IBT Staff Reporter

The AUD has had a strong night during the offshore session, currently trading comfortably above USD0.9100 after better than expected manufacturing data was released in the US and exceptional profit reports from some of Europe's main banks saw risk appetite back on the table.

Hewlett-Packard Co said on Monday it has agreed in principle to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice related to a contract with the General Services Administration.

Research In Motion pledged to satisfy the security needs both of customers and governments, a day after the United Arab Emirates threatened to cut off some BlackBerry services because authorities could not access encrypted messaging data.

European Union competition regulators launched two anti-trust investigations against International Business Machines Corp, suspecting it of abusing its dominant position in the mainframe computer market.

Yahoo Inc is splitting the duties for its North American sales operations among four internal executives instead of replacing the sales boss that left the Internet giant nearly five months ago.

U.S. stocks closed at their highest level in 10 weeks on Monday and the S&P 500 pierced key technical levels as a weaker U.S. dollar lifted the energy and raw materials sectors.

Businesses eligible for tax credits under an Obama administration stimulus package hired an estimated 5.6 million workers, the Treasury Department said on Monday.

(In paragraph 2, deletes Reuters stock code for T3, adds company's full name)

Motorola Inc said on Monday a former executive Daniel Moloney will return to the company as president of its Mobility operations just months after he left to run manufacturer Technitrol Inc.

The United States said it was disappointed that the United Arab Emirates planned to cut off key BlackBerry services, noting that the Gulf nation was setting a dangerous precedent in limiting freedom of information.

U.S. retailers look set to report only a modest improvement in sales for July as anxious consumers cut down on their spending and big chains returned to their discounting ways.

U.S. July auto sales are on track to rise from a year-earlier tally that was boosted by government incentives, pointing to a gradual recovery in one of the first indicators of consumer demand for the third quarter.

CBS Corp, the No.1 U.S. broadcaster, is in talks to bring some of its TV shows to popular Web video service Hulu, CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves said in an interview on Monday.

Research In Motion pledged to satisfy the security needs of customers and governments, a day after the United Arab Emirates threatened to cut off some BlackBerry services because authorities could not access encrypted messaging data.

HSBC's North American chief executive expects the new U.S. financial reform law to cost it at least $110 million in annual revenue.

Proceeds from initial public offerings in July soared on a global basis, hitting their highest level since before the 2008 financial meltdown, according to Thomson Reuters data.

U.S. manufacturing grew in July at its slowest pace this year as a stream of new orders tapered off, pointing to further slackening in the economic recovery.

U.S. stocks closed at their highest level in 10 weeks on Monday and the S&P 500 pierced key technical levels as a weaker U.S. dollar lifted the energy and raw materials sectors.

U.S. securities regulators are investigating whether people may have illegally profited from trading on nonpublic information at BP Plc in the weeks and months following the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill, two sources familiar with the investigation said on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday promised not to swamp Wall Street with red tape and vowed to move quickly to put in place new rules for the financial marketplace to dispel uncertainty.

Stereo equipment magnate Sidney Harman is close to sealing a deal to buy Newsweek magazine from The Washington Post Co, according to a Monday report on The New York Times' Media Decoder blog.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating deals struck by Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc to offer low prices on electronic books, saying the agreements may block rivals from providing attractive pricing.

U.S. health insurers are not worth the long-term investment risk in the wake of the new healthcare reform law, according to brokerage Edward Jones.

Lonely Planet, publisher of the popular travel guides, launched interactive e-books for the iPad on Monday for popular European destinations.

The economy is improving but has yet to recover fully, with high unemployment and a weak housing market leaving consumers unsettled, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday.

The economy is improving but has yet to recover fully, with high unemployment and a weak housing market leaving consumers unsettled, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday.

According to Australian health officials, the number of cases of severe swine flu in New South Wales has been increasing.

Microsoft Corp said on Monday that it would release the updated version of its lucrative Office software package for Apple Inc computers in late October, with a starting price of $119.

(Corrects in fourth paragraph to show U.S. manufacturing moderated to its slowest pace since December, not in a year)