WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are events and news reported over the Tuesday ET related to the ongoing crisis and other top news in the global financial system:

* The Q3 2009 GDP report was revised lower, as expected, the U.S. Commerce Dept. reported Tuesday and the data added little to the debate about whether the economy's rebound was simply a result of government stimulus or whether there is momentum that can be sustained into the holiday selling season. Q3 real GDP was revised to +2.8%, a weaker showing from the original estimate of +3.5%. Consumption (now +2.9%) and nonresidential housing spending (now -4.1%) were revised lower, and net exports came in at a deeper deficit than originally assumed. These changes were anticipated because source data differed from assumptions.

* Data through September 2009, released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index improved in the third quarter of 2009, posting its second consecutive quarterly increase and further improvement in its annual rate of return. The 10-City and 20-City Composites recorded annual declines of 8.5% and 9.4%, respectively. These two indices, which are reported at a monthly frequency, have generally seen improvements in their annual rates of return every month since the beginning of the year. [09:00 ET]

* The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index was up 2.8% in the third week of November following a 2.0% gain the prior week. Month-to-date, November was up 2.1% compared to November of last year (relative to a target of a 2.2% gain). Month-over-month showed a 4.8% gain relative to October (in-line with the target). November is a four-week month on the retail calendar ending on November 28th. [08:55 ET]

* As 15 percent of households completed half or more of their holiday gift buying -- the highest percentage reporting that since 2004's holiday season -- for the week ahead of Thanksgiving, retail sales were steady compared with the prior week. For the week ending November 21, the weekly sales index compiled by the International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc. (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs (GS) was unchanged from the prior week (0.0%), but posted a 3.3 percent rise compared with the same week of 2008. An easy year-on-year comparison with the 0.8 percent drop from November 22, 2008 lifted the current reading to its highest pace since July 14, 2007 (+3.4%). [07:45 ET]

* China will maintain a stable yuan, a senior Chinese diplomat said Wednesday, even as it continues to reform the exchange rate mechanism. Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun told a press briefing that it is not yet clear whether there will be discussions about the yuan-euro exchange rate at upcoming talks between Chinese and European officials. But he did say that the government will keep the yuan "basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level." [03:48 ET]

* The Bank of England's November Inflation Report is not forecasting a particularly strong recovery, Governor Mervyn King said Tuesday in evidence to the Treasury Select Committee. Nevertheless, the hope is that the BOE is coming to the end of large scale quantitative easing, his colleague MPC member Adam Posen told the TSC. If the recovery materialises as the BOE expects, it appears the stg25 billion QE extension approved in November could be the last. [Updated 06:24 ET]

* Industrial orders in the eurozone continued to expand in September on the back of strong demand for heavy transport equipment as well as for other capital and consumer goods, Eurostat reported on Tuesday. On the month, industrial orders increased 1.5%, slightly more than generally expected, narrowing the annual decline to 16.5% from 23.2% in August. On a quarterly basis, new orders jumped 7.7% in 3Q after 2Q's 1.7% gain. [05:00 ET]

* UK mortgage approvals in October hit their highest level since January 2008, while nudging up 0.4% on the month, according to BBA data. The number of seasonally adjusted mortgage approvals stood at 42,238 in October, up from 42,073 in September. The number, while still below longer run averages, was the highest since the start of June 2008. Approvals for remortgaging fell to 20,685 from 21,054 in September.[04:30 ET]

* The German regional state bank WestLB is in negotiations with the government's Financial Market Stabilisation Fund (SoFFin) on moving non-strategic activities of around E85 billion to a separate clearing institute, the Duesseldorf-based bank said Tuesday. [07:40 ET]

* The rapid recovery in French service sector morale in recent months all but came to a halt in November, as was the case in industry, the national statistics agency Insee said Tuesday. After a 25-point recovery since April, Insee's sector sentiment index edged up one point to 86 in November, remaining well below the long-term average of 100. [06:18 ET]

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday cautioned that the path of the country's economy is still hard to predict. "We are moving on extremely fragile and unpredictable ground," Merkel said at a conference organized by the German Employers Association (BDA) in Berlin. [05:57 ET]

* The president of the German Employers Association (BDA), Dieter Hundt, warned Tuesday of the imminent risk of a credit crunch in Germany, and he urged the government to help banks prop up their proprietary capital. [05:11 ET]

* Contrary to expectations, the improvement in French industry morale was interrupted in November as orders stagnated, weighed down by a decline in foreign demand, the national statistics institute Insee said Tuesday. [03:18 ET]

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **