IBT Staff Reporter

HSBC and BNP Paribas, strengthened by the financial crisis in their roles as top European banks, both trumped earnings forecasts as bad debts fell sharply to make up for slowing investment banking growth.

A broad fall in the dollar has propelled the yen higher, bringing the Japanese currency within range of levels it has not traded at for 15 years and raising speculation whether even more gains will tempt Japanese authorities to intervene.

China's Geely on Monday completed its purchase of Ford Motor Co's Volvo unit, marking China's biggest acquisition of a foreign car maker and reflecting the nation's rapid rise in the auto world.

Oil hit a 12-week high near $80 a barrel on Monday as robust corporate earnings fueled optimism over the strength of the global economic recovery and the outlook for energy demand. European stock markets hit a 3-month high as risk appetite across commodity and financial markets picked up following strong results from leading banks HSBC (HSBA.L) BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA).

BP Plc Chief Executive-designate Bob Dudley will fly to Moscow this week to meet government officials and BP's oligarch partners in its Russian venture as the oil giant prepares to plug its blown out Gulf of Mexico well for good.

Stock index futures were sharply higher on Monday, building on last month's solid gains, as investors focused on encouraging corporate results.

The dollar index hit a three-month low on Monday, hurt by worries that the U.S. economy's recovery is losing steam, while the high-yielding Australian dollar reached a three-month high, buoyed by a rise in equities.

BP Plc Chief Executive-designate Bob Dudley will fly to Moscow this week to meet government officials and BP's oligarch partners in its Russian venture as the oil giant prepares to plug its blown out Gulf of Mexico well for good.

BNP Paribas , France's biggest listed bank, trumped second-quarter profit expectations on Monday and said the market environment would improve in the third quarter as investor confidence in Europe's banks rises.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street on Monday, with the S&P 500 futures up 1.1 percent, Nasdaq futures 0.8 percent higher, and futures for the Dow Jones industrial average up 1 percent by 4:38 a.m. ET.

HSBC's half-year profit more than doubled from a year ago to easily beat analysts' expectations as bad debts at Europe's biggest bank fell to their lowest level since the start of the financial crisis.

BP Plc has asked Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund to raise its share in the company to three percent, the al-Anba newspaper reported on Monday.

World stocks kicked off August in a strong mood on Monday as results from BNP Paribas and HSBC boosted optimism for corporate earnings and the economic outlook for the rest of the year.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> plans to buy BNP Paribas' stake in a Chinese fund venture for $50 million, giving Japan's biggest bank access to China's $300 billion mutual funds market, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

Asian stocks rose on Monday on strong corporate earnings and shrugged off news that Chinese manufacturing shrank in July amid investor hopes that the world's fastest growing major economy will expand strongly.

China's Geely will complete its $1.8 billion purchase of Ford Motor Co's Volvo unit on Monday, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, capping China's biggest purchase of a foreign car maker.

Gold prices edged up in Asian trade Monday, tracking high level of investor confidence amid strong stock markets in the region. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1183.39 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore while U.S. gold futures for December delivery was at $1,185.4 an ounce on the comex division of NYMEX.

Contract cellphone maker Foxconn International has resumed operations at a mobile phone parts manufacturing facility in India, it said on Monday, sending its shares up more than 5 percent.

Six former BP employees sued by the oil major for breach of contract in Singapore have applied to the court to set aside a search order that had allowed BP's lawyers to seize their personal computers, mobile phones and thumb drives, court documents showed.

Gold regained strength on Monday after jewelers resurfaced at lower levels, while strong equities lifted platinum group metals despite a lack of buying interest from automakers. Asian stocks gained while the dollar hit a three-month low against a basket of currencies due to concerns the U.S. economy's recovery was losing momentum following the release of poor economic growth data.

Oil rose toward 12-week highs above $79 on Monday, driven by investor appetite for commodities and energy risk, with macroeconomic indicators in top consumers the United States and China showing slower but sustained growth.

The dollar hovered near a three-month low against a basket of currencies on Monday and was seen stuck in a downtrend due to concerns that the U.S. economy's recovery was losing momentum. The dollar has been hobbled by worries over the U.S. economy after a series of U.S. economic data in the past month undershot market expectations, and its slide has been exacerbated by some bearish signals on technical charts.

More trouble has come to Zimbabwe's Mugabe family with first lady Grace Mugabe figuring as one of the biggest beneficiaries from the diamonds from the controversial Chiadzwa fields after it emerged she is a shareholder in Mbada Diamonds.

BNP Paribas , France's biggest listed bank, posted higher-than-expected second-quarter net profit thanks to lower loan provisions and strong retail banking, despite volatile financial market conditions.

AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless are planning a partnership to displace credit and debit cards by letting consumers pay with the contactless wave of a smartphone, Bloomberg News reported, citing three people with direct knowledge of the plan.

UBS AG said on Sunday it plans to hire executives from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America Corp to build its mortgages and lending business in the U.S.

UBS AG said on Sunday it plans to hire executives from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America Corp to build its mortgages and lending business in the U.S.

UBS AG said on Sunday it plans to hire executives from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America Corp to build its mortgages and lending business in the U.S.

The Australian Dollar has opened up firmly above 0.9000 this morning after the release of two major announcements on the weekend: US GDP Q2 figures and China PMI (purchasing manger's index) for the month of July.