IBT Staff Reporter

The German and French leaders met on Monday to discuss how to boost growth in euro zone states struggling to tackle the sovereign debt crisis and rising unemployment, and to finalize a deal on closer budgetary ties within the currency union.

Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand is resigning with immediate effect after a scandal over a controversial currency trade made by his wife, the SNB said on Monday.

Stock index futures edged higher on Monday as investors focused on a European meeting intended to find ways to boost the region's economies and tackle a debt crisis and prepared for the start of U.S. corporate earnings.

German exports bounced back in November boosting the country's trade surplus, a sign that Europe's largest economy may avoid a sharp slowdown in contrast to France which is expected to have run up a record trade deficit in 2011.

Shares in UniCredit fell again on Monday and trading in the rights to buy into the bank's closely watched cash call were suspended, fuelling concerns that other lenders may be deterred from using rights issues to plug capital shortfalls.

Japan's Olympus Corp has sued its current president and three ex-directors for several million dollars in compensation, sources told Reuters on Monday, as the company seeks to draw a line under one of the nation's worst accounting scandals.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open for equities on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.1 percent, for the Dow Jones up 0.1 percent and for the Nasdaq 100 up 0.1 percent.

U.S. authorities are moving toward taking legal action against Wegelin & Co, which could lead to an indictment of one of Switzerland's last pure private banks, on charges that it enabled wealthy Americans to evade taxes, according to two persons with knowledge of the case.

The German and French leaders meet on Monday to discuss ways to boost growth in euro zone states struggling to overcome the sovereign debt crisis and rising unemployment, and finalise a deal to increase fiscal coordination within the currency union.

The labor union of Hyundai Motor has threatened to suspend all engine output in the company's biggest production base from Tuesday, saying an employee set himself on fire to protest the company's alleged suppression of unionized workers.

A group of Chinese authors has sued Apple Inc for 11.9 million yuan ($1.9 million) in compensation for allegedly providing copyright-infringing books for download through its online store, Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported.

BMW said its new 3 Series model should spur sales in the second half of 2012 after the group posted record sales of 1.67 million vehicles in 2011.

Signs of improvement in the German and U.S. economies helped offset concerns over the prospects for euro zone debt auctions later this week, lifting the single currency and European shares on Monday.

The euro zone crisis seemed to vanish from the headlines for a brief moment as 2011 ticked over into 2012, but it is about to return with a vengeance.

Europe as a whole may avoid a recession this year and there were reasons to be more upbeat about prospects for the region, South Africa's Business Day newspaper quoted International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde as saying.

Japan's Toshiba Corp said on Monday it plans to enter the smart home energy market in the United States at the end of this year and generate 10 billion yen ($129.68 million) in revenue by the fiscal year ending March, 2016.

Indonesia's inability to meet the rising energy needs of its businesses, from steelmakers to hotel resorts, threatens to put the brakes on growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

Many partners at Goldman Sachs Group , can expect to see their 2011 pay cut at least in half from 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Volkswagen aims to sell more than half a million cars in the United States for the first time in 39 years, the company said on Sunday, building on its last year's global volume that topped the 8 million mark.

General Motors Co proved with the Chevrolet Cruze it can build a top-selling compact car, cracking a market long dominated by Japanese brands.

Welcome to an unlikely beacon of hope for the global auto industry -- Detroit.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that his country would not recognize any ruling by a World Bank tribunal in a multibillion-dollar arbitration case with Exxon Mobil Corp.

Global regulators vowed on Sunday to press ahead with tough new liquidity rules for banks from 2015, but in a move to head off opposition from industry, also said lenders can tap into safety buffers in times of stress.

The German and French leaders meet on Monday to discuss ways to boost growth in euro zone states struggling to overcome the sovereign debt crisis and rising unemployment, and finalise a deal to increase fiscal coordination within the currency union.

Signs the recovery is gaining strength suggest the Federal Reserve may not need to buy any more bonds to spur growth, a top policymaker said on Saturday.

The Algeria state announced on Sunday it will acquire a 51 percent stake in Vimpelcom's Djezzy mobile phone unit and keep Vimpelcom on as operator, but it has still not decided how much it will pay for the stake.

Counting container ships plying the high seas and air cargo takeoffs is one way to track the outlook for the global economy. Both measures point to weak growth in the months ahead but no severe storms.

Counting container ships plying the high seas and air cargo takeoffs is one way to track the outlook for the global economy. Both measures point to weak growth in the months ahead but no severe storms.

Canada's famously conservative banks, hit last week by a high profile downgrade, may still be the least bad option for Canadian investors in what could be another ugly year for stock markets.