IBT Staff Reporter

Harold Camping is wrong again about his Doomsday prediction, but by this time around he has already been famously defined as a false prophet by his fellow Christians.

Caterpillar Inc far exceeded analyst expectations on Monday, reporting a 44 percent quarterly earnings increase and record revenue, and signaling tempered optimism in its 2012 sales outlook.

TomTom, the Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker, is switching focus away from the cash-bleeding personal navigation devices that made it a household name to its auto and mapping services to restore growth and profits.

China urged the European Union on Monday to deal with its debt crisis as soon as possible and prevent contagion from spreading, as the country's number four-ranked leader arrived for a visit of the continent, including Greece.

New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Monday the U.S. economy still faces serious headwinds, including spillover effects from Europe, adding the central bank will continue to do everything within its power to help.

S&P 500 index futures were little changed on Monday as European policymakers differed over the size of sovereign debt losses that private bondholders will have to accept, but strong earnings from Caterpillar put a floor on losses.

The China hard-landing debate is a classic tail risk story -- an unlikely scenario, but if it materializes the consequences could be catastrophic.

Japan's finance minister put traders on alert for possible currency intervention on Monday as the yen's rise to a record high against the dollar threatened to further squeeze exporters' profits and hold back economic recovery.

- Caterpillar Inc reported a 44 percent quarterly earnings increase and record revenue due to strong demand, far exceeding analyst estimates.

TomTom, the Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker is taking steps to be less dependant on its cash-bleeding consumer business and refocus on its automotive and services units to restore growth and profitability.

A group of small-business owners in China has expanded a protest against higher fees to target Alipay, the country's leading online payment platform, after its corporate sibling, Taobao Mall, announced up to tenfold fee hikes for some businesses using its service, Chinese media reported on Monday.

Stock index futures edged lower on Monday after the S&P 500 posted its third straight week of gains as investors had doubts European policymakers would come up with an agreement to fix the region's debt crisis.

Stock index futures edged lower on Monday after the S&P 500 posted its third straight week of gains as investors had doubts European policymakers would come up with an agreement to fix the region's debt crisis.

Google Inc has spoken to at least two private equity firms about possibly helping them finance a deal to buy Yahoo Inc's core business, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Saudi Arabia will not need to tap into its reserves this year to finance additional budget spending but it is considering whether to issue Islamic or conventional bonds to help fund specific projects, the country's Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf told Reuters.

Greek bank shares shed more than 13 percent on Monday on fears that a deeper markdown on Greek government bonds held by the private sector would force lenders to seek state support to recapitalize.

The euro zone's private sector tipped further into decline in October, according to business surveys on Monday that showed the bloc's economy is in serious danger of lurching from stagnation into outright recession.

European Union leaders made some progress toward a strategy to fight the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis on Sunday, nearing agreement on bank recapitalization and on how to leverage their rescue fund to try to stop bond market contagion.

Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs revolutionized multiple industries with his cutting-edge products but he was not the world's best manager, biographer Walter Isaacson said.

The Eurozone's private sector tipped further into decline in October, according to business surveys on Monday that showed the bloc's economy is in serious danger of lurching from stagnation into outright recession.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is placing an early bet on a slowdown in the Chinese economy and plans to expand into Hong Kong in the next six to nine months with its $2 billion special situations unit, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

After a slew of rumors circulated in the web for some time, since 2010, Netfix has officially announced its expansion to the UK and Ireland early 2012.

Samsung Group confirmed that it had named a group led by online shopping mall operator Interpark as preferred bidder for its procurement arm iMarketKorea Inc, in a deal to buy Samsung's up to $342 million stake in the firm.

InterContinental Hotels Group , the world's biggest hotelier, is enjoying higher revenue growth at its American operations, highlighting industry resilience in the face of a global economic slowdown.

Saudi Arabia will not need to tap into its reserves this year to finance additional budget spending but it is considering whether to issue Islamic or conventional bonds to help fund specific projects, the country's Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf told Reuters.

TomTom, the Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker, said it will cut 50 million euros ($69.7 million) in costs, including jobs, to help improve profitability as it posted a dip in quarterly sales on lower demand and falling prices.

Stock futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Monday, building on sharp gains in the previous session, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 up 0.4 to 0.5 percent.

Stock futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Monday, building on sharp gains in the previous session, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 up 0.4 to 0.5 percent.

U.S. companies do not plan to significantly increase payrolls over the next six months but neither do they intend to aggressively fire workers, according to a survey on Monday that suggested lackluster job growth.