(Reuters) - Stocks looked set to grind to fresh highs on Tuesday as corporate results and mergers supported a steady upward trend in the equity market. U.S. stock indexes continue to make new highs after taking out key technical resistance levels. The S&P 500 has rallied nearly 6 percent this month to two-year highs, and is up around 21 percent from its lows this year.

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(Reuters) - The world's major central banks said on Tuesday they would extend emergency supplies of U.S. dollar funding to money markets, in a sign that authorities remain concerned about financial instability as governments grapple with debt problems. The European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank extended their U.S. dollar liquidity providing operations with the U.S. Federal Reserve until August 1, signaling the situation in money markets is still fragile.

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(Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank will buy Chrysler Financial from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $6.3 billion, joining the throng of Canadian institutions expanding foreign operations. The deal, comprising net assets of $5.9 billion and about $400 million in goodwill, will make Canada's No. 2 bank one of North America's top five bank-owned auto lenders. It consists of net assets of $5.9 billion and about $400 million in goodwill, TD said on Tuesday.

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(Reuters) - Portugal was put on notice that its credit rating could be cut and fellow euro zone debtor Spain had to pay more to issue new debt on Tuesday, suggesting the currency bloc's crisis will rage unabated in 2011. China, the world's new economic powerhouse, urged European policymakers to demonstrate as a matter of urgency that they can contain and then rectify the euro zone's debt problems.

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(Reuters) - Regulators are looking into the events surrounding Mark Hurd's abrupt exit as chief executive of Hewlett Packard Co, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. The SEC's probe was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous sources as saying the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating claims that Hurd shared inside information with an ex-contractor ahead of its $13.9 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems in 2008.

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(Reuters) - Toyota Motor has agreed to pay the maximum fine of $32.4 million related to two U.S. probes into its handling of a spate vehicle recalls which hurt sales and tarnished its once impeccable reputation for quality. The settlements conclude a tumultuous year for the world's largest automaker over the recalls of 11 million vehicles in the United States and disclosure of problems blamed by safety advocates for hundreds of crashes and the deaths of dozens of people.

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(Reuters) - Ireland's central bank fined Allied Irish Banks (AIB) (ALBK.I) and its stockbroking unit NCB 2.1 million euros ($2.8 million) and said such penalties would play a bigger role in future crackdowns on lenders. The financial crisis exposed the failings of the country's "light-touch" regulation and the central bank, which has since beefed up its bank supervision, also said on Tuesday it would create a dedicated enforcement directorate for 2011 and 2012.

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(Reuters) - Google is in talks with smaller players in the online discount coupon market after Groupon turned down the web giant's $6 billion buyout offer, the New York Post said, citing a source close to the situation. Groupon's smaller rivals LivingSocial and BuyWithMe may now be on Google's radar after Groupon deal fell through, the Post said. BuyWithMe interim President David Wolfe, who declined to comment on whether he was speaking to Google, told the Post that he believes Google needs to enter the coupon advertising market.

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(Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc issued an earnings forecast sharply above Wall Street projections, contrasting sharply from a pessimistic outlook three months ago when it was concerned about the weak economy. Its shares surged more than 7 percent after-hours. The world's biggest maker of design software forecast on Monday that it will post current-quarter profit, excluding items, of 54 to 59 cents a share, beating the average analyst forecast of 51 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It also projected revenue of $1 billion to $1.05 billion, ahead of the average forecast of $992 million.

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(Reuters) - China's central bank is considering changing a key component of its monetary policy management by altering the way it manages bank credit, three sources close to the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Under the proposed changes, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) may judge how much a bank can lend by looking at its capital adequacy ratio, liquidity conditions and provisions for bad loans.

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