NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire financier George Soros is donating $100 million to Human Rights Watch over the next 10 years, the group said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Silicon Valley technology giant Oracle Corp has hired Mark Hurd, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co who resigned amid a scandal, as president.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. employers were more aggressive about cutting jobs and otherwise lowering costs during the recession than their peers in other parts of the world, according to a global study by Towers Watson and Co , a global consultancy and professional services firm.

Sep.7 - Retail sales for August in the UK improved against the same period last year but shoppers hold off making expensive purchases.

Ingrid Smith, Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Change swept through the top of Britain's banks on Tuesday as Barclays said its investment banking supremo Bob Diamond will take over as chief executive and HSBC was expected to say its chairman is going into government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury Department said on Tuesday it plans the auction of warrants in The Harford Financial Services Group Inc. and Lincoln National Corp. over the next several weeks.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers made a fresh attempt on Tuesday to settle their differences over taxation of banks and trading as they prepared to approve the creation of new financial watchdogs.

TAIPEI/SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chipmaker, warned of an oversupply in the computer memory chip market from next quarter as a sputtering global economy may further weaken PC sales.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - American International Group Inc plans to seek Hong Kong listing committee approval on September 21, to list its Asian life insurance unit, aiming to raise about $15 billion, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday.

(Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has seen a surge in tip-offs concerning alleged corporate fraud as the Financial Reforms Act offers millions of dollars in bounty payments to whistleblowers, the Wall Street Journal said.

BANGALORE (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice department is looking into Google Inc's takeover of airline ticketing software firm ITA Software Inc, to determine whether the deal would exert too much influence on the online travel industry, the Wall Street Journal said.

Sep 7 - Australian shares lead the region lower Tuesday amid an end to the nation's election impasse, while the Reserve Bank holds interest rates steady. Dan Sloan reports.

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks edged down from the previous day's one-month high on Tuesday while the euro fell broadly as renewed concerns about Europe's banking sector encouraged investors to pause after a recent rally.

Sep 7 - The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady, keeping its very limited firepower on hold until the impact of the strong yen becomes clearer. Dan Sloan reports.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China must resist external pressure for yuan appreciation because a stronger exchange rate would take a big bite out of economic growth, according to a pair of senior government researchers.

HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) - American International Group Inc is leaning toward a new sale of its Taiwan unit, according to one of the original buyers, opening the way for a number of Taiwanese banks who have expressed interest.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou reshuffled his cabinet early on Tuesday to try to better deal with the debt crisis and signaled he would stay the fiscal course by leaving his finance minister unchanged.

Sep.7 - Legendary Formula One designer Gordon Murray is aiming to revolutionise low-cost vehicle manufacture with his first city car, the T.25.

Andrew Potter, Reuters

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, scrambling to jump-start job creation in a sluggish economy, proposed a six-year plan on Monday to rebuild aging roads, railways and runways with an initial $50 billion investment.

Sept 6 - In a move aimed at jump-starting the economy, President Obama announced a six-year plan to revamp America's aging roads, railways and runways. Jon Decker reports.