Bonus season is approaching on Wall Street, and investment bankers, the financial experts who arrange mergers and acquisitions, are expected to be first in line.

The board that writes the accounting rules for American business will decide this week whether to go ahead with plans to change the way pension accounting is done.

Trade ministers downplay expectations of securing an outline global free trade deal in Hong Kong next month.

The US and China sign a textile trade deal ending months of argument over Chinese exports.

Luxury carmaker Lamborghini is opening a dealership in Shanghai, the latest European firm to target Chinese buyers.

US Treasury Secretary John Snow meets Indian CEOs as part of a five-day visit to India.

UK High Street sales remain weak, falling for the seventh month, as customers shun clothing.

File-sharing group Grokster shuts its service as part of a landmark settlement with the entertainment industry.

House prices have risen despite a dip in the number of sales, Land Registry figures show.

Reuters - The United States and China reached agreement on Tuesday on reining in China's booming clothing and textile shipments to the United States.

The consumer banking arm of General Electric is cleared to buy a 25% stake in Turkey's Garanti Bank for $1.5bn.

South Africa diamond giant De Beers announces the sale of 26% of its mining operations to a black empowerment firm.

Shareholders of the Italian firm, Parmalat, are meeting to approve a new chief executive and board of directors.

More consumers have joined a legal battle against Apple over allegedly defective screens on its iPod Nano.

Reuters - U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower market opening on Tuesday, with investors expected to digest recent gains and as a leading home builder warned that sales and profit would miss its forecast for next year.

Reuters - Auto parts maker Visteon Corp. on Tuesday posted a narrower quarterly loss from a year ago, when it took heavy charges, pressured by North America vehicle production cuts and high raw materials prices.

Reuters - Power producer Dynegy Inc. on Tuesday reported a smaller third-quarter profit as it faced legal and settlement charges for litigation related to its customer risk management unit.

Reuters - Magna International (MGsva.TO) reported a 20 percent jump in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by higher sales of its auto parts.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow repeated on Tuesday that the Bush administration is continuing to press China to adopt a more flexible currency regime to help the global economy.

AFP - Marks and Spencer, the British clothing-to-food retailer, said that underlying pre-tax profits rose by 19.5 percent during the first-half of its financial year to 308.2 million pounds (456.5 million euros, 535 million dollars).

Toyota is recalling 250,000 vehicles in Japan, less than a month after withdrawing more than a million vehicles.

Shareholders of the Italian firm, Parmalat, approve administrator Enrico Bondi as the firm's new chief executive.

Reuters - U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, with disappointing results and outlooks from some companies, including leading home builder Toll Brothers Inc. , weighing on investor sentiment.

Reuters - Toll Brothers Inc. on Tuesday cut its outlook for 2006, saying tougher land-use reviews will mean a lower supply of houses and softening demand in some markets will slow its ability to raise prices, sending its shares tumbling 12 percent in premarket activity.

Reuters - Auto parts maker Visteon Corp. on Tuesday posted a bigger-than-expected third-quarter loss, pressured by cuts in North American vehicle production and high prices for raw materials.

Reuters - Blockbuster Inc. , the nation's No. 1 video rental chain, on Tuesday reported a quarterly loss as it grapples with a downturn in the rental industry and a bruising battle with rival Netflix Inc. .

Reuters - Cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp. on Tuesday posted a third-quarter loss, as losses on investments offset subscriber growth to its phone and high-speed Internet services.

Reuters - U.S. chain store sales rose in the first week of November, boosted by some early holiday shopping and rising sales of cool-weather apparel, a report said on Tuesday.

AP - Primedia Inc., publisher of specialty magazines such as Motor Trend and consumer guides, on Tuesday posted higher third-quarter net income on a hefty gain from the sale of its business information segment. But its loss from continuing operations widened.

Reuters - Linens 'n Things Inc. on Tuesday said it agreed to be acquired in a private equity deal for $28 per share in cash.

The deal raised the volumes of clothing that the United States would accept from China when compared with previous arrangements.

The networks said they would sell reruns of their top new shows within hours of their broadcast for 99 cents an episode through video-on-demand services.

The opposition boycotts Sri Lanka's budget, saying it is a ploy to win votes in the presidential election.

Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence recovered for a second month in November but worries about high gasoline prices kept Americans pessimistic, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as a disappointing outlook from leading home builder Toll Brothers Inc. raised concerns the housing sector, an important source of growth for the economy, may be slowing down.

Reuters - Toll Brothers Inc. on Tuesday said it will build fewer houses in 2006 as it faces softening demand in some markets and said it would cut its earnings forecast, driving down shares of home builders.

Reuters - Linens 'n Things Inc. on Tuesday agreed to be acquired in a $1.3 billion deal that will take the struggling home furnishings retailer private.

Toll Brothers said that the era of soaring home prices might have ended and that price growth appeared to be reverting to more historical patterns.

Blockbuster sees its shares rise more than 7% after investors welcome its ongoing cost-cutting measures.

Turkey waits to find out if it has gained 'market economy' status, a vital hurdle on the road to EU membership.

Visiting US Treasury Secretary John Snow urges India to open up its financial sectors.

Reuters - U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday as a disappointing outlook from leading home builder Toll Brothers Inc. raised concerns that the housing sector, an important source of the economy's growth, may be slowing.

AP - Home accessories retailer Linens N Things Inc. on Tuesday said it agreed to be acquired by a company formed by Apollo Management LP in a deal worth about $1.3 billion.

Reuters - U.S. stocks declined on Tuesday after leading home builder Toll Brothers Inc. gave a disappointing outlook for next year, raising concern that the housing sector, an important driver of economic growth, may be slowing.

Reuters - The all-star cast of energy executives due to face Congress on Wednesday has an unenviable task: convincing lawmakers that record profits in the face of sky-high gasoline prices do not warrant penalties.

Reuters - Boeing Co. said on Tuesday that it would lay off 250 employees in Wichita, Kansas, from its defense unit and other businesses.

Toll Brothers said that the era of soaring home prices might have ended and that price growth appeared to be reverting to more historical patterns.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after a disappointing outlook from luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. pointed to weakness in the housing sector and raised concern about the U.S. consumer's financial health.

Reuters - Amusement park operator Six Flags Inc. said on Tuesday it expects to receive final takeover offers from financial and strategic suitors by early December, with a final decision made by year-end.

AP - Primedia Inc., publisher of specialty magazines such as Motor Trend and consumer guides, on Tuesday posted higher third-quarter net income on a hefty gain from the sale of its business information segment. But its loss from continuing operations widened.

The oldest bank in the US, the Bank of New York, pays $38m (£21m) over fraud and money laundering investigations.

The dollar's move was propelled by rising interest rates in the United States and rising pessimism about Europe.

Microsoft must alter its business or face a significant disadvantage from an array of companies offering Internet services, according to memorandums from two Microsoft executives.

This season's bumper crop of corn is too much of a good thing, underscoring the paradox at the heart of the government farm subsidy program.

The nation's largest maker of luxury homes said that soaring home prices appeared to have ended, the latest sign that many real estate markets are slowing down.

More than ever, investors are holding chief executives accountable for their ability to articulate a clear and compelling vision.

A drug made by ViroPharma that treats a deadly bacterial illness has turned out to be a financial lifesaver for the company.

The Bank of New York agreed to pay $38 million to settle a money laundering case in which funds were transferred from Russia to banks around the world.

Microsoft must alter its business or face being at a competitive disadvantage to a growing array of companies, according to memorandums written by company executives.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (Reuters) - The mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said Tuesday that it would revise its results for the first half of 2005 to lower its profit by about $220 million, citing computer-related accounting errors.

Sanofi-Aventis said that its third-quarter profit rose 29 percent before unspecified costs related to Sanofi-Synthélabo's 2004 acquisition of Aventis.

By The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (AP) - The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that companies must pay workers for the time it takes to change into protective clothing and safety gear and walk to their workstations.

The company also sounded a hopeful note about reaching a new distribution agreement with its longtime partner, the Walt Disney Company, by year-end.

A bipartisan advisory group plans to deliver a report to Congress today that is sharply critical of China's trade practices and endorses sanctions including a tariff on imports unless Beijing takes forceful steps to allow its currency to move in line with market forces.

By Bloomberg News.

Major cellular phone carriers adopted a content rating system, a move that could pave the way for them to begin selling sex-oriented content on mobile devices.

DALLAS, Nov. 8 (AP) - Blockbuster, the large movie-rental chain, posted a $491.4 million third-quarter loss Tuesday as the elimination of most late fees hurt revenue and the growth of the company's online service stalled.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 - The Senate's top Republican tax writer unveiled a bill on Tuesday that would provide $70 billion in tax cuts, including $7 billion for the Gulf Coast areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Upstart cellphone companies are using wireless Internet access, video clips and MP3's to lure a small but lucrative audience: technologically astute young adults.

By Bloomberg News.

The trade agreement that the U.S. and China announced Tuesday limits China's clothing exports and may push China toward making upscale goods.

DETROIT, Nov. 8 (AP) - The auto parts maker Visteon Corporation, which recently reached an agreement on a bailout plan with its former parent, Ford Motor, reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss Tuesday as a result of production cuts at Ford and the high cost of raw materials.

The Cablevision Systems Corporation reported a $62.9 million loss for the third quarter, even though revenue rose 11 percent.

By Reuters.

Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit yesterday against a nonprofit group accused of encouraging home sellers to make ostensibly tax-deductible gifts that the charity in turn gave to buyers so they could put a down payment on a seller's home.

By The Associated Press.

Serono said that it had hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic alternatives for the company.

The garment center of Los Angeles has been undergoing a transformation into a fashion district.

In 1967, the musical 'Hair' opened at the Public Theater in Manhattan; the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed 500,000 antiwar protesters at United Nations Plaza; and the New Yorker Hotel sign, installed in 1941, went dark.