(Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday as investors were reluctant to take large positions in either direction and largely shrugged off weaker-than-expected data on consumer confidence and home prices. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index showed prices of U.S. single-family homes fell almost double the expected pace in October. U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly deteriorated month over month in December, hurt by increasing worries about the jobs market, according to a private report.

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(Reuters) - U.S. single-family home prices fell for a fourth straight month in October pressured by a supply glut, home foreclosures and high unemployment, data from a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 1 percent in October from September on a seasonally adjusted basis, a much steeper drop than the 0.6 percent fall expected by economists.

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(Reuters) - MannKind Corp (MNKD.O) said U.S. regulators need an additional four weeks to complete their review of its experimental diabetes treatment, lifting the hopes of some investors who had expected the drug to be rejected outright and sending the company's stock up 6.4 percent in premarket trading. The Valencia, California-based company said it was informed on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would not make a decision on whether to approve the product, a whistle-sized inhaled insulin device, by its December 29 deadline.

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(Reuters) - The average price of U.S. gasoline rose above $3 a gallon over the past week, reaching its highest level since October 2008, the Energy Department said on Monday. The national price for regular gasoline increased 7 cents from the previous week to an average of $3.05 per gallon, as rising crude oil prices bolstered fuel costs.

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(Reuters) - U.S.-based Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ.O) is looking at having a second stab at setting up a market in Japan with the Osaka Securities Exchange (8697.OS), hoping to attract investors from emerging Asian economies, domestic media reported. The two stock market operators opened the Nasdaq Japan market for start-ups in 2000 but closed it two years later after its order-matching system failed to find favor with Japan's No. 1 broker Nomura Securities and other major players.

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(Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N) failed to win dismissal of a lawsuit by Spring Design Inc accusing the largest U.S. bookseller of illegally copying its dual-display screen design for its Nook electronic retailer. U.S. District Judge James Ware allowed Spring Design to pursue claims accusing Barnes & Noble of misappropriating trade secrets, breach of contract and unfair competition, in a ruling issued Monday evening.

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(Reuters) - The European Central Bank failed to attract the 73.5 billion euros from banks on Tuesday needed to offset its seven-month run of euro zone government bond purchases, instead managing to draw just over 60 billion. The pace of the ECB's government bond purchases picked up last week as the bank spent 1.121 billion euros reflecting the bank's ongoing attempt to calm euro zone debt markets.

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(Reuters) - Recent reforms of euro zone governance have not gone far enough, European Central Bank Governing Council member Yves Mersch said on Tuesday. "The recent European proposals for reform of the economic governance of the euro area go in the right direction, but are not ambitious enough to ensure a healthy and efficient functioning of monetary union," Mersch said in a statement.

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(Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Monday as a surprise interest rate hike from China's central bank over the weekend prompted investors, worried about demand, to sell equities. China's central bank raised interest rates on Saturday for the second time in just over two months as it stepped up its battle to rein in stubbornly high inflation. The People's Bank of China said it will raise the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.81 percent and lift the benchmark deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent.

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(Reuters) - China's central bank took aim at inflation once again on Monday by saying it will control lending and money growth in the world's second-biggest economy to head off price pressures and asset bubbles. In a statement on the central bank's website (www.pbc.gov.cn), Hu Xiaolian, a deputy governor, said China had been normalizing policy and will explore new ways to manage excess cash, which is seen as a major driver behind 28-month high inflation.

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