IBT Staff Reporter

Socks gained on Monday, but the day's rally was dampened by news that Germany and other top-rated European nations could see their credit ratings cut.

The fate of Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp may become clearer on Tuesday, when it is expected to release the findings of an investigation into an accounting scandal that has threatened to bring the 92-year-old firm to its knees.

The Toronto Stock Exchange, home to the largest number of mining companies globally, has seen capital raising in the sector remain resilient this year despite volatile markets, with a strong pipeline ahead, a senior executive said on Monday.

Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO: Quote) is cutting about 90 positions after weak market conditions sent the insurer to its first quarterly loss in two years.

New Jersey's annual bear hunt began on Monday in spite of attempts by animal-rights groups to stop it. Supporters of the hunt say it is necessary to reduce New Jersey's black bear population, while opponents say it is inhumane.

Standard & Poor's is expected to announce later on Monday that it may downgrade the credit ratings of all 17 euro zone countries, two EU officials told Reuters.

WestJet Airlines Ltd, Canada's No. 2 airline, said on Monday its flights in November were not as full as a year earlier and warned delayed holiday bookings would hold back a revenue benchmark in the current quarter.

Tiger Woods ended a frustrating victory drought of just over two years when he clinched the Chevron World Challenge which he hosts by one shot Sunday, holing a six-foot birdie putt at the last.

Kicking Greece out of the euro zone would not be an easy cure for the region's sovereign debt problems, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said in an interview published on Monday.

About 42 percent of employers plan to set higher annual performance targets for executives in 2012 compared to this year, according to a survey conducted by Pearl Meyer & Partners of 190 organizations including publicly traded and privately held companies, along with non-profits.

The high cost of Ontario's green energy plan may drive up electricity bills significantly in the province in the future, the government's auditor general said in his annual report on Monday.

Ever thought about getting married in Hell, Michigan or sending your Christmas list to Santa Claus, Indiana?

Shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd rose more than 2 percent on Monday after Apple Inc's bid to halt U.S. sales of its Galaxy line of products was rejected, easing concern of slowing growth in its telecom business, which generates revenue of $13 billion per quarter.

The insolvency of an Islamic mortgage lender in Canada may hinder the growth of sharia-compliant finance in North America, where the industry has struggled to gain traction in the absence of a supportive regulatory framework.

Research In Motion, facing analyst stock price target downgrades after its steep profit warning on Friday, is willing to absorb huge losses on its unloved PlayBook because the success or failure of the tablet are key to RIM's hopes of revitalizing its BlackBerry.

Fox's block of animated series received a major boost Sunday night, with Allen Gregory surging 60 percent, while ABC's Pan Am fell to a series low, according to preliminary numbers. NBC won the night overall.

The Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a state court's ruling that religious groups in New York could not use public school facilities for worship services, even outside of school hours.

Conan O'Brien, Rosie O'Donnell, Minnie Driver will be among Lisa Kudrow's guests in the second season of Web Therapy, Showtime said Monday.

Graham King, one of Hollywood's most fearless figures, has taken his biggest risk yet as distributor of indie films and producer of big-budget projects.

The Annie Awards, which have been wracked by controversy in recent years, attempted to right the ship on Monday with a slate of nominations that included, well, everybody.

Standard & Poor's has warned Germany, France and four other top-rated euro zone countries that they risk losing their AAA rating in the next 90 days as the region's debt crisis deepens, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service on Monday moved forward with plans to end next-day delivery of letters, postcards and other First Class mail.

The threat of cyberattacks on the U.S. power grid should be dealt with by a single federal agency, not the welter of groups now charged with the electric system's security, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported on Monday.

The furor over the New Yorker's decision to run a review of David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo more than a week before the embargo date heated up on Monday, as the review hit newsstands and an email exchange between critic David Denby and producer Scott Rudin spread around the web.

The U.S. futures regulator unanimously approved on Monday tighter limits on how brokerage firms can use customer funds, a measure the now-bankrupt MF Global had encouraged the agency to delay.

With 80 days to go until 3M Co Chief Executive George Buckley hits the company's mandatory retirement age, investors seem unusually disinterested in the immediate future of the management team.

Growth in the U.S. service sector eased last month, and new orders for factory goods fell in October, tempering recent optimism that the U.S. economy may be poised for a more vigorous rebound.

The leaders of France and Germany agreed a master plan on Monday for imposing budget discipline across the euro zone, saying the EU's basic treaty will need to be changed in the search for a sweeping solution to its debt crisis.

Facebook has hired the co-founders of Gowalla, one of the pioneering companies that developed the concept of checking in at real-world locations with mobile phones.