The economic committee of Ecuador's National Assembly expects to release a report next week on the first debate of a bill to reform the country's mining law.

International companies trading in New York closed mostly unchanged Tuesday ahead of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Two senior Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday played down the chances that the U.S. central bank would signal a readiness to reduce its bond buying at its meeting next month, dampening speculation the Fed's ultra-easy monetary policy might end soon.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow industrials and S&P 500 finishing at record highs, after comments from two Federal Reserve officials suggested that the central bank is not close to tapering its bond-buying program.

The S&P 500 has soared 14.5% since the start of the year.

Sony Corp is considering evaluating a proposal from top shareholder Third Point LLC to spin off part of its movie and music business, Japanese daily Nikkei reported.

A group of 19 large retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) and Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), are opting out of a pending class-action settlement with Visa Inc. (V) and MasterCard Inc. (MA), potentially setting the stage for more battles over transaction-processing fees.

Two senior Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday played down chances that the U.S. central bank would signal a readiness to taper bond buying at its meeting next month, dampening speculation the Fed might soon dial back its ultra-easy policy.

The European Union is willing to deepen trade ties with China but wants to see concessions from Beijing first, documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed.

Glencore Xstrata PLC's (GLEN.LN) head of aluminum, Gary Fegel, plans to leave the company, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing three sources.

A group of 19 large retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) and Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) are opting out of a pending class-action settlement with Visa Inc. (V) and MasterCard Inc. (MA), potentially setting the stage for more battles over transaction-processing fees.

Lawyers for former Goldman Sachs Group Inc board member Rajat Gupta sought to reverse his insider-trading conviction on Tuesday, arguing that wiretap evidence used by the prosecution should not have been introduced at trial.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The United States is poised to introduce stricter rules on the labeling of meat imports this week, a move that is likely to heat up a simmering trade dispute with Canada and Mexico.

An arbitration panel has ordered Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to pay more than $1 million to two Texas corporations that claimed the brokerage kept them in auction rate securities when it knew the market was in trouble.

U.S. stocks posted decent gains in early-afternoon action Tuesday after two Federal Reserve officials made encouraging comments about the central bank's bond-buying program, with one saying it has been effective.

A boutique carmaker led by a former General Motors Co executive Bob Lutz and China's largest auto parts supplier submitted an offer to buy cash-strapped "green" car company Fisker Automotive, people familiar with the matter said.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) boss James Dimon strengthened his grip over the nation's largest bank as shareholders voted overwhelmingly against a proposal to split the chairman and chief executive roles that he's held since 2006.

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) has agreed to buy Grupo Carso SAB's (GPOVY, GCARSO.MX) 20% stake in its Mexico tobacco business for about $700 million, giving the tobacco company complete ownership of its Mexican unit.

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer SA (ERJ, EMBR3.BR) on Tuesday unveiled its third major contract this year to sell jets to a U.S.-based aircraft operator, providing the world's fourth-largest aircraft manufacturer with breathing room for the coming years.

Shane Swanson, an executive who helped build Citigroup Inc.'s (C) equity-trading business before starting a high-frequency trading firm, has rejoined the bank.

U.K.'s benchmark stock index closed at a more than 13-year high on Tuesday, with mining firms recouping parts of the prior day's losses and Burberry Group PLC rallying after a well-received earnings report.

SMI ends 0.5% higher at 8318.42.

The following table lists planned and unplanned production outages at U.S. refineries as reported by Dow Jones Newswires.

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer SA (ERJ, EMBR3.BR) on Tuesday unveiled its third major contract this year to sell jets to a U.S.-based aircraft operator, providing the world's fourth-largest aircraft manufacturer with breathing room for the coming years.

U.S. stocks edged higher Tuesday, as investors monitored speeches by three Federal Reserve officials that might hint at when the central bank will start to scale back its bond-buying program.

Glencore Xstrata's head of aluminum, Gary Fegel, is set to leave the company, three sources said, the first high-profile departure since commodity trading giant Glencore closed its purchase of miner Xstrata this month.

Mexico's antitrust authority recommended Tuesday that Congress approve the government's proposed financial reform in an "expedited manner," as it sees the proposal benefiting consumers.

Former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma said the government is impeding his ability to defend against criminal insider trading charges by trying to link him to an alleged long-running conspiracy for which it has only "vague" details.

Argentina's mining sector is on the ropes as soaring costs and government regulations scuttle dreams of a mining boom in a country better known for its grain and beef exports.

The European Union wants to exclude much of the utility sector from a prospective EU-U.S. free trade agreement in order to protect government controlled infrastructure, the latest draft of the EU's mandate for the negotiations showed on Tuesday.