Car sales in Europe rose 1.8 percent in August with volume makers Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), Ford (F.N) and Opel (GM.N) benefiting from improved demand in Spain, Portugal and Ireland, while premium makers lost ground due to a drop in sales in Germany.

Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday offered their support to the nation's community banks, acknowledging that the complex financial reform effort is saddling small lenders with a heavy supervision load.

Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) on Tuesday said it plans to buy the remaining 60.5 percent share of Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd (2712.T) that it does not already own in a two-step deal valued at about $913.5 million.

U.S. drugstore chain operator Walgreen Co (WAG.N) is exploring the sale of a majority stake in its infusion services business, in a deal that could value that division at around $1.5 billion, according to four people familiar with the matter.

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, with consumer staples leading the S&P 500 down to its third straight daily loss, as investors grew concerned about the pace of global economic growth.

Shares in drugmakers AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Shire (SHP.L) both fell more than 5 percent on Tuesday after the U.S. Treasury took steps to curb "inversion" deals that allow companies to escape high U.S. taxes by reincorporating abroad.

Euro zone business activity has expanded at a slightly weaker pace than expected in September as firms cut prices for the 30th month in a row, a survey showed on Tuesday.

China, the world's top consumer of cotton, will slash its import quotas for 2015 to boost demand for domestic fiber, a senior official said on Monday, driving futures prices in both China and the United States lower.

Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), has become China's richest man with a fortune estimated at $25 billion, underscoring the ascension of tech tycoons over real estate peers in the world's second biggest economy.

Veresen Inc (VSN.TO), a Canadian pipeline company developing the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas facility in Oregon, said on Monday it has agreed to acquire Global Infrastructure Partners' half interest in the Ruby pipeline system for $1.43 billion.

Standard & Poor's owner McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI.N) said it would sell McGraw Hill Construction to a private equity firm for $320 million.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering a possible antitrust lawsuit against Sysco Corp's (SYY.N) $3.5 billion deal to buy debt-ridden US Foods from private equity, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Blackstone Group L.P. (BX.N) has agreed to buy a stake in China's Xinrong Best Medical Instrument Co, the U.S. private equity firm said in a statement on Tuesday. Blackstone did not give the size of the stake or other financial details.

Standard Chartered (STAN.L) is in advanced talks to sell its Hong Kong consumer finance business to finance firm Pepper Australia Pty Ltd in a deal that could fetch between $500 million to $700 million, people familiar with the deal said.

The stage musical of "The Lion King" has generated the highest total box office of any production in any entertainment medium, with worldwide takings of more than $6.2 billion, a spokesman for Walt Disney Co said on Monday.

Otter Media, a joint venture between telecom giant AT&T Inc and The Chernin Group, has agreed to buy a majority stake in Fullscreen, one of the largest networks on YouTube, the companies announced on Monday.

Jonathan Mosen, who has been blind since birth, spent his evening snapping photos of packages in the mail, his son's school report and labels on bottles in the fridge. In seconds, he was listening to audio of the printed words the camera captured, courtesy of a new app on his Apple Inc iPhone.

Israel's finance and economy ministries on Monday approved a plan by Intel Corp to invest $6 billion in the upgrade of its chip manufacturing plant, in what would be the largest single investment by a foreign company in the country.

Sony Corp said PlayStation TV set-top box, which allows users to access movies and TV episodes from the PlayStation store, will hit stores in the United States and Canada on Oct. 14.

Activity in China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly picked up in September even as factory employment slumped to a 5-1/2-year low, a survey showed on Tuesday, a potential source of worry for Communist leaders who prize social stability above all else.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Monday will meet bondholder and billionaire financier George Soros, who is suing a U.S. bank caught in the middle of the country's latest debt default, a government minister said.

Facebook Inc is set to unveil a new advertising platform to improve effectiveness of online ads, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Asian shares slipped on Tuesday as a periodic bout of angst over China combined with the U.S. dollar's recent meteoric run to pile pressure on commodity prices.

A bitter Air France labor dispute deepened on Monday as management pledged to press ahead with its low-cost airline ambitions and pilots said that an eight day-old strike over the proposals would continue indefinitely as a result.

Fortress Investment Group (FIG.N) is prioritizing investments in hotels in Japan, a senior executive said on Monday, as the U.S. asset manager seeks to cash in on a government drive to boost tourism ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Google Inc has selected HTC Corp to make its upcoming 9-inch Nexus tablet, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Google had been mulling HTC as a potential Nexus tablet partner since last year and HTC engineers have been flying to the Googleplex

Apple Inc said it sold more than 10 million iPhones in the first weekend after its new models went on sale on Friday, underscoring strong demand for phones with larger displays.

U.S. home resales unexpectedly fell in August as investors stepped away from the market, but the decline probably does not signal renewed weakness in the housing sector.

GlaxoSmithKline may have closed one chapter in a saga of corruption allegations by accepting a $489 million fine in China, but the drugmaker has its work cut out to win back skeptical investors.

Drugs and chemicals maker Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE) said it agreed to acquire Sigma-Aldrich (SIAL.O) for $17 billion in cash to boost its Merck Millipore lab supplies business in the biggest takeover in the German group's history, lifting its shares.