BC-Business News Preview

Among the stories Tuesday from The Associated Press:

TOP STORIES:

HOMES-SOLAR-ELECTRIC CARS

DETROIT — Owners of electric vehicles have already gone gas-free. Now, a growing number are powering their cars with sunlight. Solar panels installed on the roof of a home or garage can easily generate enough electricity to power an electric or plug-in gas-electric hybrid vehicle. The panels aren't cheap, and neither are the cars. By Auto Writer Dee-Ann Durbin. SENT: 830 words, photos.

SYRIA-FRAYING ECONOMY

DAMASCUS, Syria — The middle-aged salesman sat glumly among an array of shorts, khaki leisure suits bedecked with gold belts and dresses with plunging necklines in the ancient Damascus bazaar — luxuries few can afford in today's Syria. He, like many traders, lost most of his customers when Syria's uprising erupted in 2011 against the rule of President Bashar Assad, and his new clientele is far poorer: Syrians fleeing the fighting with barely any possessions. Now, he fears there's even worse to come, as the U.S.-led bombings of the Islamic State group target the country's modest oil reserves under the militants' control, sending oil and diesel prices soaring. By Diaa Hadid. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

MARKETS & ECONOMY:

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence rebounds strongly in October, as solid job gains raised expectations for economic growth. The Conference Board says that its confidence index climbed to 94.5, reversing a dip to 89 in September from a nearly seven-year high of 93.4 in August. By Josh Boak. SENT: 270 words, photo.

DURABLE GOODS

WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. companies for long-lasting manufactured goods fell for a second month in September, while a key category that signals business investment plans dropped by the biggest amount in eight months. The declines, however, were likely a temporary soft patch that will likely be followed by a resumption of stronger growth. By Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 500 words, photo.

HOME PRICES

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices grew more slowly in August amid modest sales, a trend that could help make homes more affordable for buyers in the months ahead. By Christopher S. Rugaber. SENT: 510 words, photo.

FINANCIAL MARKETS

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose early Tuesday as investors weighed earnings reports from several companies and awaited news from a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that ends tomorrow. By Bernard Condon and Joe McDonald. SENT: 530 words, photos. UPCOMING: 700 words by 5 p.m.

— NIGERIA-STOCK EXCHANGE — The Nigerian Stock Exchange says it's become a full member of the World Federation of Exchanges just as it prepares to woo Asian fund managers. SENT: 150 words.

INDUSTRY:

EMIRATES-MACY'S

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Middle East is getting the world's first Macy's department store outside the United States, and just for good measure, its second Bloomingdale's too. Property developer Gulf Related and Dubai-based retail conglomerate Al Tayer Group says they plan to open both stores in a new shopping center being built in the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi. By Adam Schreck. SENT: 470 words, photos.

AMERICAN AIRLINES-FREQUENT FLIERS

DALLAS — American Airlines and US Airways will combine their frequent flier programs early next year and, for now, will continue to base free flights on how many miles customers fly. By David Koenig. SENT: 150 words. UPCOMING: Will be updated.

— MARVEL CHARACTERS-COPYRIGHT — Spider-Man, X-Men and The Hulk will loom large in a federal appeals court as Disney battles for the rights to Marvel's iconic comic book characters in a longtime dispute. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: Will be updated from 10 a.m. hearing.

— EBOLA-SWITZERLAND-VACCINE — The Swiss agency that regulates new drugs says it has approved an application for a clinical trial with an experimental Ebola vaccine at the Lausanne University Hospital. SENT: 280 words, photos.

— BRITAIN-LLOYDS — Britain's Lloyds Banking Group says it will eliminate 9,000 jobs over the next three years and shut some 200 branches in a bid to improve efficiency. SENT: 310 words, photos.

— MISSING INVESTMENT ADVISER — A former Georgia investment adviser who vanished after losing millions of clients' dollars and was mistakenly declared dead is facing a potential 30-year prison sentence. SENT: 140 words. UPCOMING: Will be updated from 9:30 a.m. sentencing.

EARNINGS:

— BRITAIN-EARNS-BP — British oil company BP says its earnings have fallen in the third quarter as the price of crude oil dropped globally. SENT: 130 words.

— EARNS-AETNA — Aetna became the latest major health insurer to thump analyst expectations for the third quarter and then raise its forecast for 2014. SENT: 480 words, photo.

— EARNS-DUPONT — The DuPont Co. says that strong performance in its nutrition and health unit and lower raw material costs contributed to an increase in third-quarter earnings. SENT: 410 words, photo.

— EARNS-PFIZER — Pfizer reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings Tuesday as higher sales in emerging markets like China helped offset missing revenue from former blockbuster drugs that have lost patent protection. SENT: 440 words, photo.

— JAPAN-EARNS-HONDA — Honda's net profit for the July-September quarter surged nearly 18 percent but the Japanese automaker lowered its earnings forecast for the full year Tuesday, pointing to difficulties in China and its home Japan market. SENT: 360 words, photo.

— EARNS-UBS— Swiss banking giant UBS AG is reporting a third-quarter net profit of 762 million Swiss francs ($803 million), up 32 percent from the comparable period a year ago based on solid returns from its investment banking and wealth management. SENT: 140 words, photos.

— EARNS-NOVARTIS — Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG has posted a 45 percent rise in net profit in the third quarter, boosted by strong sales of new products such as Gilenya for multiple sclerosis and the leukemia drug Tasigna. SENT: 140 words, photo.

— EARNS-SANOFI — French drug maker Sanofi sees its stock price plunge after it reported a slide in quarterly earnings and warned of pricing pressure on its blockbuster diabetes treatment in the U.S. SENT: 320 words.

AUTOS:

— FIAT CHRYSLER-QUALITY CHIEF — Doug Betts, Fiat Chrysler's longtime quality chief, abruptly leaves the company, one day after its brands performed poorly in Consumer Reports magazine's annual reliability rankings. SENT: 370 words, photo.

— GENERAL MOTORS-PRODUCTION — General Motors is moving production of a critical component in the Chevrolet Volt from Mexico to Michigan. GM CEO Mary Barra is expected to announce the plan in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club. SENT: 140 words. UPCOMING: Will be updated from speech.

TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:

— APPLE-ALIBABA — Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple's new mobile payment system had over 1 million activations in the first three days after it became available, and is now more widely used than any competing payment system. SENT: 580 words.

— LOWE'S-ROBOTS — The robots are coming. Lowe's is testing whether new bots on wheels can improve its customer service, like helping a shopper find a match for something as simple as a nail. Four robots are being tested an Orchard Supply Hardware store owned by Lowe's Companies Inc. in San Jose, California. SENT: 250 words, photo.

— JAPAN-INDIA-SOFTBANK — Japanese telecommunications company Softbank Corp. says it bought stakes in two Indian technology companies and could splash $10 billion on investments in the country over the next decade. SENT: 350 words, photo.

— CALL OF DUTY-WALMART — The latest installment in the blockbuster "Call of Duty" video game franchise goes on sale next week and those that need to be first in line will have to head to Wal-Mart. SENT: 150 words.

INTERNATIONAL:

— SWEDEN-INTEREST RATES — The Swedish central bank cuts its key interest rate to 0 percent, saying the economy is "relatively strong" but that inflation is too low. SENT: 320 words.

— CHINA-AFGHANISTAN — Afghanistan's new president visits Beijing seeking Chinese help in rebuilding his country and promoting regional stability. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai received pledges of hundreds of millions of dollars in aid in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also plans to urge potential investors to help bankroll Afghanistan's development, especially its mining industry. SENT: 630 words, photos.

— CLIMATE CHANGE — The European Union's environment agency says the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions dropped by nearly 2 percent last year, putting the EU very close to reaching its emissions target for 2020. SENT: 290 words.

— TURKEY-MINE COLLAPSE — A coal mine in southern Turkey collapses, trapping 18 workers underground as water surged near them, officials said — an event likely to raise even more concerns about the nation's poor workplace safety standards. SENT: 230 words.