(Reuters) - A nascent recovery in the housing market helped Home Depot Inc report higher quarterly sales and earnings on Tuesday, prompting the world's largest home improvement chain to boost its sales outlook for the year.

MUMBAI/BANGALORE (Reuters) - IT outsourcing company iGate Corp said it had sacked its chief executive, Phaneesh Murthy, for not disclosing a relationship with a subordinate after investigating one of the industry's best-known executives for sexual harassment.

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar edged up, gold steadied and European shares held near five-year highs on Tuesday as investors look out for U.S. Federal Reserve signals on the future of its stimulus program.

LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone posted the largest ever fall in its main revenue measure on Tuesday, forcing it to keep a dividend from its healthy U.S. arm to compensate for a slump in southern Europe.

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Using an unusual global tax structure, Apple Inc has kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to pay little or no taxes to any government, a Senate report on the company's offshore tax structure said on Monday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Asian prime brokerage unit of Credit Suisse has replaced Morgan Stanley as the second largest firm servicing the region's $148 billion hedge funds industry, a survey showed.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc will buy blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion cash, giving the Internet pioneer a much-needed social media platform to reach a younger generation of users and breathe new life into its ailing brand.

(Reuters) - The Justice Department on Monday asked a federal judge to deny Standard & Poor's motion to dismiss a government lawsuit against the ratings agency, saying its statements on certain financial products were fraudulent and not mere "puffery".

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc raised $1.1 billion by selling its remaining shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ending a seven-year old investment and handing the Wall Street firm a return of nearly four times its original stake.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp said its Japanese suitor SoftBank Corp granted it a waiver allowing it to consider a $25.5 billion rival bid by Dish Network Corp, as pressure mounts on SoftBank to sweeten its offer for the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier.

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - As final ballots come in on a proposal to strip JPMorgan Chase & Co Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon of his chairman title, some worry about what will happen if shareholders win what will likely be a close vote.

(Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc may repay its U.S. Department of Energy loan as early as Wednesday, Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a message on Twitter on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force plans to start operational use of Lockheed Martin Corp.-built F-35 fighter jets in mid-2016, a year earlier than planned, using a similar software package as the Marine Corps, two sources familiar with the plans said on Monday.

(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co , under pressure from New York officials, gave shareholders information about an upcoming vote that would increase oversight of Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon. But the ballot details may have come too late for some investors.

SHANNON, Ireland (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flies to Oman on Tuesday for Raytheon Co's signing of an estimated $2.1 billion arms deal and to consult on Syria and Iran, U.S. officials said.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc will buy blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion cash, giving the Internet pioneer a much-needed social media platform to reach a younger generation of users and breathe new life into its ailing brand.

SHANNON, Ireland (Reuters) - Raytheon Co , one of the largest U.S. weapons makers, is expected to sign an estimated $2.1 billion deal to sell Oman an air defense system while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits the Gulf state this week, U.S. officials said.

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Using an unusual global tax structure, Apple Inc has kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to pay little or no taxes to any government, a Senate report on the company's offshore tax structure said on Monday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - United Airlines said on Monday it expects to have its entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners back in service this week, as the airline's first flight with the new jetliner in four months landed safely in Chicago.

(Reuters) - A federal court on Monday ruled in favor of Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc on the interpretation of patent language in a case involving a generic challenge to its lead drug Cubicin by Hospira Inc .