Vietnam's former deputy trade minister goes on trial, charged with accepting kickbacks from textile firms.

Reuters - Hyundai Motor Co. (005380.KS), South Korea's top auto maker, said on Tuesday it plans to invest $270 million to build an engine plant at its U.S. car making unit in Alabama to serve growing demand in the world's No.1 auto market.

Reuters - Japan's cabinet on Tuesday approved an updated minimum wage bill, the first major revision in nearly 40 years, as part of the government's efforts to close the gap between between rich and poor and boost economic growth.

Three Indians are charged with hacking into US stock brokerage accounts to boost the value of their shares.

HMV is likely to close loss-making stores as a result of a 'radical' review of its struggling business.

Reuters - U.S. coffee shop giant Starbucks plans to open at least 40,000 more stores over the medium term, half of them outside the United States, according to Tuesday's Expansion newspaper.

Reuters - AT&T Inc. said on Tuesday it will invest more than $750 million in 2007 to accelerate the delivery of global Internet Protocol services and solutions to businesses and multinational companies in key markets worldwide.

Reuters - The pace of activity around a possible sale of DaimlerChrysler AG'S (DCXGn.DE) Chrysler Group is accelerating, after several potential buyers met with management before presenting preliminary offers by the end of the month, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Chinese inflation jumped to 2.7% in February, driven by higher food costs, official state figures show.

Gaz de France predicts a year of consolidation after what it describes as the warmest winter for 50 years.

US drugs giant Merck is to be fined an initial $20m in after losing a case brought by a user of its Vioxx painkiller.

Reuters - Citigroup raised its offer for Nikko Cordial Corp. (8603.T) by 26 percent to $13.4 billion on Tuesday, after Tokyo Stock Exchange's decision not to revoke the brokerage's listing sharply boosted the value of its shares.

Reuters - Chinese consumer inflation rose in February on the back of higher food costs, but economists said they did not expect price pressures to get out of hand despite breakneck growth and plentiful cash in the banking system.

AFP - The Philippines is perceived by foreign businessmen as Asia's most corrupt economy, according to a survey Tuesday that also found countries were failing properly to tackle corruption.

AP - The dollar fell against the yen in Asian trading Tuesday as short-term focused Japanese and overseas players sold the dollar amid speculation that U.S. retail sales data might prove disappointing.

Two former executives of German engineering firm Siemens go on trial accused of paying 6m euros in bribes.

Japan paves the way for an increase to its minimum wage, the first major change in more than 40 years.

The OECD says the levels of inflation in the eurozone, Japan and the US do not justify further interest rate rises.

The UK's trade deficit narrows sharply in January due to falling imports from much of Europe, but exports remain flat.

Alliance Boots shares rise 3% on hopes that a private equity firm looking to buy the chemist will make a higher bid.

Reuters - New Century Financial Corp. on Tuesday said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the subprime mortgage lender, after the agency recently asked to meet with management to discuss its accounting.

Reuters - The European Union has a lever to force the United States to open its domestic aviation market, the EU's transport chief said on Tuesday in a bid to convince skeptics to back a transatlantic air travel pact.

FT.com - When Philippines retailing tycoon Henry Sy picks a location for a new shopping mall, one of the first things he does is figure out where the families of overseas Filipino workers are buying homes. The strategy has not failed the country's richest man, whose SM Prime Holdings runs 28 shopping malls throughout the country.

AFP - The dollar firmed against the euro but eased against the yen on Tuesday when market players were cautious before publication of US retail sales data, dealers said.

The suit seeks $1 billion in damages and an injunction against further violations.

Entertainment giant Viacom Media says it will sue Google and video-sharing website YouTube for $1bn.

Japan paves the way for an increase to its minimum wage, the first major change in more than 40 years.

Angola cancels all talks with the IMF, saying it can maintain economic stability on its own.

A new issue £20 note featuring a portrait of Scottish economist Adam Smith comes into circulation.

Reuters - Retail sales rose a less-than-expected 0.1 percent in February despite firm automotive sales as building materials and general merchandise sales slumped, a Commerce Department report showed on Tuesday.

Reuters - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , the largest investment bank by market value, said on Tuesday its quarterly earnings rose to a record, trouncing expectations despite recent fears that mortgage market woes and flagging stocks would hurt results.

Reuters - New Century Financial Corp. on Tuesday said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the subprime mortgage lender, which is under siege from creditors and has stopped making loans.

Reuters - Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. (VIAb.N) said on Tuesday that it was suing Google Inc. and its Internet video-sharing site YouTube for more than $1 billion over unauthorized use of its programming online.

Reuters - Kroger Co. , the largest U.S. grocery chain, got an unexpected tax benefit and posted a 36.4 percent jump in quarterly profit on Tuesday as it attracted shoppers with remodeled stores featuring a better selection of products.

AP - Sales at the nation's retailers edged up by 0.1 percent in February as bad winter weather in many parts of the country kept shoppers away from the malls.

A quarterly profit of $3.2 billion was driven by increased trading volume and merger activity.

Entertainment giant Viacom Media says it will sue Google and video-sharing website YouTube for $1bn.

US markets regulator the SEC is investigating troubled sub-prime mortgage lender New Century.

Weak US retail sales figures spark debate about whether the Federal Reserve could cut rates in June.

Three Indians are charged with hacking into US stock brokerage accounts to boost the value of their shares.

The UK's trade deficit narrows sharply in January due to falling imports from much of Europe, but exports remain flat.

Angola says it expects to see investors pour $50bn into its oil industry over the next six years.

Reuters - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted its best quarterly earnings ever on Tuesday on record trading and banking results, trouncing expectations that were recently lowered amid fears that mortgage market woes and volatile stocks would hurt results.

Reuters - New Century Financial Corp. said on Tuesday it underestimated its debt to Credit Suisse by $500 million, the latest snafu for a company under investigation by U.S. securities regulators and facing delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

Reuters - Late payments and foreclosures on U.S. homes rose in the fourth quarter, driven by subprime borrowers with weak credit and adjustable-rate mortgages that reset at higher interest rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Tuesday.

AP - Treasury prices gained in morning trading Tuesday on continued concerns about the subprime mortgage market and after February retail sales came in below market expectations.

The number of loans past due among people with weak credit histories rose to 13.33 percent. One lender, New Century, faces delisting and an S.E.C. investigation.

The Information Commissioner's Office finds 11 banks have put customers' information in bins outside their premises.

The EU resists Balkan pressure to restart two nuclear reactors at Bulgaria's Kozloduy plant.

Reuters - The meltdown among U.S. subprime mortgage lenders including New Century Financial Corp. broadened on Tuesday, as Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. shares fell more than 60 percent, and investors worried that more lenders might restructure or seek bankruptcy protection.

Reuters - U.S. retail sales rose a sluggish 0.1 percent in February amid unusually cold weather and despite firm auto sales, government data showed on Tuesday, raising expectations of an interest rate cut later this year.

Reuters - U.S. advertising spending rose a disappointing 4.1 percent last year, hurt by cutbacks by carmakers General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler (DCXGn.DE) , tracking firm TNS Media Intelligence said on Tuesday.

Reuters - General Motors Acceptance Corp., the former finance arm of General Motors Corp. , on Tuesday said it would receive another $1 billion from GM and warned it would be hit by pressure from a weakening market for U.S. mortgages.

Reuters - Retail sales rose a sluggish 0.1 percent in February amid unusually cold weather, and late mortgage payments and home foreclosures rose at the end of last year, according to reports that raised concerns about the economic outlook.

Reuters - Stocks dropped on Tuesday, pushing the Dow down more than 200 points in its second-biggest sell-off of the year, as mounting losses in the subprime mortgage sector dragged down shares of companies with any exposure to the U.S. housing market.

AP - Sales at the nation's retailers barely budged in February as bad winter weather kept already cautious shoppers away from the malls.

AFP - The dollar remained weak on Tuesday against major currencies after disappointing US retail sales data sparked worries about a slowdown in US consumer spending.

US markets lose ground as data shows repossessions and overdue mortgage payments in the US at record levels.

Reuters - U.S. financial markets were rattled by news on Tuesday that late payments on U.S. mortgages had reached their highest level in 3-1/2 years, while regulators began a probe of subprime mortgage lending and called for legislation.

Reuters - Stocks plunged on Tuesday in their second-worst sell-off of the year as the impact of losses in the subprime mortgage group cascaded across the financial sector, knocking down shares of investment banks and traditional lenders.

AP - Sales at the nation's retailers barely budged in February as bad winter weather kept already cautious shoppers away from the malls.

AFP - The dollar traded mostly lower Tuesday after disappointing US retail sales data sparked worries about a slowdown in consumer spending, which could hurt the overall economy.

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have found a new purpose in transforming the $1 trillion domestic energy market.

Galvanized by the record profits at energy companies, the city has shaken off the effects of the Enron implosion.

The need for sweeping views of Central Park has caught on among companies searching for offices, especially in the financial services industry.

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana stops all advertising in Spain after being forced to withdraw an ad.

More than half of all money paid out in insurance claims to UK firms in the last three months of 2006 was due to arson, insurer Axa says.

Reuters - U.S. financial markets were rattled by news on Tuesday that late payments on U.S. mortgages had reached their highest level in 3-1/2 years, while regulators began a probe of subprime mortgage lending and called for legislation.

Reuters - Major U.S. CEOs complained about regulatory burdens in the post-Enron environment at a high-profile conference on regulation and the legal system, while an investor advocate warned on Tuesday that business leaders should not lose sight of what matters to investors.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Tuesday a decline in U.S. housing activity has caused some damage in subprime mortgage markets but was not hurting the overall economy.

Reuters - (Corrects third paragraph to reflect that write-down will affect previously reported earnings)

Reuters - The chairman of Lowe's Cos. Inc. , the second-largest U.S. home improvement retailer, warned on Tuesday that problems in the subprime mortgage sector may hurt its business in some areas.

Former dot-com entrepreneurs have found a new purpose in transforming the $1 trillion domestic energy market.

Stocks fell broadly and sharply after a report on mortgage defaults indicated that the troubled housing market will weaken further.

The trial is one of a host of legal difficulties facing Siemens that has shaken the country unlike any other recent business scandal.

If successful, Citigroup?s takeover of Nikko Cordial would be the biggest foreign acquisition of a Japanese securities company.

Goldman Sachs reported profit of $3.2 billion, setting a record amid growing concern over falling stock prices and an imploding subprime mortgage market.

A Norwegian cellphone company claims that a Russian telecommunications company paid journalists in Ukraine to publish negative articles.

Retail sales rose less than forecast in February as cold weather kept shoppers home.

Clear Channel Communications, the largest United States radio broadcaster, postponed a shareholder vote on its $19 billion sale by a month yesterday to improve the deal?s chances for approval.

The Kroger Company, the nation?s biggest supermarket chain, said fourth-quarter profit rose more than analysts had anticipated as discounts spurred sales.

DETROIT, March 13 (Reuters) ? The General Motors Acceptance Corporation, the former financing arm of the General Motors Corporation, said on Tuesday that it would receive $1 billion more from G.M. under the terms of its spinoff and warned that it would be affected by the weakening market for mortgages.

The clothing retailer J. Crew Group reported a profit in the fourth quarter yesterday, in contrast to a loss a year ago, as sales rose.

US markets lose ground as data shows repossessions and overdue mortgage payments in the US at record levels.

Reuters - Major U.S. CEOs complained about regulatory burdens in the post-Enron environment at a high-profile conference on regulation and the legal system, while an investor advocate warned on Tuesday that business leaders should not lose sight of what matters to investors.

Reuters - H&R Block Inc., the largest U.S. income tax preparer, said on Tuesday that it expects to delay filing its quarterly results with regulators after turmoil in the subprime mortgage market forced it to write down assets at its Option One Mortgage Corp. unit.

Former dot-com entrepreneurs have found a new purpose in transforming the $1 trillion domestic energy market.

Accusing Google and its YouTube site of ?massive copyright infringement,? Viacom said it was seeking more than $1 billion in damages.

The revelations that a dysfunctional board spied on its members and on journalists still casts a shadow on a company that by most measures is performing well.

The turmoil tearing through the residential mortgage market will probably harm everyday investors.

Folgers has opened a new flank in the coffee war: a ?stomach friendly? coffee for Americans who think they can no longer handle the hard stuff.

A compact disc holding vital medical and other personal information of about 75,000 members of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield has disappeared.

A backlash over a spate of advertising with suicide themes has raised questions about ads that are deliberately provocative.

The treasury secretary questioned whether egulators had ?struck the right balance between investor protection and market competitiveness.?

While investment banks are scrambling to get into the hedge fund business, officials say they need to know more about the industry.

American officials see the step by the Treasury as a crucial part of the recent deal to disarm North Korea?s nuclear program.

Clear Channel Communications, the largest United States radio broadcaster, postponed a shareholder vote on its $19 billion sale by a month yesterday to improve the deal?s chances for approval.

The investor Carl C. Icahn bid $955.9 million yesterday for WCI Communities, the Florida builder of condominiums and single-family homes, after saying he wanted to oust the board because the stock was undervalued.