AFP - Europe's main markets slumped on Tuesday, the start of the third quarter, as oil prices jumped back toward record highs, fuelling worries about rising inflation.

AP - Each week, Ira Cooper opens a letter from another supplier with the same message as the last: We're raising our prices, effective immediately. We can't tell you how long the new prices will last.

Reuters - Former New York Stock Exchange chief Richard Grasso won another big victory on Tuesday in his efforts to keep his $187.5 million pay package, with a court throwing out state officials' remaining claims against him.

Reuters - Manufacturing expanded in June for the first time in five months, helped by a weak dollar, but inflation pressures soared to their highest since the stagflation-ravaged 1970s, according to a report that highlighted the bind facing policy-makers.

Reuters - Stocks cut losses on Tuesday, with both the S&P and the Nasdaq (.IXIC) turned positive after General Motors Corp reported stronger-than-expected June sales, helping temper worries about the impact of high fuel prices on corporate earnings.

Reuters - General Motors Corp posted an 8.3 percent decline in June U.S. auto sales after adjusting for sales days in the month, a better-than-expected result for the embattled automaker.

AFP - Approaching the halfway point through 2008, Wall Street is mired in worries about a sputtering US economy and surging energy costs as the market braces for second-quarter corporate results.

Reuters - Florida sued mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp on Monday for predatory lending practices, alleging the company at the center of the U.S. mortgage crisis made subprime loans to people who could not repay them.

Reuters - Most Asian stock markets were down on Tuesday as oil and food prices showed no signs of defusing stagflation fears, particularly with soybean prices at a record and oil above $141 a barrel.