Oilman T. Boone Pickens says he's pushing his alternative energy proposal to Congress not because he wants to make money through his own businesses, but because he knows how to solve the nation's energy problem.

U.S. consumers are going to continue to feel pain until housing prices stabilize, even though global growth remains mostly strong, General Electric Chairman Jeff Immelt said.

To fend off inflation, the Federal Reserve probably will need to boost interest rates "sooner rather than later" even if employment and financial conditions haven't revived, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said America's housing market could turn a corner and begin recovering within months, but it will take longer to resolve all housing-related problems.

Following weak US tech reports shares of Vodafone tumble on revenue guidance while Ericsson also sinks sharply.

Weaker oil cushioned a fall in European shares on Tuesday, but stocks ended a four-session winning streak as Vodafone's outlook disappointed, while credit market worries dogged the financial sector.

The dollar rallied sharply on Tuesday, boosted by a steep drop in oil prices and comments from a Federal Reserve official suggesting that U.S. interest rates may have to rise even before financial markets recover.

The index of leading U.S. economic indicators slipped 0.1 percent in June, showing that the limping economy is still far from being on the mend, the Conference Board reported.

As losses mount at American banks and the pain of the credit crisis spreads from housing and finance to the broader economy, many small companies complain it is increasingly difficult to obtain loans.

The British economy is heading into recession and interest rates should fall to "well below" their current 5 percent, Bank of England policy-maker David Blanchflower was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview.

The U.S. economy may have avoided a recession but will grow below trend for some time as firms face higher prices for a range of goods that will cut into profits, according to a panel of economists surveyed.

Gains in financial stocks lifted European shares on Monday as markets cheered Bank of America's stronger-than-expected quarterly results, while declines in Roche offset some of the gains.

Australia's producer prices rose by less than expected last quarter thanks to falling costs for a range of imported goods, perhaps lessening the risk of an alarmingly high reading for consumer inflation later this week.

The dollar slipped on Monday, losing some of its recent momentum, after better-than-expected earnings from Bank of America failed to convince investors that the worst for the U.S. financial sector is over.

The U.S. economy needs months to recover from its slowdown, but the banking system remains sound despite a home mortgage crisis that could cause more problems, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said.