The fund used to safeguard U.S. bank deposits dropped to a negative balance of $8.2 billion in the third quarter, the first shortfall since 1992, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said Tuesday.

Stocks opened lower Tuesday, after soaring to new 2009 highs on Monday, as a report showed the economy grew less than expected in the third quarter.

Big banks are roaring back. At crisis' edge last year, they are repaying billions of dollars dumped into their vaults to rescue them. Dividend checks are accumulating at the Treasury. Taxpayers won't recoup the full sum of the government's unprecedented infusion to the financial sector, but the returns are ahead of schedule.

A three-way split among Britain's monetary policymakers at their last meeting should be no surprise as policy nears a turning point, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said on Tuesday.

U..S. stock index futures were mixed Tuesday after Monday's gains which gave the U.S. stock market a positive start towards continuing a historical trend.

The 13.5 billion pound ($22.3 billion) rights issue was priced at 37p per share, on the basis of 1.34 new shares for every existing share, a 59.5 percent discount to Monday's close.

Bank of China is studying various ways to raise capital but has no plans for now to do so, the Beijing-based lender said on Tuesday.

Japanese cabinet ministers increased the pressure on the Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Tuesday to respond to persistently falling prices after the government declared the country has entered its second bout of deflation in less than a decade.

"Bonus" has become a dirty word on Wall Street, prompting image consultants to advise the biggest financial firms to use euphemisms that carry less stigma as the season of lavish payouts approaches.

Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers paid their executives largely in stock, and that stock lost most or all of its value when those companies collapsed. But three professors at Harvard - citing a study - dispute that executives at Bear and Lehman were wiped out along with their companies. The New York Times reports.

Chinese banking regulators are putting pressure on the country’s banks to raise more capital and temper their rapid growth in lending, in the clearest signs yet of official concern about the sustainability of the nation’s credit boom, reports the New York Times.

Several U.S. policy makers consider JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon as a potential successor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the New York Post said, citing sources.

The tiniest U.S. small businesses, which led the broader economy into the past two recessions and are widely regarded as the best hope for job creation in any recovery, are showing signs of improved confidence and financial health, according to a new study.

Lloyds Banking Group got strong demand for a 9 billion pound ($14.9 billion) bond exchange, an indication of possible appetite for the UK bank's record share issue due to price on Tuesday.

For the first time in a decade, more people paid their credit card bills on time in the third quarter this year than in the second quarter.