AP - Record crude prices helped oil giant ConocoPhillips' second-quarter profit climb 13 percent from adjusted results a year ago, beginning what is expected to be a string of robust earnings announcements from major oil companies.

Reuters - Construction and mining equipment company Caterpillar Inc said on Tuesday that its quarterly earnings rose a surprising 34 percent as strong sales in the developing world offset continued weakness in North America and creeping softness in Western Europe and Japan.

Reuters - Three major U.S. airlines reported losses on Tuesday, sapped by soaring fuel costs, but stocks in the sector rose sharply as investors hoped falling crude oil prices signaled relief ahead.

AP - Customers are using UPS shipping services within the U.S. less amid a slumping U.S. economy and soaring fuel prices. The company's international business was affected as imports into the country declined in the second quarter.

AP - Surprisingly large second-quarter losses at Wachovia Corp. and Washington Mutual Inc. have quickly revived concerns that the financial sector still has a long way to go before it recovers from the year-old credit crisis.