European shares fell back in early trade on Tuesday from the 10-month closing highs they hit in the previous session as investors took profits and after declines in Asia. At 0832 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.4 percent at 971.54 points. The European benchmark index is still up 50

Britain's leading shares shed 0.5 percent in early trade on Tuesday, giving back some of Monday's gains in tandem with losses overnight in Asia as investors paused for breath after markets hit fresh 10-month highs. By 0752 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was 23.66 points lower at 4,872.57 after closing 45.34 points higher on Monday,

World stocks fell back after five days of gains on Tuesday and the dollar firmed as investors waited for more clues on whether the global economic recovery was truly picking up steam. Emerging markets led declines. China's volatile Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.6 percent but investors were not likely to be overly concerned given its

Japan's Nikkei average drifted lower on Tuesday, hit by profit-taking after surging 3.4 percent the day before, with investors finding few reasons to buy actively before Japan's Aug. 30 election and U.S. economic data. Exporters lost ground after leading Monday's rally, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell in the wake of losses in U.S. peers

U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, seeking to keep him in place to steer the world's largest economy out of its deepest downturn since the Great Depression. Obama will interrupt his vacation on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard to make

Asian shares and commodities slipped on Tuesday in a partial reversal of the previous day's solid gains, but many investors stuck to the sidelines awaiting more clues on whether the global economic recovery is picking up steam. European shares were also poised for a retreat, with futures on the Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50 down 0.9

The White House and the Congressional Budget Office are expected to release new estimates on Tuesday of the scope of federal budget deficits and the health of the U.S. economy. The Obama administration already has previewed its forecast for this year's budget gap: $1.58 trillion, down from an earlier projection of $1.84 trillion. The nonpartisan

Ben Bernanke began as Federal Reserve chairman by meekly promising to maintain the status quo. He ended up facing the worst downturn since the Great Depression and changing central banking in ways that will reverberate for decades. Bernanke took office promising to follow in the footsteps of his storied predecessor, Alan Greenspan, and to bring

A 400 billion euro plan to power Europe with Sahara sunlight is gaining momentum, even as critics see high risks in a large corporate project using young technology in north African countries with weak rule of law. Desertec, as the initiative is called, would be the world's most ambitious solar power project. Fields of mirrors