IBT Staff Reporter

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.

Figuring out what the People's Bank of China is doing can be as perplexing as parsing a statement from Alan Greenspan, the notoriously opaque former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman.

Credit rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's slashed their ratings on the debt of Chinese forestry company Sino-Forest on Monday, a day after Allen Chan, chairman and CEO of the Toronto-listed company, stepped down in the face of fraud accusations.

U.S. stocks jumped nearly 2 percent on Monday as a merger between two big banks in Greece suggested Europe was working through its financial problems and a rebound in consumer spending calmed fears about the U.S. economy.

U.S. 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.

In one of the many memorable acts of the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, hip-hop's power couple — Beyoncé and Jay-Z — alluded to the fact that they would be adding one more to their family.

R&B singer Beyonce let pictures tell the story of a baby on the way for her and rapper husband Jay-Z at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, all but one of New Jersey Transit's commuter train lines remained suspended on Monday morning, as did all Metro-North Railroad service and half of the routes on the Long Island Rail Road.

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes fell in July from June in the latest sign of weakness in the housing industry, data from a real estate trade group showed on Monday.

After being handed their most severe mauling in a long time, Arsenal are readying themselves for a late charge in the transfer market.

Women, aged 18-29, are the most frequent users of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter according to a recent survey.

With Hurricane Irene damage less than expected in the New York area, Monday’s air travel is slowly returning to normal.

Another phone from the HTC camp which is headed Verizon's 4G LTE network way was spotted by Droid Life. The Web site got hold of snapshots of the 4G LTE enabled phone called HTC Vigor.

The U.S. stock market will open for a normal trading session on Monday, although with lower volume expected and some delays in opening hours, despite damage from Hurricane Irene.

Consumer spending rebounded strongly in July to post the largest increase in five months on strong demand for motor vehicles, a government report showed on Monday, supporting views the economy was not falling back into recession.

Stock index futures advanced on Monday, signaling a strong open on Wall Street, as European and Asian equities were boosted partly on a possible merger between two big banks in Greece.

He says one day people who doubt global warming will be looked at in the same light as racists.

Stock index futures jumped on Monday, signaling a strong open on Wall Street, as investors were relieved to see Hurricane Irene caused less damage than feared in New York City over the weekend.

Real Madrid surged into the top of the Spanish La Liga after thrashing Real Zaragoza in their first league game of the season, with Cristiano Ronaldo bagging a hat-trick.

Abdelbaset Ali al - Megrahi, who was convicted over the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, is harking on death's door. The Libyan citizen jailed for 270 counts of murder for the bombing of Lockerbie is currently under the care of his family members at his Tripoli home in Libya.