U.S. health regulators have approved GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE:GSK) pill, Tykerb, for patients with advanced breast cancer after other treatments have failed, the company said on Tuesday. Glaxo shares recovered earlier losses after the late afternoon news and closed down $0.75 at $55.25 on the NYSE.

Qualcomm (NDAQ:QCOM) raised its forecast for fiscal Q2 earnings and revenue, citing stronger-than-expected worldwide demand for products based on its CDMA mobile phone technology. Shares rose 3% on the news, which followed an update from bigger rival Texas Instruments the night before. TI narrowed its forecast range for the quarter but kept the midpoint steady. Wireless chip and technology license supplier Qualcomm forecast quarterly earnings of $0.48 to $0.49 a shar, compared with its previous estimate of $0.42 to $0.44 a share. It raised its revenue outlook for the quarter ending April 1 to $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion, up from its previous estimate of $2 billion to $2.1 billion.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said on Tuesday that he would launch a tender offer for home builder WCI Communities (NYSE:WCI) in which he has about a 14.6% stake, at $22 per share. He said he would ensure the assets are properly managed through the current housing industry downturn. Icahn has agitated for change at many companies and is currently also seeking board seats at Motorola and Temple-Inland. Shares of WCI soared nearly 15%.  

Real estate investment trust Spirit Finance (NYSE:SFC) said has accepted a takeover bid from a consortium led by Macquarie Bank for approximately $1.6 billion in cash, or $14.50 per share. The purchase price represents an 11% premium over Spirit's closing price of $13.05 on the NYSE Monday and a 15% premium over its 90-day average closing price. Including about $1.9 billion in assumed debt, the deal is valued at $3.5 billion. In addition, the consortium agreed to buy about 6.15 million shares of Spirit common stock at $12.99 each, or $79.9 million. Spirit will use proceeds from the private placement to fund real estate-related activities.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), the largest Wall Street investment house, on said  its Q1 profit rose 29% to a company record on robust trading gains and investment banking fees. New York-based Goldman reported earnings applicable to common shareholders rose to $3.15 billion, or $6.67 per share, for the quarter ended Feb. 23, compared to $2.45 billion, or $5.08 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 22% to $12.73 billion from $10.43 billion in the year-ago period. Results surpassed Wall Street projections for earnings of $4.97 per share on $10.69 billion in revenue, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial. However, Goldman's shares fell $3.52, or 1.8%, to close at $199.08 on the NYSE, which was in line with a selloff in the broader market.

Oil prices fell Tuesday to settle under $58 a barrel, as a decline in the stock market stirred worries about the economy and demand for energy.