MARKETS / FINANCE

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes plunged in February and prices hit their lowest level in nearly nine years, indicating a housing market recovery was still a long way off.

Deutsche Telekom AG said it would focus on organic growth and return cash to shareholders after agreeing the sale of T-Mobile USA to AT&T for $39 billion, lifting its shares to a two-year high.

Charles Schwab Corp will buy optionsXpress Holdings Inc , a smaller retail brokerage, in a $1 billion deal aimed at helping Schwab take advantage of investors' stronger embrace of options.

The current high rate of unemployment in the United States is primarily due to cyclical factors, not structural changes in the economy, according to researchers at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday after AT&T said it would buy wireless rival T-Mobile, sparking expectations of more deal activity, even as Japan's outlook was expected to keep market uncertainty high for weeks.

Commodities trader Glencore is seen clinging on to plans for a bumper London listing by the end of May, despite global stock market uncertainty, according to a Reuters poll of fund managers.

The Supreme Court let stand a ruling that the U.S. Federal Reserve must disclose details about its emergency lending programs to banks during the financial crisis in 2008.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell unexpectedly sharply in February and prices fell to their lowest in nearly nine years, an industry group said on Monday.

U.S. stocks advanced more than 1 percent on Monday after AT&T said it would buy wireless rival T-Mobile, sparking expectations of more deal activity, while investors kept close watch on Japan's nuclear crisis.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes plunged in February and prices hit their lowest level in nearly nine years, implying a housing market recovery was still a long way off.

The Supreme Court let stand on Monday a ruling that the U.S. Federal Reserve must disclose details about its emergency lending programs to banks during the financial crisis in 2008.

Deutsche Telekom said it would focus on organic growth and return cash to shareholders after agreeing the sale of T-Mobile USA to AT&T for $39 billion, lifting its shares to a two-year high.

Glencore's top management, led by chief executive Ivan Glasenberg, is starting several days of meetings with big U.S. fund managers who could support its flotation, two people familiar with the matter said.

Corrects single-family home sales fall to 9.6 percent from 10.0 percent in penultimate paragraph

Tiffany & Co expects sales growth in markets like China and Australia this year to help make up for the earthquake and tsunami that are hurting results in Japan, its second-largest market.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell unexpectedly sharply in February and prices touched their lowest level in nearly nine years, implying a housing market recovery was still a long off.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell unexpectedly sharply in February and prices fell to their lowest in nearly nine years, an industry group said on Monday.

Wall Street rose sharply on Monday, led by telecom stocks after AT&T said it would buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom, a deal that would create the largest wireless operator in the United States.

Gold prices jumped vs. a falling Dollar at the start of Asian trade on Monday, hitting near-two-week highs for US investors as crude oil also leapt following the weekend's joint UN air strikes on Libya.

U.S. stock indexes opened more than 1 percent higher on Monday as investors welcomed AT&T's proposal to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom, a deal that would create the largest mobile operator in the United States.

U.S. stock indexes were set to rise more than 1 percent at the open on Monday as investors welcomed AT&T's proposal to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom, a deal that would create the largest mobile operator in the United States.

Tiffany & Co gave a stronger-than-expected sales outlook for its fiscal year despite the impact of the disasters that hit Japan, its second largest market, and the luxury jeweler's shares rose more than 6 percent.

Oil prices rose by over $2 a barrel on Monday as a wave of U.N.-mandated airstrikes on Libya and proliferating unrest in the Middle East fanned concerns about oil supply from the region.

Wall Street stock indexes were poised to rise more than 1 percent at the open on Monday as investors welcomed AT&T's proposal to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom.

Tiffany & Co gave a stronger-than-expected sales outlook for the year, despite the impact of the disasters that hit Japan, one of its biggest markets.

AT&T Inc plans to pay $39 billion for Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA to create a new U.S. mobile market leader, but the pricey purchase is likely to attract intense antitrust scrutiny over potentially higher customer bills.

Stock index futures indicated a Wall Street rise of about 1 percent at the open on Monday after last week's sell-off as investors welcomed a deal by AT&T to buy the T-Mobile business from Deutsche Telekom.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett believes Japan's devastating earthquake is the kind of extraordinary event that creates a buying opportunity for shares in Japanese companies.

Stock index futures pointed to a strongly higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 1.2 percent, Dow Jones futures up 1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 1.3 percent at 0907 GMT (5:07 a.m. ET).