Business

Reuters - Major U.S. auto retail groups on Tuesday posted quarterly results that underscore their mixed success in offsetting pressure from slumping new vehicle sales through sales of used cars, financing and service operations.

Reuters - The Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting on Tuesday that was expected to end with a small interest rate cut that could be the last in a string of reductions dating to mid-September.

Reuters - Consumer confidence fell to a five-year low this month as Americans confronted the grimmest jobs outlook since late 2004, while data also showed a record drop in home prices in February.

AP - Soaring gas prices and weaker job prospects made Americans gloomier about the economy in April, sending a widely watched measure of consumer sentiment to a five-year low, a private research group said Tuesday.

Business

Reuters - Confidence in Merck & Co's earnings prospects withered on Tuesday, along with its stock price, after U.S. regulators surprisingly rejected the drugmaker's treatment to raise levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.

Reuters - Oil fell more than $2 a barrel on Tuesday, retreating further from a record high hit a day before, as the dollar firmed and a strike ended at Britain's Grangemouth refinery.

Reuters - Countrywide Financial Corp , the largest U.S. mortgage lender, posted a surprisingly large $893.1 million first-quarter loss on Tuesday, taking more than $3 billion of charges for write-downs and bad loans as the housing slump deepens.

Reuters - Stocks declined on Tuesday after news of a sharp drop in consumer confidence and regulators rejected a key new drug from Merck & Co Inc , a Dow component and a pharmaceuticals bellwether.

Reuters - Confidence among U.S. consumers fell to a five-year low in April as they confronted the grimmest jobs outlook since late 2004 and they expect inflation to rival the levels last seen in the early 1980s, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.

AP - Office Depot Inc., the nation's second biggest office-supply chain, said Tuesday its first-quarter profit dropped 55 percent due to North American sales declines, but results still managed to top Wall Street's expectations. Its shares rose 7 percent on premarket trading. More Info...  

AFP - Swiss banking giant UBS on Monday declined comment on a report which claimed that the group, currently the worst-hit financial institution by the subprime home loan crisis, would cut 8,000 jobs.

Reuters - Increasing confidence that the worst of the credit crisis is over boosted world stocks on Monday while inflation concerns grew with oil prices heading towards $120 a barrel.

Reuters - Should earnings keep beating analysts' forecasts next week, they are likely to be the big prop for stocks even if economic data such as Friday's April payrolls data turns out to be a disappointment. More Info...  

Reuters - Dell Inc.'s direct sales model that turned the company into one of the world's top computer makers is "not a religion," and it is exploring other ways to reach customers, CEO Michael Dell said.

Reuters - U.S. auto industry sales have dropped far below expectations for April, a Ford Motor Co. executive said on Friday as rival General Motors Corp. rolled out an incentive program intended to boost crucial month-end sales.

Business

Reuters - AT&T Inc. chief Ed Whitacre said on Friday he will retire in June after building the largest U.S. telecommunications service provider through seven large acquisitions over the past decade.

Reuters - General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has cut his base salary by a quarter to $1.65 million in a gesture of support for the automaker's turnaround efforts, the company said on Friday.

Reuters - U.S. stock futures edged lower on Friday but would likely not stray far from the broader market's six-year highs after Microsoft Corp reported strong earnings after the bell on Thursday.

Reuters - Radio broadcasters, facing increased competition from iPods and satellite radio, are pushing a new digital format called HD Radio that has so far failed to win over U.S. carmakers.

Business

Reuters - Microsoft Corp. posted a 65 percent rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, topping Wall Street estimates due to better-than-expected demand for its new Windows Vista operating system.