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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reporting a 10.1 percent increase in first-quarter profit as the world’s largest retailer’s re-emphasis on low prices continues to woo back bargain-hungry shoppers in an uncertain economy.

Wal-Mart says that it earned $3.74 billion, or $1.09 per share, in the quarter ended April 30. That compares with $3.39 billion, or 97 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Net sales excluding membership fees from Sam’s Club rose 8.6 percent to $112.2 billion.

Analysts had expected $1 guaranteed online personal loans.04 per share on net sales of $110.5 billion.

Revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 2.6 percent at its Wal-Mart’s namesake U.S. division. That’s above the 1.4 percent estimate from Wall Street.

The company is offering an upbeat profit outlook for the current quarter.

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U.S. stocks sank Tuesday, although the major indexes closed off session lows, as Greece’s uncertain political situation keeps investors on edge.

The Dow Jones industrial average () fell 76 points, or 0.6%, to 12,932. The S&P 500 () tumbled 6 points, or 0.4%, to 1,364. The Nasdaq () declined 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,946.

The selling picked up steam during the morning, with the S&P 500 touching a 2-month low, as stocks in Europe fell sharply. But major indexes in the United Sates pared losses in the last hour of trading.

All eyes continue to be on Europe, after Greece’s main center-right party failed to form a coalition government. Now, the left-wing coalition, which is opposed to austerity as the way to close Greece’s debt gap, will have three days to form a government.

The latest development is feeding investors’ fears that Greece might have to drop out of the eurozone.

"The political stalemate in Greece is casting a shadow over risk markets in general and equities in particular," said Nick Stamenkovic, investment strategist at RIA Capital Markets in Edinburgh. "Investors are questioning whether Greece will be a part of the single currency at the end of this year."

The Greek stock market fell 3.6%, adding to sharp losses in the previous session.

Greece could drop euro but tragedy won’t follow

As various parties grapple with forming a coalition government in Greece, it’s looking increasingly likely that new elections will need to be held, most likely in mid-June. That throws into question whether Greece will be forced to renegotiate its bailout funding.

Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday laid out the radical agenda he hopes to pursue if he becomes prime minister, including the cancellation of international loan agreements to Greece that forced the country into sharp budget cuts.

Meanwhile, European Union leaders are grappling with the need to boost economic growth during a time of austerity. Early Tuesday, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy set May 23 as the date for an unscheduled EU summit, announcing on his Twitter feed that it would be an "informal dinner."

In addition to the "re-circulating woes in Europe," investors were also rattled by weak sales numbers from McDonalds, said Peter Tuz, portfolio manager at Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Va.

"More uncertainty in Europe is not good for U.S. markets, nor is the weakness in consumer-oriented stocks," said Tuz.

U.S. stocks recovered from a shaky start Monday, following elections in France and Greece over the weekend payday loan.

World markets: European stocks fell sharply late in the day to end lower. Britain’s FTSE 100 () was down 1.7%. The DAX () in Germany shed 1.9%. In France, the benchmark CAC 40 () fell 3% one day after Socialist party leader Francois Hollande won the nation’s presidential election.

In the bond market, investors bought €1.3 billion worth of short-term Greek government bills out of €2.6 billion offered. The yield was 4.69%, up from 4.55% at the last auction in April.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite () slid 0.1% and the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong lost 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei () rose 0.7%.

Companies: Shares of fashion accessories maker Fossil () plunged after it reported first-quarter revenue that fell short of even the lowest forecasts.

Fast-food chain Wendy’s () reported operating income of 1 cent a share, falling short of analysts’ forecasts for a profit of 3 cents a share.

Shares for Electronic Arts () slipped after the video-game maker cut its first-quarter outlook for the period ending in June.

The Government Accountability Office issued a report Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury may eventually turn a $15.1 billion profit on its bailout of insurer AIG (, Fortune 500) when all final payments and asset sales are complete.

McDonald’s Corp.’s (, Fortune 500) same-store sales increased 3.3%, both globally and in the U.S. market. Analysts were expecting sales to grow 5%, according to Reuters. Sales rose 3.5% in Europe, but only 1.1% in the unit that includes Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

In other corporate news, shares of DirecTV (, Fortune 500) slipped even as the broadcast satellite provider reported slightly better earnings and sales in line with forecasts.

Entertainment conglomerate and Dow component Walt Disney (, Fortune 500) will report earnings after the close. The studio had a blockbuster weekend with "The Avengers," which broke records with box office sales of $200.3 million during opening weekend. Those sales will not be included in this report, while an estimated $200 million in losses on epic bomb "John Carter" will.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained strength against the euro and British pound, but fell versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for June delivery fell 93 cents to end at $97.01 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery dropped $34.60 to settle at $1,604.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell Tuesday, leaving the yield at 1.84%. 

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The Obama administration tightened rules on hydraulic fracturing Friday, requiring the disclosure of chemicals used in the process when done on federal and American Indian lands.

The new rules will also require additional testing of oil and gas well construction and require the industry to have a management plan for the water used in the process.

"This proposed rule will strengthen the requirements for hydraulic fracturing performed on federal and Indian lands in order to build public confidence and protect the health of American communities, while ensuring continued access to the important resources that make up our energy economy," the Interior Department said in a statement.

The move is part of a broader administration effort to increase rules for the controversial practice. Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency tightened air pollution requirements for new oil and gas wells.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is known, has unleashed a boom in energy production in the United States by allowing the production of oil and gas from shale rock. It has reduced the country’s oil imports, boosted natural gas production and provided thousands of jobs.

Most major oil companies are now involved in shale oil and gas production, including Exxon Mobil (, Fortune 500), Royal Dutch Shell (, Fortune 500) and BP ().

But the process has also raised fears of ground water contamination and is suspected of causing mild earthquakes.

Fracking involves injecting water, sand and some chemicals deep into the earth to crack shale rock, which allows oil and gas to more easily flow. Critics fear the chemicals are seeping into the groundwater.

Obama tightens oil and gas drilling regulations

About 20% of the nation’s natural gas production and 30% of its oil production is done on federal lands.

The oil and gas industry has long resisted disclosing what chemicals it uses in the fracking process, arguing they were trade secrets and that disclosure would harm their competitive advantage.

But environmentalists and public health officials lobbied for the disclosure, saying it was needed to monitor for pollution and effectively treat workers involved in accidents.

The ingredients used in fracking vary widely, and can include everything from sulfuric acid and benzene to instant coffee and paraffin wax.

While the industry initially resisted disclosing the formula, it has gradually been moving in that direction under intense public pressure. Many states now require disclosure, and many companies list at least some of the ingredients on a website called FracFocus.

Environmentalists were pleased with Friday’s announcement but said even more should be done.

They said the new rules only require chemical disclosure after the fracturing has been done. What’s needed, they say, is disclosure before the job so residents can do baseline testing of their water.

"We think the administration can and should have done more here to protect human health and the environment," said Amy Mall, a policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council. The government "should not propose rules that are weaker than what any state has on the books."

Most fracking regulations are controlled by the states, but environmentalists have argued that the federal government should play a greater role.

The industry maintains the state rules are sufficient, and having the federal government involved adds an unnecessary layer of regulation that is both costly and time consuming.

In reacting to the new rules Friday, the industry didn’t seem too concerned with the proposal itself, but was leery of a bigger federal presence.

"The states have proven time and again that they are the best place for responsible regulation of drilling operations," The American Petroleum Institute’s Erik Milito said in a statement. "While it appears constructive changes have been made, we are still reviewing the new proposal to see how the agency addressed the various concerns that we’ve raised."

The trend in fracking regulation has been moving toward an increased federal role. Many analysts say the increased regulation is both necessary to convince the public the process is safe and affordable for the industry.

The Obama administration is generally supportive of fracking, but with increased oversight.

There still exists two extremes in this fight, with some in the industry opposing any new rules and some critics arguing the process should be banned altogether.

–CNN’s Poppy Harlow contributed to this report 

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South Sudan’s military spokesman says Sudanese aircraft dropped 10 bombs in an oil-rich region near a military base south of the shared border.

Col. Philip Aguer said Friday that the bombs were dropped late Thursday afternoon. He said two civilians were wounded in the bombings, which took place on the town of Laloba, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Unity State capital of Bentiu in South Sudan.

The attacks came one day after Sudan announced it had accepted an agreement put forward by the African Union to return to talks with South Sudan Same day payday loans. The agreement demands both sides adhere to a cease-fire.

Major violence between the two sides has flared in recent weeks, pushing the region to the edge of all-out war.

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Italy

Dubai says it now has full control of the Atlantis resort hotel perched atop its palm-shaped island.

State-run investment firm Istithmar World said late Friday it paid $250 million to buy out financially troubled business partner Kerzner International Holdings Ltd., which had held a 50 percent stake in the coral-colored hotel. Istithmar already owned half of the property.

Kerzner will continue to operate the resort, which includes a waterpark and 18 restaurants, Istithmar said.

It agreed to give up its stake in the Dubai property and a similar resort in the Bahamas after struggling to restructure $2.6 billion in debt. Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management acquired the Bahamas property in a previously announced deal by agreeing to waive $175 million in debt owed by Kerzner.

Kerzner said it plans to use proceeds from the Dubai sale to reduce its debt load.

Istithmar is part of Dubai state conglomerate Dubai World, which has struggled with high-profile debt troubles of its own. It owns upscale retailer Barneys New York and has a stake in performance company Cirque du Soleil.

“This acquisition is in line with our strategy of managing our assets for value and investing selectively where growth opportunities exist,” Dubai World’s chairman, Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, said in a statement cheapest personal loan rates.

Istithmar’s parent Dubai World was at the heart of Dubai’s financial meltdown in 2009. It signed an agreement to restructure some $25 billion in debt last March.

The Atlantis is one of Dubai’s better-known tourist destinations. It is a mainstay of city tours, vying for attention with the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, and more traditional offerings such as the old gold and spice markets. Ads for the hotel greet Dubai airport passengers on arrival.

Atlantis opened for business in September 2008, shortly after a construction fire damaged part of the brightly painted lobby.

A lavish coming-out party for the resort two months later cost $20 million and featured a celebrity guest list that included Robert DeNiro and Lindsay Lohan. Australian pop star Kylie Minogue provided the entertainment.

The 1,537-room hotel is at the top of the Palm Jumeirah, the first of Dubai’s palm-shaped manmade islands and the only one that is developed. Visitors arrive by monorail or by traveling through an underwater tunnel.

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The hole in Spain’s economy is getting deeper.

The government reported Friday that unemployment rose to 24.4 percent in the first quarter _ compared with 22.9 percent in the fourth quarter _ and that more than half of Spaniards under 25 are now without jobs. The bleak employment report came one day after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded the country’s debt.

The Spanish economy is in recession for the second time in three years as the damage from a housing bust persists. Foreclosures are rising, Spain’s banks are in worse financial shape and the government’s deficit is hitting worrisome levels.

The first-quarter employment data showed that 365,900 people lost their jobs, bringing the number of unemployed Spaniards to 5.6 million. The unemployment rate for people under 25 climbed to 52 percent, up from 48.5 percent in the previous quarter.

“The figures are terrible for everyone and terrible for the government,” Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told Spanish National Radio. “Spain is in a crisis of enormous magnitude.”

The total number of unemployed increased by 729,400 compared with the first quarter of 2011. The National Statistics Institute said Friday that Spain now has 1.7 million households in which no one has work.

The figures were another blow to the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy after Standard & Poor’s late Thursday became the first of the three leading credit rating agencies to strip Spain of an A rating. It cited a worsening budget deficit, worries over the banking system and poor economic prospects for its decision to reduce the rating by two notches from A to BBB+.

S&P even warned that a further downgrade is possible as it left its outlook assessment on Spain at “negative.”

Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, is just now just three notches above so-called junk status. Earlier this week, the Bank of Spain confirmed that the country had entered a technical recession _ two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

The country’s economic problems have become the epicenter Europe’s debt crisis in recent weeks as investors worry over Spain’s ability to push through austerity measures and reforms at a time of recession and mass unemployment.

The cuts are aimed principally at slashing the government’s deficit from 8.5 percent of economic output to the maximum level set by the European Union of 3 percent by 2013. For this year the goal is 5.3 percent.

With the economy shrinking and the population restless, there are concerns that the government will not meet its targets and will be forced into seeking a financial rescue as Greece, Ireland and Portugal have done before.

The difference is that Spain’s economy is double the size of the combined economies of the three countries that have already been bailed out. The other eurozone countries would struggle to muster enough money to rescue it.

The government later Friday released a flurry of upbeat data on how it plans to turn the economy round between 2012-2015. Despite the dismal job numbers, it predicted a roughly balanced budget in 2016.

But there was more pain, too. Economy Minister Luis de Guindos announced an increase next year in indirect taxes. He said this measure will raise (EURO)8 billion ($11 billion) in new revenue to help chip away at a bloated deficit.

The conservative government has already raised income and property taxes, and announced cuts in spending on health care and education. The forecast is for the economy to shrink 1.7 percent this year.

Foreseeing the economic downturn, businesses have been laying people off at a faster rate than expected, said IESE Business School economics professor Antonio Argandona. New laws also make it easier for companies to shed workers at low cost.

Argandona said Spain is not now at risk of needing a bailout because its government is still solvent. But even if the economy returns to growth next year as forecast, the jobless rate will lag behind and unemployment could hit 26 percent, he added.

The mood among Spanish people out on the streets Friday was downcast.

“The situation is very bad. There’s no work,” said Enrique Sebastian,a 48-year-old unemployed surgery room assistant as he left one of Madrid’s unemployment offices.

“The only future I see is one with wages of (EURO)400 ($530) a month for eight-hour days. And that’s if you can find it,” said Sebastian.

Markets in Spain initially reacted negatively to the twin news but soon recovered their poise alongside the rest of Europe as the downgrade was largely viewed as a belated acknowledgment of the market realities.

The main IBEX index, having fallen more than 1 percent earlier, recovered and was up 1.2 percent in early afternoon trading. Meanwhile investors sold off Spanish bonds in a show of jitters. The interest rate, or yield, on the country’s ten-year bond was up 0.07 of a percentage point to 5.87 percent, having touched 6 percent earlier.

Though the yield is below the 7 percent rate widely considered unsustainable in the long-run, it has edged up over the past month from below 5 percent in a clear sign investors are fidgety over its economic prospects.

Gayle Allard, a labor market expert at IE Business School, said that while a jobless rate of 24.4 percent is terrible, Spain is traditionally a high unemployment country. Three times in the past 30 years it has exceeded 20 percent, Allard said.

“It is something that, somehow, they live with. Things go underground. I don’t know what they do. They hide money in good years and they pull it out in bad years,” Allard said.

____

Pylas contributed from London. Ciaran Giles and Jorge Sainz contributed from Madrid.

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OTTAWA

Global financial regulators have failed to create clear standards for banks, meaning lenders are hoarding cash instead of providing loans needed to drive growth, European Banking Federation President Christian Clausen said.