IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. securities regulators on Monday accused New York financial services firm ICP Asset Management and its founder of defrauding investors in a series of complex collateralized debt obligations for their own benefit.

Connecticut's attorney general will lead a multi-state probe of whether Google Inc broke laws when it siphoned personal data off wireless networks around the world, which the Internet search leader has said was inadvertent.

The Senate agreed on Friday to rescind a 21 percent pay cut that went into effect earlier this month for doctors treating patients under the Medicare health program for the elderly.

BP is eyeing relatively modest new bank lending lines and is not planning bond sales or new increases in asset sales to fund its Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean-up, sources familiar with the company's thinking said on Monday.

Stocks rose on Monday but were off early highs as investors digested China's vow to allow a flexible yuan currency.

China's yuan hit a five-year peak on Monday after Beijing suddenly relaxed controls ahead of this weekend's G20 summit, sparking stock gains around the world and questions about just how far China's new currency flexibility would go.

European Central Bank policymakers pressed governments on Monday to follow stricter budget rules and open their books to external monitoring as they urged a new carrot-and-stick approach to fiscal policy.

China's yuan surged to a five-year peak on Monday, sending stocks higher across the globe as Beijing signaled ahead of this weekend's G20 summit that it would deliver on pledges of greater currency flexibility.

Barclays Plc's top two executives will tell a New York court this week that the British bank did not receive an unfair windfall from a deal for parts of Lehman Brothers in a case that shows the need for banks to draw up living wills.

Stocks rose on Monday as China's vow to allow a flexible yuan currency reassured investors about the global recovery and improved the profit outlook for many U.S. multinational companies.

A federal judge agreed to give Goldman Sachs Group Inc more time to respond to a lawsuit filed by U.S. securities regulators accusing the Wall Street bank of fraud.

Diversified food maker Ralcorp Holdings Inc agreed to buy American Italian Pasta Co for about $1.2 billion in cash to further expand its product portfolio, and forecast a weak third-quarter profit.

The Supreme Court said on Monday it would hear JPMorgan Chase & Co's appeal over a lawsuit that says the bank violated federal law by failing to notify credit card holders before raising interest rates due to late payments or defaults.

Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), the U.S. machinery giant that sells billions of dollars of earth-moving equipment and other products to China each year, said on Saturday it was heartened by China's move to gradually make the yuan more flexible, saying it would help lift U.S. exports.

Private forecasters have raised their 2010 estimates for Canada's economic growth, saying the near-term outlook has improved further since a March survey, the Canadian Finance Department said on Monday.

Continental Airlines said it would take foreign exchange losses of about $10 million in the second quarter from the decline of the euro and the British pound against the U.S. dollar.

Stocks rose on Monday but were off their session highs as China's vow to allow a flexible yuan invigorated optimism in the global recovery and raised the sales outlook for U.S. multinational companies.

Leaders of some of the Group of 20 nations meeting in Canada this weekend will want to hear more about how China plans to make its currency more flexible, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday.

The overall risk to Canadian financial stability has increased over the past six months as mounting concerns over sovereign debt erupted in financial markets, the Bank of Canada said on Monday.

For avid gardeners, the ultimate luxury is a designated garden shed for corralling tools and accessories; preferably with a utility sink for tidying up. Here's a roundup of a few outbuildings spotted in the portfolios of architects we admire.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose to their highest levels in about a month on Monday after China let the yuan rise to a five-year high,raising optimism about global economic recovery.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday that China's decision over the weekend to give its yuan currency more flexibility was quite encouraging

China's move to allow greater currency flexibility will raise pressure on exports in the short term, but will be good for competitiveness in the long run, state media on Monday quoted a Commerce Ministry official as saying.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton moved closer to a $116 billion iron ore joint venture after the Western Australia government approved the plan in return for payment of higher mining royalties, a deal that undermines Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's planned mining super tax.

The price of gold Thursday topped $1,252 before settling at a close of $1,245 on a combination of unpleasant economic news and a drop in the US dollar against every major currency save the Canadian dollar. Liberty International Financial Services director of research, J.M. Schuler, anticipates that the price of gold will continue to climb in the weeks ahead.

Will Ahmedabad replace London as the location for clearing houses for the world bullion trade. If noted expert on bullion market Bhargava N Vaidya's words are of any value, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are better suited for the location for bullion trade clearing houses rather than Loddon.

Stocks climbed on Monday as China's vow to allow a flexible yuan invigorated optimism in the global recovery and raised the outlook for sales in the long term at U.S. multinationals.

Financial market stress eased further on Monday as investors cheered Beijing's vow to make its currency more flexible, but interbank euro funding costs rose again with excess money market liquidity set to drop.

Having recovered from the recession blues during 2008, the semiconductor market in India posted a healthy growth in 2009 and with Indian economy seen growing at the growth rate of over 9% for 2010-11 the semiconductor segment as well as the allied metal sectors are believed to get a boost on the growth.