IBT Staff Reporter

New York City was slowly getting back to business as usual on Monday after Hurricane Irene but hundreds of thousands of people who normally travel in from the surrounding area faced a hellish commute as flooding knocked out some transit routes.

Following Hurricane Irene, the MTA began operating Monday, offering limited service on subway, bus, and railroad.

Heavy equipment makers and rental companies stand to benefit from reconstruction efforts after Irene damaged roads and other infrastructure, took out power to millions of homes and flooded businesses.

Stocks rallied on Monday as a merger between two big banks in Greece suggested Europe was working through its financial problems, while a rebound in consumer spending calmed fears of a new recession.

Consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in five months in July, backing views the economy was not falling back into recession, although pending sales of previously owned homes fell.

The iPhone 5 will have the same size screen as the iPhone 4 according to various reports.

Tropical Storm Irene battered Vermont state with heavy rains late on Sunday, forcing hundreds of evacuations even as the storm's winds lost strength.

NEW YORK, Aug 29 - Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd said on Monday it may face civil charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, signaling stepped-up regulatory enforcement of possible accounting irregularities at Chinese companies.

NASA said that astronauts may need to abandon the International Space Station in the fall. The announcement was prompted by Russian Soyuz rockets, which will be grounded until well into November. NASA said that it will be impossible to send new crews into space after current crews leave.

Cisco Systems Inc said on Monday that it has bought privately-held firm Versly to expand in collaboration technology aimed at corporate clients looking to make employees work together more easily.

Samsung Electronics Co said on Monday it would delay the launch of its latest Galaxy tablet computer in Australia until after a court ruling in September in its ongoing global patent dispute with Apple.

Zynga, the social games maker may delay its plans for an initial public offering until November because of poor market conditions, the New York Post newspaper reported late on Sunday.

President Obama announced Monday that he has chosen Princeton University labor economist Alan Krueger to serve as the top economist in the White House.

Experts say children and teenagers should not practice boxing because their brains are more vulnerable to acute, chronic injuries and concussions caused by blows to the head.

Hurricane Irene could cost U.S. state and local governments billions of dollars in damages, but funds from the federal government might ultimately cover much of this expense.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he has chosen Princeton University labor economist Alan Krueger to become the top White House economist.

Hurricane Irene prompted a death toll of at least 25 across eight states, the Associated Press reported. States of Emergency were declared in Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Maryland, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Stocks opened up more than one percent on Monday, supported by European and Asian equities that rallied partly on a possible merger between two big banks in Greece.

Fans of the 45-year-old classic party game Twister will soon be able to put their left foot on blue and their right hand on yellow in a new video game out this holiday season.

Stocks were set to open about one percent higher on Monday, supported by European and Asian equities that rallied partly on a possible merger between two big banks in Greece.

The effects of Hurricane Irene have not been as dire as expected, but the storm did wreak havoc on universities throughout the Northeast, many of which shut down part or all of their campuses or postponed student move-in dates.

With the city in good shape after Hurricane Irene’s visit to New York, one person has scored a big political victory: Michael Bloomberg.

Hiring by small businesses slowed in August and employers reduced hours, an independent survey showed on Sunday, suggesting the recent stock market turmoil may have dampened job creation.

In March of 2009, when the Annenberg Space for Photography opened in Century City in Los Angeles, the most remarked-upon guest at the gala was David LaChapelle's date, Courtney Love.

Europe gave a cool reception to a demand from the International Monetary Fund's new head Christine Lagarde to force its banks to bulk up their capital, saying the continent had done enough already.

Trey Hardee concedes he might be one of least known athletes in the United States -- and the double decathlon world champion hopes it stays that way.

For the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt sure took his time in responding to the controversial disqualification which stripped athletics of its biggest name from its blue riband event.

Homosexual professional footballers should not come out because the repercussions could be too devastating, according to Germany captain Philipp Lahm.

Many of the world's biggest energy companies may have to surrender most of the gas from Iraq's vast southern oilfields to a processing and export project led by Shell, a final draft contract between Baghdad and Europe's biggest company, obtained by Reuters, shows.