There is now somewhere to take some of the 99.1 million television sets that sit unused in closets and basements.

Russian and Ukrainian officials met Monday to seek ways to pay for Russian natural gas and avert a repeat of energy shortages that left some E.U. citizens without heat last winter.

No country lived more enthusiastically in the credit bubble, and none paid a higher price when it burst. Other countries would do well to pay attention.

The Supreme Court ruled that a decision to scrap the results of a promotional exam led to discrimination.

A unit of Johnson & Johnson said that a jury has ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay $1.67 billion in a patent infringement suit over rheumatoid arthritis drugs.

A bill recently introduced in Congress would standardize the size of carry-on bags and require the Transportation Security Administration to enforce the limits.

Iraq will auction contracts to run eight oil and gas fields live on television on Tuesday in its first big tender since 2003.

Music, film and computer game retailer HMV reports an 18% rise in annual profits, thanks to rising sales and cost savings.

UK house prices increased by 0.9% in June, according to the latest survey from the Nationwide building society.

Reuters - Asian stocks and the Australian dollar rose on the last day of the second quarter, as investors kept adding to bets global economic activity is rebounding, having driven Chinese shares to the highest in a year.

Reuters - Japan pledged to prop up loss-making chip maker Elpida Memory Inc (6665.T) with up to $1.7 billion in public and private capital and loans, the country's first capital injection in a company since the financial crisis.

Reuters - General Motors Corp is close to a deal with Belgium-based RHJ International to sell a stake in Opel, and a memorandum could be signed within days, the Financial Times reported citing a person close to the sale process.

The Malaysian government further eases restrictions on ownership of listed firms, having liberalised them earlier this year.

Retailer HMV reports an 18% rise in annual profits, saying it was helped by the collapse of former rivals Woolworths and Zavvi.

Carpetright reports a 72% fall in profits after being hit by the weakness in the housing market and the wider recession.

Reuters - Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, the last day of a torrid quarter, as investors added to trades based on a rebound in economic activity, while funds slashed bets against a fall in oil prices to keep crude on track for its biggest quarterly gain in 19 years.

Reuters - A U.S. federal jury returned a $1.67 billion verdict against Abbott Laboratories in a patent suit brought by Johnson & Johnson related to arthritis treatments, the drug companies said on Monday.

Reuters - American International Group Inc , the insurer rescued by a series of federal bailouts, is set to pad out its shrinking board on Tuesday when a new slate of directors stands for election at its annual meeting.

An auction of licenses to develop Iraq?s oil reserves began but seemed to run into difficulties when companies demanded far more remuneration than the authorities were ready to pay.

The justices set new standards for hiring and promotion tests that could have a broad impact on employment law.

The UK economy contracted 2.4% in the first quarter of 2009, its biggest decline in 51 years, the latest data shows.

The eurozone's annual rate of inflation turned negative in June for the first time since the currency started in 1999.

German unemployment rose in June to 8.3%, official figures show, but the increase was smaller than expected.

The Serious Fraud Office says it has frozen $100m of accounts in London in connection with Sir Allen Stanford's alleged fraud.

Shares in building trade supplier Wolseley rise 4% after the sudden departure of its chief executive.

Reuters - Stock futures pointed to a higher start on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.1 percent at 5 a.m. EDT.

Reuters - Efforts to save two leading European carmakers took a twist on Tuesday that could change the ownership of both crisis-hit General Motors Corp's Opel and German sportscar maker Porsche (PSHG_p.DE).

Reuters - The world's airlines lost more than $3 billion in the first quarter of 2009, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday, maintaining its estimate for full-year losses of $9 billion.

Swarms gathered to catch a glimpse of the man who defined an era of greed and fraud on Wall Street.

Britain?s gross domestic product fell 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from the previous quarter. Year on year, the economy?s decline was the largest ever.

By propping up Elpida Memory, Japan hopes to salvage its only major maker of dynamic random access memory chips, considered vital to its electronics industry.

An auction of licenses to develop Iraq?s oil reserves began but seemed to run into difficulties when companies demanded far more remuneration than the authorities were ready to pay.

Investors are awaiting big economic indicators this week, including the Bank of Japan?s survey of business sentiment, Chinese manufacturing data and the U.S. employment report.

Starting Wednesday, the federal Education Department will begin offering a repayment plan that lets college graduates reduce their loan payments, based on their income.

About 47,000 elderly Americans are treated in emergency rooms each year from falls associated with walkers and canes, according to a study.

Matt Egan, 24, is a stock market reporter for the Fox Business Network, but his dream job would be to cover the Mets.

German carmaker Porsche has its request for a loan from the government turned down.

China agrees to give Zimbabwe a loan of $950m (£573m) to help revive its wrecked economy, says Prime Minister Tsvangirai.

Why India's biggest airline is in serious trouble

Employers in the UK have saved themselves £4.5bn a year by closing their final salary pension schemes.

A union says it is 'astonished' by the scale of job losses at Lloyds as the banking group cuts a further 2,100 jobs.

Reuters - U.S. stock futures were flat on Tuesday ahead of a batch of new data that may give investors insight into the state of the recession-hit economy on the last day of the second quarter.

AP - Amazon.com has cut ties with Rhode Island Web sites that make referrals to the online retailer because a law designed to collect sales taxes on these transactions will soon come into force, the Providence Journal reported Tuesday.

Prices continued to fall in April amid rising unemployment and new foreclosures. But the pace of declines leveled off slightly, according to the Standard & Poor?s Case-Shiller index.

By propping up Elpida Memory, Japan hopes to salvage its only major maker of dynamic random access memory chips, considered vital to its electronics industry.

HONG KONG ? Companies from China, the world?s fastest-growing consumer of oil, bid aggressively as Iraq began auctioning licenses in six large oil fields.

China on Tuesday indefinitely delayed enforcement of a new rule requiring manufacturers to install Internet filtering software on all new computers.

European stock markets were little changed after a mixed performance in Asia as investors awaited closely-watched economic reports later this week.

Global Gaming Factory X said that it had bought the Pirate Bay for $7.8 million and that it would start a business model intended to compensate both content operators and copyright owners.

The ruling for a group of white firefighters may bring more litigation over job discrimination.

Several of the companies bidding for contracts to operate Iraq's oil and gas fields reject the oil ministry's terms.

Amnesty International urges the new head of oil firm Shell to end years of pollution and environmental damage in Nigeria.

An external audit of the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has failed to find millions of dollars' worth of 'missing' gold.

Why India's biggest airline is in serious trouble

Reuters - Stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday after a report showed the price of U.S. homes in April fell at a lower-than-anticipated pace, while investors awaited data on consumer confidence and business activity.

Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence fell in June after two straight months of gains.

Reuters - Prices of U.S. single-family homes fell in April from March but the pace of the decline moderated, suggesting stability is emerging in some regions, according to Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes released on Tuesday.

The administration?s proposal for the new agency marks the first shot in a battle with financial institutions over how to regulate home mortgages, credit cards and other forms of lending.

The report recommended priorities for the Obama administration as it spends $1.1 billion to compare the effectiveness of drugs, medical devices, surgeries and other treatments.

Markets fell sharply as subdued readings on consumer confidence and a continued slide in home prices reminded investors that the economy was a long way from sound.

General Motors went to bankruptcy court to begin the process of selling its best assets to a government-backed company that would become the linchpin of its turnaround plan.

Oil and gas companies were demanding far more for their services than the Iraqis were ready to pay.

China on Tuesday indefinitely delayed enforcement of a new rule requiring manufacturers to install Internet filtering software on new computers.

The regulations, aimed at cracking down on the use of virtual currencies, could deal a blow to the country?s fast-growing online gaming industry.

Under a new deal, HCL Technologies, based in India, will manage Snapple?s computer networks, but may be hiring in the United States to do it.

Popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay has been sold to a Swedish gaming company GGF.

China is delaying a plan requiring all new computers to be equipped with internet filtering software, state media says.

A union says it is 'astonished' by the scale of job losses at Lloyds as the banking group cuts a further 2,100 jobs.

Japanese industrial output rose 5.9% in May, the third consecutive monthly climb, with car production especially strong.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after U.S. consumer confidence data showed a surprise drop, raising doubts about the speed of an economic recovery, and falling oil prices sank energy shares.

Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence took an unexpectedly steep slide in June, figures released on Tuesday showed, suggesting the 18-month-long recession had yet to loosen its grip on the economy.

Reuters - Billionaire investor George Soros on Tuesday predicted a 'stop-go' economy for the United States, saying fears of inflation will drive up interest rates and choke off growth.

AP - Chase said Tuesday it has approved 138,000 trial mortgage modifications for struggling homeowners in the past three months.

AP - Protests are planned in more than a dozen cities across the country to demand that a group of mortgage companies who benefited from federal bailout money participate in a government program designed to prevent foreclosures.

The administration?s proposal for the new agency marks the first shot in a battle with financial institutions over how to regulate home mortgages, credit cards and other forms of lending.

By propping up Elpida Memory, Japan hopes to salvage its only major maker of dynamic random access memory chips, considered vital to its electronics industry.

China on Tuesday indefinitely delayed enforcement of a new rule requiring manufacturers to install Internet filtering software on new computers.

The regulations, aimed at cracking down on the use of virtual currencies, could deal a blow to the country?s fast-growing online gaming industry.

Farmers in the U.S. planted their second-largest corn acreage since 1946, surprising traders who thought cold, wet spring weather in the Midwest shrank corn sowings.

Lloyds said it expected to cut nearly 1,800 jobs over the next three years as it consolidates the merger of Lloyds TSB and Halifax/Bank of Scotland.

Tesco's treatment of workers in the US, Thailand and South Korea has come under attack from the international union, UNI.

Reuters - Very accommodative Federal Reserve monetary policy will stay for an extended period and a premature exit from this strategy could thwart U.S. economic recovery, a top Fed official said on Tuesday.

Reuters - World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday that financial markets are showing signs of stabilization, but warned that the global crisis was far from over in developing countries.

Reuters - A new U.S. agency would have sweeping powers to write and enforce tough consumer protection rules for banks, mortgage lenders and other financial institutions under proposed legislation the Obama administration sent to Congress on Tuesday.

General Motors offered tens of thousands of workers early retirement in its rush to downsize, raising questions about the long-term strength of its pension plan.

The report recommended priorities for the Obama administration as it spends $1.1 billion to compare the effectiveness of drugs, medical devices, surgeries and other treatments.

A judge revoked bond for R. Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire accused of masterminding a $7 billion fraud.

J. Ezra Merkin, who lost $2.4 billion of his clients? money to the Madoff fraud, planned to sell his art collection for $310 million to help in reaching a settlement with New York?s attorney general.

Patients who received a bioengineered protein during spinal fusion procedures had far more complications than patients who did not, according to a study released Tuesday.

As G.M. and Magna International attempt to conclude a deal for Opel, G.M. is talking with other potential buyers to win better terms, officials in the negotiations said.

For the past couple of months, data have revealed a growing divergence between Western economies and those in much of Asia, notably China and India.

British Airways wants staff to accept a two-year pay freeze, according to documents seen by the BBC.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Tuesday as an unexpected drop in consumer confidence dented optimism about an economic recovery, but the S&P 500 still closed out its best quarter in more than a decade.

Reuters - St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Tuesday that public anger over the U.S. financial crisis and subsequent bailouts could cause big problems if this escalated into a political challenge to the independence of the U.S. central bank.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday that it supports President Barack Obama's push to require large employers to offer health insurance to workers.

Reuters - The Obama administration sent Congress a draft bill on Tuesday to create a new agency with sweeping powers to impose tough consumer protection rules for banks, mortgage lenders and other financial firms, setting up a summer-long political brawl over the plan.

J. Ezra Merkin, who lost $2.4 billion of his clients? money to the Madoff fraud, planned to sell his art collection for $310 million as part of an accord with New York?s attorney general.

Oil and gas companies were demanding far more for their services than the Iraqis were ready to pay.

A conversation with Tom Adams, who successfully took the language software company Rosetta Stone public despite the economic downturn.

Under a new deal, HCL Technologies, based in India, will manage Snapple?s computer networks, but may be hiring in the United States to do it.

Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford is ordered to remain in jail until his fraud trial begins, as a US judge overturns a bail ruling.

The US accuses UBS of violating US laws and insists the Swiss bank reveal the names of suspected US tax cheats.

Richard Bowker, the chief executive of transport group National Express, will step down, the BBC has learned.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Tuesday as an unexpected drop in consumer confidence cooled recent optimism about an economic recovery, but Wall Street still closed out its best quarter in a decade.

Reuters - U.S. securities regulators are considering changing how companies are required to disclose stock options awarded to executives, people familiar with the Securities and Exchange Commission's thinking told Reuters on Tuesday.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday that it supports President Barack Obama's push to require large employers to offer health insurance to workers.

AP - The Treasury Department said Tuesday that it has approved three more firms for its mortgage relief program.

A judge revoked bond for R. Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire accused of masterminding a $7 billion fraud.

J. Ezra Merkin, who lost $2.4 billion of his clients? money to the Madoff fraud, planned to sell his art collection for $310 million as part of an accord with New York?s attorney general.

Patients who received a bioengineered protein during spinal fusion procedures had far more complications than patients who did not, according to a study released Tuesday.

Little companies have a tough time being noticed by the big chains they hope will carry their merchandise. One that made the grade is KIND Fruit + Nut Bars.

Developers are trying to make lots on inactive farmland and even industrial land more attractive by putting crops in the ground.

Global Gaming Factory X said that it had bought the Pirate Bay for $7.8 million and that it would start a business model intended to compensate both content operators and copyright owners.

How India's shopkeepers beat new modern rivals

Trading standards officers call for a ban on online knife sales after a machete was sold to a 15-year-old for £1.50 over the internet.

Reuters - Gannett Co. Inc Co, which owns top-selling newspaper USA Today, is laying off more than 1,000 staff to try and combat persistent declines in revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Among people counted as medically insured are some whose limited policies leave them at risk of financial ruin.

Wall Street finished its best quarter in years on Tuesday, but it would take almost three more rallies to return markets to where they were before the financial crisis.

G.M. has offered early retirement to tens of thousands of workers, raising questions about the fund?s viability.

The administration?s proposal for the new agency marks the first shot in a battle over how to regulate home mortgages, credit cards and other forms of lending.

When the financial crisis struck the global economy last autumn, European governments moved swiftly to keep their biggest banks from falling into an abyss ? never mind fears over nationalization.

Support for public service campaigns is usually stronger during economic downturns because media companies prefer to run classy-looking, altruistic ads to fill space.

General Motors went to bankruptcy court to begin the process of selling its best assets to a government-backed company that would become the linchpin of its turnaround plan.

Japanese business confidence pulled back from a record low hit three months ago as widely expected, the Bank of Japan?s tankan corporate survey showed.

Sirius XM, which has suffered with the auto industry?s downturn, may now be set to benefit from any recovery.

Tough economic times have meant that only 54 or 240 units at Fox Hill have closed in the six months since the project was completed.

Oil and gas companies were demanding far more for their services than the Iraqis were ready to pay.

The regulations, aimed at cracking down on the use of virtual currencies, could deal a blow to the country?s fast-growing online gaming industry.

Reuters - The recession is likely to end later in 2009, ushering in a 'frustratingly slow' recovery marked by continued high unemployment, a top Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

AFP - Britain's biggest retailer Tesco is a potential bidder for nationalised bank Northern Rock, which the government is reportedly considering selling later this year, The Times newspaper has reported.

Wall Street finished its best quarter in years on Tuesday, but it would take almost three more rallies to return markets to where they were before the financial crisis.

G.M. has offered early retirement to tens of thousands of workers, raising questions about the fund?s viability.

Finra, an industry-funded regulatory body, says financial firms that advised local governments could face disciplinary action.

A.I.G. shareholders got apologies, but little else, from company executives at the insurer?s first annual meeting since its emergency bailout.

The administration says the goal is to promote openness and efficiency regarding information technology.

In Japan, the closely watched Tankan survey of big manufacturers bounced back from a record low it hit in March, coming in at minus 48 in its June survey.

Some home video duties could be handed off to other studios, saving Paramount millions.

A rule requiring manufacturers to install Internet filtering software on new computers was delayed one day before the deadline for the software to be installed on all computers sold in China.

The president?s economists made a critical mistake in forecasting the unemployment rate: relying on the same models that had failed to predict the crisis.

Reuters - U.S. benchmark lending rates could stay near zero for a couple of years based on the amount of slack now in the economy, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen said on Tuesday.