MARKETS / FINANCE

Apple's board of directors has moved to lock in new CEO Tim Cook through mid-2021 by awarding him one million share of company stock. Cook is replacing long-time co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who announced his retirement last week. In connection with Mr. Cook's appointment as Chief Executive Officer, the Board awarded Mr. Cook 1,000,000 restricted stock units, Apple said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The U.S. stock market will open for a normal trading session on Monday, although with lower volume expected and some delays in opening hours, despite damage from Hurricane Irene.

Consumer spending rebounded strongly in July to post the largest increase in five months on strong demand for motor vehicles, a government report showed on Monday, supporting views the economy was not falling back into recession.

Stock index futures advanced on Monday, signaling a strong open on Wall Street, as European and Asian equities were boosted partly on a possible merger between two big banks in Greece.

Hurricane Irene shut down the neon lights on Broadway, and substantially reduced commercial activity over the weekend -- including canceling thousands of flights, but the storm's economic damage will likely be far less than originally predicted. In particular, New Yorkers, for the most part, feel like they were spared.

Gold rose 1.4 percent Monday in early U.S. trading as investors inclined toward the view that the decision of the top U.S. central banker to extend by a day a key September meeting might indicate an intent to intervene in the bond market, an action that is bullish for gold.

Recent strikes in Indonesia by gold miners, pilots and supermarket staff over pay signal that workers have started to push for a greater share of profits in a booming economy that has drawn foreign investors partly for its low labor costs.

DRDGold , South Africa's fourth largest gold producer, said on Monday its headline earnings more than doubled as it lifted output during a period when the gold price steadily advanced.

Canadian gold miner Northgate Minerals said it agreed to be bought by peer AuRico Gold for C$1.46 billion ($1.48 billion), and ended a deal with Primero Mining .

Record gold prices, rather than denting China's enthusiasm for bullion, have emboldened investors to plough more money into gold bars and riskier bullion-based derivatives.

Gold prices eased a touch in holiday-thinned trade on Monday as investors took bets on higher prices off the table, disappointed by a lack of clear guidance from the Federal Reserve on Friday on the options for U.S. economic stimulus.

Stock index futures jumped on Monday, signaling a strong open on Wall Street, as investors were relieved to see Hurricane Irene caused less damage than feared in New York City over the weekend.

The U.S. stock market will open for a normal trading session on Monday, although with lower volume expected and some delays in opening hours, despite damage from Hurricane Irene.

Record gold prices, rather than denting China's enthusiasm for bullion, have emboldened investors to plough more money into gold bars and riskier bullion-based derivatives.

The troubles facing China's Sino-Forest mark a new chapter in the chequered career of Allen Chan, its Hong Kong-born founder who resigned as CEO over the weekend amid massive fraud allegations and a plunge in its share price.

Sony has decided to rename the two upcoming Android-powered Sony Tablets, Sony S1 and S2 to Tablet S and Tablet P. Tablet S is indeed PlayStation Certified.

Record gold prices, rather than denting China's enthusiasm for bullion, have emboldened investors to plough more money into gold bars and riskier bullion-based derivatives.

Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Lone Star Funds were the winners of the $9.5 billion pool of U.S. commercial real estate loan sold by failed lender Anglo Irish Bank Corp, two sources familiar with the deal said.

Like a skilled poker player, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke kept some cards close to his vest when facing fellow central bankers in cowboy country.

The heads of the U.S. Federal Reserve, IMF and OECD stepped up pressure on political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to shake off their inertia and tackle urgent economic problems.

Sino-Forest, a Chinese forestry company accused of fraud, said on Sunday Allen Chan had resigned as chairman and CEO and that it placed three senior employees on administrative leave, due to information uncovered in an ongoing internal review.

U.S. stocks are setting up for another turbulent week, and while Hurricane Irene passed with less damage than had been feared in many areas, the storm's impact on public transit near Wall Street could depress trading volumes.

Like a skilled poker player, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke kept some cards close to his vest when facing fellow central bankers in cowboy country.

The stock market is, for now at least, expected to have a normal trading session on Monday despite the arrival of Hurricane Irene in New York.

Stocks are setting up for another turbulent week that will begin with a focus, oddly enough, on the weather.

Italy's ruling coalition is preparing significant changes to its austerity plan presented in mid-August and Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, who put together the original plan, appears increasingly isolated.

A drive to benefit from record bullion prices lifted Australian gold production by 10 percent, or 24 metric tons, to 270 metric tons in the 2010/11 financial year, maintaining Australia's No. 2 ranking behind China, a sector survey released on Sunday showed.

The Swiss government may be paving the way for a large-scale transfer of Credit Suisse client data to the United States in order to save the bank serious legal troubles that might endanger its future, a Swiss newspaper reported.

France wants concrete results for a controversial international tax on financial transactions at November's G20 summit of leading economies, Finance Minister Francois Baroin said in remarks published on Sunday.