World stocks edged higher toward a recent two-year high on Monday while the euro hit a two-week low as concerns over the euro zone debt crisis stayed in focus following last week's Irish rating downgrade.
With war tensions in Korea strengthening the dollar and rating tensions in Ireland weakening the euro, EUR/USD continued southwards and touched an 18-day low on Monday.
Stock index futures pointed to modest gains for Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrials and Nasdaq indexes all up by around 0.1 percent by 0933 GMT (4:33 a.m. EDT).
World stocks held steady below a recent two-year high on Monday while the euro hit a two-week low as concerns over the euro zone debt crisis persisted following last week's Irish rating downgrade.
Australian wealth manager Perpetual
has called off talks with private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co over a $1.7 billion takeover saying the approach undervalued the company, knocking its shares down by nearly 15 percent.Prosecutors in New York are set to file civil fraud charges against accounting firm Ernst & Young LLC over the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday euro zone countries must do more individually and collectively to combat the bloc's debt crisis, and Ireland must stick rigorously to its bailout plan.
Asian shares fell to their lowest in over a week on Monday, led by a 2 percent slide in Shanghai stocks as thin year-end trading made for exaggerated moves, not helped by mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Cricket Communications is launching a new music service for wireless customers, offering unlimited song downloads as part of a monthly rate plan.
Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition Inc, backed by a U.S. private equity firm, said on Sunday it opposes anti-shareholder actions of Canadian miner Baffinland Iron Ore Mines.
Former European Central Bank Executive Board member and Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, an architect of the euro and one of Italy's most respected figures, died on Saturday evening of a heart attack.
Wall Street banks have been gripped by a certain euphoria in recent weeks, with their economists touting a modest improvement in U.S. data as an omen of more robust growth to come in 2011.
Republican Congressman Ron Paul, the new head of the subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve, said on Sunday he will seek greater transparency but will not be sending subpoenas to the central bank chairman from Day One.
Just over half of Irish people support a multi-billion euro EU/IMF rescue package but 56 percent believe the country has surrendered its sovereignty by accepting the assistance, a poll published on Saturday said.
Bank of America Corp said on Saturday it will not process payments intended for WikiLeaks, which has angered U.S. authorities with the mass release of U.S. diplomatic cables.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Saturday threatened to act against companies from Western countries that have imposed sanctions on his party over suspected election fraud and rights abuses.
Five countries said on Saturday the EU's budget should be frozen until 2020, highlighting a new source of policy divisions that could spark a funding battle between the region's western states and their poorer peers in the east.
Euro zone policymakers deliberately chose to violate the bloc's rules in rescuing Greece and Ireland, closing ranks to protect the single currency area's future, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde was quoted as saying.
Britain, France, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands called on Saturday for the EU budget to be frozen until at least 2020, in a joint letter to the European Commission.
Intel Corp 's $7.68 billion deal to buy security-software specialist McAfee Inc is running into close scrutiny from European officials that could delay the transaction, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Investors will be taking advantage next week of the some of the last remaining trading days of the year to place their bets on what will be the winners of 2011.
Authorities closed six banks on Friday, bringing the number of closures this year to 157.
Authorities closed four banks on Friday, bringing the number of closures this year to 155.
U.S. state and local governments face a surge in borrowing costs after lawmakers refused to renew the federally subsidized Build America Bonds program used to fund infrastructure projects and create jobs.
The U.S. government on Friday proposed prohibiting commercial truck and bus drivers from using cellphones while behind the wheel.
The man assigned to recover money for Madoff's victims won his biggest settlement yet -- an agreement by the estate of longtime Madoff friend Jeffry Picower to give back $7.2 billion in profits from the epic fraud.
(Corrects company name and details of funds under management in 5th paragraph)
Emerging markets, the consensus trade for 2011, look set for further heavy inflows of investment dollars, raising questions over how much more new money they can comfortably absorb without igniting an asset bubble.
The estate of Madoff insider Jeffry Picower agreed to give back $7.2 billion to settle civil claims on Friday, significantly boosting the amount available to repay thousands of investors swindled in the epic fraud.
The U.S. economy is gathering steam as the year draws to a close, boosting optimism about prospects in 2011, according to measures published by two separate economic research firms on Friday.
