IBT Staff Reporter

The Federal Reserve's $600 billion bond buying program has been at least modestly successful so far, St Louis Fed President James Bullard told the CNBC TV business channel on Monday.

U.S. energy firm Chevron said on Monday it had suspended production from an oil pipeline in Nigeria's Delta state, which was breached on Friday. Chevron said it was investigating the damage to the Dibi-Abiteye pipeline, which feeds the Escravos oil stream, but did not comment on how much production would be lost.

U.S. stocks were set for a higher open on Monday with Wall Street looking to extend three weeks of gains as some investors said shares could rally in a thinly traded, holiday-shortened week.

Online spending in the United States rose 12 percent to $27.5 billion till date this holiday shopping season. Free Shipping Day punctuated an exceptional week in which consumers spent more than $5.5 billion online, representing a 14 percent increase from last year, research firm comScore said.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday as Wall Street looked to extend three weeks of gains as some investors said shares could rally in a thinly traded, holiday-shortened week.

Lindsay relocated to another facility after receiving strange threatening messages.

There is a buzz around the casting of 'Rock of Ages' with Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Taylor Swift and Gwyneth Paltrow all being considered

World stocks edged higher toward a recent two-year high on Monday while the euro hit a two-week low as concerns over the euro zone debt crisis stayed in focus following last week's Irish rating downgrade.

Reporters covering court cases should be allowed to send messages to the Twitter micro-blogging site, a senior British legal official said on Monday, clarifying rules after hearings involving WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The South Korean military has begun live-firing exercises on Yeonpyeong Island, the country's defense ministry announced on Monday. Local residents were ordered to move into air raid bunkers ahead of the drills. The move comes at the time of heightened tensions in the region and constant threats of retaliation from the North.

Stock index futures pointed to modest gains for Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrials and Nasdaq indexes all up by around 0.1 percent by 0933 GMT (4:33 a.m. EDT).

World stocks held steady below a recent two-year high on Monday while the euro hit a two-week low as concerns over the euro zone debt crisis persisted following last week's Irish rating downgrade.

Australian wealth manager Perpetual has called off talks with private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co over a $1.7 billion takeover saying the approach undervalued the company, knocking its shares down by nearly 15 percent.

Prosecutors in New York are set to file civil fraud charges against accounting firm Ernst & Young LLC over the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday euro zone countries must do more individually and collectively to combat the bloc's debt crisis, and Ireland must stick rigorously to its bailout plan.

Asian shares fell to their lowest in over a week on Monday, led by a 2 percent slide in Shanghai stocks as thin year-end trading made for exaggerated moves, not helped by mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Cricket Communications is launching a new music service for wireless customers, offering unlimited song downloads as part of a monthly rate plan.

Google Inc has asked some manufacturers to delay the launch of TV sets based on the internet company's software, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people briefed on the company's plans.

Genzyme Corp , which is fighting off a hostile $18.5 billion bid from Sanofi-Aventis SA , will on Monday take another stab at persuading investors that its experimental multiple sclerosis drug is worth more than Sanofi's projections.

Sony Corp said it was likely to fall slightly short of its ambitious 25 million unit LCD TV sales target for the year to March 2011, with sales in developed markets seen flat from last year in the key year-end shopping season.

South Korea's LG Group said on Monday it is boosting 2011 investment by 12 percent to a record $18.2 billion, as it seeks to revive the struggling handset business of its core unit LG Electronics Inc.

Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition Inc, backed by a U.S. private equity firm, said on Sunday it opposes anti-shareholder actions of Canadian miner Baffinland Iron Ore Mines.

It took Australia only 50 minutes on the fourth day of the Perth test at WACA, the third of the series, to take the remaining five wickets and land a 267-run win against England.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is set to be voted in for his fourth consecutive term, exit polls suggest. Local media has reported that Lukashenko is likely to win a massive 72 per cent of the votes while his rival Andrei Sannikov is predicted to get 6.33 per cent. Opposition had already voiced allegations of election fraud by the ruling party in the country. Lukashenko is running against nine opposition candidates.

Former European Central Bank Executive Board member and Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, an architect of the euro and one of Italy's most respected figures, died on Saturday evening of a heart attack.

Wall Street banks have been gripped by a certain euphoria in recent weeks, with their economists touting a modest improvement in U.S. data as an omen of more robust growth to come in 2011.

A controversial proposal for Internet traffic rules that would allow providers to ration access to their networks is scheduled to come before communications regulators for a vote on Tuesday.

Israel’s policies in West Bank and other districts are depriving Palestinians of basic necessities while providing lavish amenities to Jewish settlements, Rights group says. Human Rights Watch, in a report released on Sunday slammed the Israeli government for what it called, violations of ‘International laws’ and Palestinian Rights. It also demanded a withdrawal from the settlements.

The things the celebrities said this week