(Reuters) - Stocks climbed on Tuesday as optimism that new aid for Greece was on the horizon lifted the euro against the dollar, overshadowing another round of weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data. Rising expectations for a second aid package sent oil higher, with U.S. crude futures up 2 percent to $102.48 a barrel. Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) added 1 percent to $83.47, and Chevron Corp (CVX.N) gained 1.4 percent to $104.60. The S&P energy index .GSPE climbed 1 percent.

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(Reuters) - Single-family home prices dropped in March, dipping below their 2009 low, as the housing market remained bogged down by inventory and weak demand, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.2 percent in March from February on a seasonally adjusted basis, in line with economists' expectations.

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(Reuters) - Consumer confidence slid in May as consumers turned more pessimistic on the outlook for the labor market and inflation worries rose, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 60.8 from a revised 66.0 in April. The reading was below economists' forecasts for 66.5.

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(Reuters) - European officials met on Tuesday to sketch out options for a second bailout package for Greece, with private sector participation still under discussion to help relieve the country of its massive debt burden. Senior EU finance officials gathered in Vienna to prepare the ground for more high-level talks on the Greek debt crisis. Sources said a range of policy steps were on the table, including a "Vienna Initiative"-style debt rollover and bond maturity extensions.

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(Reuters) - Japan's economy offered more signs of recovery from the deadly March earthquake on Tuesday, but Moody's ratings agency warned both growth and government action may fall short of what is necessary to bring Tokyo's ballooning debt back under control. Industrial output rose 1 percent last month after a record plunge immediately after the magnitude 9.0 quake and a tsunami it set off, and companies said they planned to crank up output further in May-June, bringing it close to pre-disaster levels.

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(Reuters) - Mobile phone maker Nokia Oyj slashed its sales and profit outlook on Tuesday and scrapped forecasts for 2011 due to tumbling prices and intense competition, sending its shares crashing 15 percent. Nokia, once the undisputed force in the mobile phone market, has seen its position challenged in recent years, particularly losing ground in the smartphone market to newcomers Apple Inc and Google Inc.

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(Reuters) - Apple Inc said Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave, will open up the iPhone maker's annual developers' conference next week with a keynote speech. Apple shares rose almost 2 percent after it said on Tuesday that "Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off" the conference on June 6. The statement did not make clear exactly what role Jobs would play or if he is coming back from medical leave.

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(Reuters) - Pension funds and endowments are sending hedge fund managers a friendly message -- let us sit in the front seat with you, please. As hedge funds take on a growing role in institutional investment portfolios, large investors, including the California Public Employees Retirement Scheme (Calpers) and the British Airways Pension Investment Management, have written a guide to help managers better understand exactly what they want.

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(Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen formally launched its bid for MAN on Tuesday, in a move toward creating Europe's biggest truckmaker. VW's chairman Ferdinand Piech has long been itching to combine MAN and Sweden's Scania to take on the world's biggest truck maker, Daimler, and number two Volvo, but has been hampered by anti-trust issues and resistance from Scania.

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(Reuters) - Fast Retailing Co (9983.T) Japan's leading apparel chain, said it expected a sales boost from shoppers seeking lighter clothing this summer as temperatures rise and half the nation turns its air conditioners on low to conserve power. Government officials have asked businesses and households in greater Tokyo, which accounts for about 40 percent of Japan's economic activity, and in northeast Japan to cut electricity use by as much as 15 percent during the peak summer months.

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