EGYPT

The violent protests in Egypt could deal a major blow to the country’s vital tourism industry, a development that could be economically crushing to the already riot-ravaged country.

Dow Jones Index was up 21.99 points, or 0.19 percent, to 11,845.69 and the S&P 500 index rose 4.54 points, or 0.36 percent, to trade at 1,280.88. Meanwhile, Nasdaq gained 0.39 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,687.28.

Iranians have found their access to major news websites even more restricted than usual as more foreign sites were blocked by a government filter, Reuters witnesses observed on Monday.

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Monday as merger activity and expectations for solid earnings overshadowed concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt to other parts of the Middle East.

[Gold] buying continued on fears the unrest in Egypt will spread across the Middle East, says Richcomm Global Services in Dubai. But Asia's gold market is less sensitive to what happened in Middle East compared to New York, said a Hong Kong dealer in a note this morning.

Protests in Egypt sparked a sell-off in Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) shares as investors feared disruption in operations, said an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in December to post the sixth straight month of gains as households drew down on their savings to fund purchases, government data showed on Monday.

Investors have pulled out hundreds of millions of dollars out of riot-torn Egypt since the uprising began last week, leading to fears that if the crisis continues, Egypt may not have enough in currency reserves to prevent a longer-term economic and financial crisis.

Israel, which has been at peace with Egypt since 1979, has expressed its support for the beleaguered regime of President Hosni Mubarak, while its allies in Europe and the U.S. have more aggressively pushed Mubarak to enact reforms in the face of a massive uprising.

Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based Arabic news network which has already been shut down in Egypt, said six of its English-speaking journalists have been arrested in Egypt, amidst continuing unrest in the country.

The Egyptian government has abruptly shut down Internet, the main access point that can help people communicate with the outside world. But all is not lost as a few hackers have come across a solution to the nationwide shutdown.

The army is firing heavy machine guns in the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, reported CNN on TV.

Gold eased on Monday after posting its largest daily gain in eight weeks on Friday and while the market did encounter some safe-haven buying on the back of the unrest in Egypt, this was expected to be temporary.

Stock index futures were mixed on Monday, with investors in a cautious mood due to the Egyptian political upheaval. Investors are worried about the possibility the unrest could spread to other Arab nations, which could drive up oil prices and potentially dampen growth prospects.

Support is gaining ground in the euro zone for giving Greece more time to pay back its EU bailout to avoid default and ease the worst-indebted EU state's debt burden, although details still have to be pinned down.

Moody's has downgraded Egypt's government bond ratings to Ba2 from Ba1 and has cut the outlook to negative from stable.

European banks' total exposure to turmoil-ridden Egypt stands at around $40.3 billion, with banks in France and the United Kingdom being at greatest risk.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to lower opening on Monday amid continuing political unrest in Egypt.

Japan's Toshiba Corp more than doubled its quarterly operating profit on booming sales of NAND flash memory chips and robust demand for LCD panels used in smartphones and tablets.

Has Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak given shoot-to-kill orders to the army in a desperate attempt to face down the swelling anti-government protests?

Global shares continued to slide on Monday, while Europe's benchmark Brent crude was just short of $100 a barrel on fears political unrest in Egypt could spread among regional oil-producing nations.