IBT Staff Reporter

The leaders of France and Germany said on Monday they would push for EU treaty change by March to introduce closer fiscal union and sanctions for countries flouting deficit limits in a bid to shore up confidence in the euro zone.

Stocks jumped at the start of what could be the most important week of the year for Wall Street as hopes grew that European leaders will find a solution to the region's debt crisis at a summit on Friday.

More than a third of U.S. shoppers are already done with most of their holiday shopping, a survey showed on Monday, signaling that retailers need to offer bigger incentives to win sales in the few weeks before Christmas.

SAP AG's $3.4 billion takeover of SuccessFactors will help it keep up with peers in the frenzied race for cloud-computing business, even if the price paid is very high at first glance, analysts said on Monday.

Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative activist who spearheaded the anti-feminist movement in the 1970s, has endorsed Michele Bachmann for the Republican presidential nomination.

Stocks jumped at the start of what could be the most important week of the year for Wall Street as hopes grew that European leaders will find a solution to the region's debt crisis at a summit on Friday.

Hedge fund multimillionaire Raj Rajaratnam began serving his 11-year prison sentence on Monday - the longest on record for insider trading - at a former military base near a small, leafy Massachusetts town.

Following are highlights of a news conference by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel following bilateral talks in Paris to hone joint proposals for more central control of euro zone budgets.

The European Union is becoming skeptical about slapping sanctions on imports of Iranian oil, diplomats and traders say, as awareness grows that the embargo could damage its own economy without doing much to undercut to Iran's oil revenues.

There were no surprises when the nominees for the FIFA Ballon d'Or was announced Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi shortlisted for the prestigious award.

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.

Stocks of several cloud-computing companies rose on Monday, after German software giant SAP offered to buy Web-based software maker SuccessFactors at a high premium on Friday.

Peter Jackson's production company, WingNut Films, announced on Sunday that it has completed a documentary about the West Memphis Three -- the three men whose murder convictions in Arkansas were overturned this past August.

Fox Searchlight debuted its NC-17 rated Shame to $361,181 at 10 U.S. locations this weekend, according to studio estimates, for an outstanding per-screen average of more than $36,000.

The pace of growth in the vast U.S. services sector slowed in November to the lowest level in nearly two years, according to an industry report released on Monday.

Kraft Foods Inc named its chief executive, Irene Rosenfeld, to lead its snacks business and Kraft North America President Anthony Vernon to lead its North American grocery business when it splits in two next year.

The pace of growth in the vast U.S. services sector slowed in November to the slowest since January 2010, according to an industry report released on Monday.

Investors pessimistic about the prospects of U.S. banks and brokers have some good company: Wall Street chief executives.

EBay Inc Inc shares rose more than 4 percent on Monday after an analyst upgraded the e-commerce company, citing strong holiday sales.

Following are highlights of a news conference by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel following bilateral talks in Paris to hone joint proposals for more central control of euro zone budgets.

The economy showed signs it was decelerating, with an index of service activity pointing to slower growth in November while new orders for factory goods declined in October for the second straight month.

E-Commerce sales on Cyber Monday, as well as the Tuesday and Wednesday afterward topped $1 billion each day, according to comScore.

Comcast Corp , the largest U.S. cable operator, will start selling Verizon Wireless products in four markets early next year, its top cable executive said on Monday.

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

The economy showed signs it was decelerating, with an index of service activity pointing to slower growth in November while new orders for factory goods declined in October for the second straight month.

Kraft Foods Inc named its current chief executive, Irene Rosenfeld, to lead its snacks business and Anthony Vernon to lead its North American grocery business, when the giant packaged food company splits in two.

Stocks rallied more than one percent on Monday, building on the previous week's gains, as optimism grew an agreement between French and German leaders would break new ground to resolve the Eurozone debt crisis.

New orders for factory goods fell in October for the second straight month, suggesting a possible softening in the manufacturing sector, which has supported the economic recovery.

New orders for factory goods fell in October for the second straight month, suggesting a possible softening in the manufacturing sector, which has supported the economic recovery.