UNITED STATES

Public support for President Barack Obama's handling of healthcare reform, the pillar of his legislative agenda, has fallen below 50 percent for the first time, a Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Monday said.

The world's population of older people is growing at the fastest rate ever seen and the old will soon outnumber the young for the first time, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Stocks were set to open higher on Monday, extending gains following Wall Street's best week in 4 months, after CIT Group Inc clinched a deal that could help avoid bankruptcy, removing some uncertainty as the financial sector recovers from a deep crisis.

A dual system of both national emissions caps and carbon trading schemes should play a central role in cutting global greenhouse gas emissions, a report commissioned by the British government said on Monday.

Stellar earnings from U.S. banks have raised expectations that European rivals will follow suit in the next month, although rising bad debts have the potential to douse that optimism.

Charles Schwab Corp , the largest U.S. online brokerage, denied allegations by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of civil fraud in its marketing and sale of Auction Rate Securities .

The U.S. recession's grip on the economy appears to be easing but likely has not yet ended, according to a survey of economists released on Monday.

U.S. and European IT budgets are expected to fall 2 percent over the next year, less than the 5 percent decline expected three months ago, according to a survey of 100 chief information officers carried out by UBS.

Stock index futures rose on Monday after CIT Group Inc clinched a deal that could avoid bankruptcy, removing some uncertainty as the financial sector recovers from a deep crisis.

Charles Schwab Corp , the largest U.S. online brokerage, denied allegations by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of civil fraud in its marketing and sale of Auction Rate Securities .

U.S. stock index futures were higher, pointing to a firmer start on Wall Street on Monday, with both the Dow Jones futures and the S&P 500 futures up 0.3 percent by 3.56 a.m. ET, and the Nasdaq futures up 0.2 percent.

Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co on Monday moved a step closer to merging with its Euronext-listed fund after receiving approval from the board of the fund to combine businesses.

Asian stocks outside Japan rose on Monday to their highest level since the dark days following Lehman Brothers' collapse in September while the U.S. dollar fell, as strong company earnings encouraged investors to move into riskier, higher-yielding assets and commodities.

Asian stocks rose on Monday to their highest level since the dark days following Lehman Brothers' collapse last September while the U.S. dollar fell, as a solid outlook for corporate earnings lured investors to riskier, higher-yielding assets and commodities.

Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co on Monday moved a step closer to merging with its Euronext-listed fund, after receiving approval from the board of the fund to combine businesses.

Microsoft Corp will likely report the first annual sales dip in its history as a public company, but investors are looking beyond that for upbeat comments on Windows 7, signs of a tech sector recovery, and even a deal with Yahoo Inc to challenge Google Inc.

CIT Group was close to securing a deal with bondholders on Sunday which would relieve a liquidity crunch at the U.S. lender which threatens the bank with the prospect of filing for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Microsoft Corp will likely report the first annual sales dip in its history as a public company, but investors are looking beyond that for upbeat comments on Windows 7, signs of a tech sector recovery, and even a deal with Yahoo Inc to challenge Google Inc.

CIT said to reach deal, High Level UBS tax talks, India rejects Clinton push

Earnings are set to take center stage again this week as more marquee U.S. companies line up to report their quarterly scorecards and investors decide whether to keep pushing stocks higher.

CIT Group Inc has cut a deal with its key bondholders for $3 billion in financing that will allow the 101-year-old lender to avoid bankruptcy, according to a headline on the Wall Street Journal's web site.