New York  - Major US stock indices rallied on Tuesday, led by surging steel profits, lower oil prices and a jump in financial stocks despite some worrying new housing data.

US Steel Corp, the second-largest US steel producer, climbed 14 per cent after more than doubling its profits in the second quarter of the year. An index of steelmakers jumped by the most since 2002, according to Bloomberg financial news.

Crude oil fell more than 2.50 dollars to 122.19 dollars per barrel in New York, part of a weeks-long drop since topping 140 dollars per barrel in early July.

New York  - Starbucks will close nearly three-quarters of its stores in Australia as part of a massive ongoing restructuring move to cut costs amid weaker sales, the coffee giant said Tuesday.

The Seattle, Washington-based firm also announced Tuesday that it would cut another 1,000 jobs at its US stores and eliminate its chief operating officer position.

The moves are part of overall cuts that chief executive Howard Schultz said earlier this month would see the closure of 600 under- performing US stores.

New York - Major US stock indices posted steep drops Monday after the International Monetary Fund predicted more losses for financial institutions and "no bottom" in sight to the US housing crisis.

The IMF stood by its prediction of 1-trillion-dollar combined losses in the financial sector stemming from the one-year-old credit crisis in the United States - more than double the writedowns reported to date by banks and mortgage lenders.

New York - Major US stock indices posted steep drops Monday after the International Monetary Fund predicted more losses for financial institutions and "no bottom" in sight to the US housing crisis.

The IMF stood by its prediction of 1-trillion-dollar combined losses in the financial sector stemming from the one-year-old credit crisis in the United States - more than double the writedowns reported to date by banks and mortgage lenders.

New York  - The government in Myanmar has made "quite a lot of progress" in post-Cyclone Nargis reconstruction efforts since the disaster struck in May, the top UN humanitarian affairs official said Monday.

John Holmes returned to New York following a three-day visit to Myanmar, saying he saw a return to normalcy in areas affected by the devastating cyclone, which left more than 140,000 dead and missing people. Some 2.5 million people still need assistance to cope with the disaster's aftermath.

New York  - Chewing gum maker Wrigley said profits rose 14 per cent in the second quarter ahead of its scheduled take-over by candy giant Mars.

Profits were 194 million dollars, or 70 cents per share, the Chicago-based company said. Revenue rose 14 per cent to 1.6 billion dollars.

The company was boosted by the weaker dollar that aided international sales, which accounted for most of the firm's revenues.