U.S. Gulf where oil installations were threatened by the powerful storm.

Gold slipped with stock markets and other commodities on Tuesday as fears about the effect of a global credit squeezed lingered, analysts said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Tuesday he was talking with housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about policy options to ease strains in mortgage markets, including possible legislation that could expand their mortgage investment options.

Dell Inc. shares shed more than 2 percent on Tuesday amid concerns that industry-wide constraints on some display screen components and production issues with the paint on some of its notebook PC lines could delay the delivery of new machines.

Shares of Take-Two Interactive Inc. rose about 10 percent on Tuesday after the interactive entertainment company announced the North American release of its highly anticipated science-fiction shooter game BioShock.

The yen gained broadly in volatile trading on Tuesday as persistent jitters about global credit conditions prodded investors to sell more risky assets funded by borrowing at low rates in the Japanese currency.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd on Tuesday said he asked the Bush administration to lift the portfolio caps on housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson expressed reluctance to do so.

Marsh Inc. the world's largest insurance broker and risk adviser, on Monday warned financial institutions they may face more claims as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges on Monday against Sentinel Management Group Inc, the cash management firm serving the U.S. futures industry that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late on Friday.

Target Corp on Tuesday said its quarterly profit rose more than 12 percent, boosted by strong sales at stores open at least a year and returns from its credit-card business. The retailer also reiterated its full-year earnings outlook.

Dow Jones & Co Inc Vice President Paul Ingrassia said on Monday he plans to quit, making him the first top executive to leave since News Corp said it would buy The Wall Street Journal publisher.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Tuesday the global economy is strong and liquidity will return to normal in financial markets once investors reprice risk.

Shareholders in OMX are weighing a $4 billion bid by Borse Dubai for the firm and waiting to see whether U.S. rival Nasdaq sweetens its $3.7 billion offer, Borse Dubai's head said on Tuesday.

Home foreclosures rose 9 percent in July from June and soared 93 percent from a year ago as states that once enjoyed a white-hot housing market are now seeing the greatest number of loan failures, a real estate survey reported on Tuesday.

Hurricane Dean slammed into Mexico's Caribbean coast on Tuesday, flooding streets, blowing the roofs off houses and battering resorts where tens of thousands of tourists and residents huddled in shelters.

Shares in Bayer rose on Tuesday on renewed market talk that Switzerland's Novartis was interested in the German drugs and chemicals group, traders said. There is the rumour again that Novartis is bidding for Bayer, one trader said without giving any further details.

A recent flurry of deals shows the cell phone microchip market may be about to shrink as some small players take a step toward the big leagues and others get squeezed out.

Capital One Financial Corp on Monday said it will eliminate 1,900 jobs and shut down a wholesale mortgage unit it acquired less than a year ago, as it struggles with the U.S. housing downturn.

Viacom Inc's MTV Networks is expected to on Tuesday announce plans to merge its online digital music offerings into a joint venture with music software company RealNetworks Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Tuesday that it was now selling digital music downloads on its Web site without the customary copy-protection technology that limits where consumers can play the songs.

The cut is meant to stabilize inflation after consumer prices rose in July at the fastest pace in more than a decade.

Countrywide Financial Corp, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said it had eliminated about 500 jobs nationwide as it tries to cope with a credit shortfall stemming from the U.S. housing downturn.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett may buy parts of beleaguered mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp, some investors are speculating, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Investor AB is ready to take only Nasdaq shares for its OMX stake under Nasdaq's bid for the bourse firm, a spokesman said on Tuesday, adding that this stance was the same as before Friday's rival offer from Borse Dubai.

Finance chiefs from the world's three biggest economies sought on Tuesday to keep a lid on global market jitters as banks at the sharp end of a global financial storm said they faced serious trouble. Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson agreed to keep a close eye on markets while German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said there was no sign of the turmoil hitting the wider economy.

Shares of KKR Financial Holdings LLC (NYSE: KFN), an affiliate of private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., rose over 8 percent on Monday after it announced a plan to raise $500 million in cash from investors, including existing shareholders.

Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc said on Monday they will release their next-generation DVD titles exclusively on HD DVD ahead of what they say could be the biggest holiday season ever for DVDs.

As the stock exchanges prepare to release their monthly short interest reports this week, Wall Street is waiting with more anticipation than usual.

Toy maker Mattel Inc was sued on Monday in an attempt to force it to set up a fund to pay for testing children who may have been exposed to lead poisoning from its toys, according to a Los Angeles-based attorney.