IBT Staff Reporter

Gold prices rose and moved away from four-week lows on Monday as the dollar reversed course and dipped against a basket of major currencies, paring gains made after upbeat U.S. economic data late last week.

Technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture Plc on Sunday said it was ending its six-year sponsorship arrangement with golfer Tiger Woods, who is embroiled in a scandal involving extra-marital affairs with numerous women.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's largest bank, priced a share sale at 428 yen on Monday to raise up to 1.03 trillion yen ($11.6 billion) to help meet stricter global capital requirements.

Britain's Cadbury Plc said it has received interest from other bidders after raising its growth targets and reporting upbeat trading as it dismissed a 10 billion pound ($16.5 billion) bid from Kraft Foods .

Britain's Cadbury Plc raised its long-term growth targets and reported upbeat trading as it dismissed a 10 billion pound ($16.5 billion) bid from Kraft Foods , kicking off a seven-week fight for its independence.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.59 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.39 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.49 percent.

LOS ANGELES - NBC is launching a Chuck game that gives points to fans who talk about the show using social media.

Google Inc plans to sell its own cellphone direct to consumers as soon as next year, bypassing wireless operators in a rare strategic move, the Wall Street Journal cited sources as saying on Saturday.

Asian stocks rebounded on Monday after Dubai said it had received $10 billion from Abu Dhabi to repay debt, which pushed down the yen and boosted the euro and emerging Asian currencies as risk appetite improved.

A report says that 38 percent of all U.S. stock trading is now done by firms that have naked sponsored access to markets, the controversial trading practice said to imperil the marketplace, and which faces a regulatory crackdown.

Abu Dhabi bailed out neighboring Dubai on Monday with $10 billion in surprise aid for debt-laden Dubai World, driving stock markets higher, but Dubai said creditors still needed to approve a standstill on outstanding debt.

Abu Dhabi stepped in to help fellow United Arab Emirates member Dubai on Monday with a $10 billion injection, of which $4.1 billion was allocated to troubled state-owned conglomerate Dubai World to pay immediate obligations, Dubai said on Monday.

A Thai court on Monday extended the detention of the crew of a seized cargo aircraft loaded with 35 tonnes of arms from North Korea as its unscheduled arrival in Bangkok stirred questions over illicit-weapons trade.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was rushed to hospital covered in blood with a broken nose and teeth after a man with mental problems hurled a statuette at him at a rally, officials said on Sunday.

Apple Inc accused Nokia of anti-competitive practices and patent infringement on Friday, escalating a legal battle as they fight for market share in smartphones.

Asian stocks eased on Monday as the dollar hovered near six-week highs on views the Federal Reserve might raise rates sooner than expected, putting pressure on oil and commodity prices.

Dubai said on Monday it had received $10 billion from fellow UAE member Abu Dhabi to help it repay $4.1 billion Islamic bond maturing on Monday.

Citigroup is nearing a deal with the U.S. government that would allow it to pay back its bailout money, several reports said on Sunday.

China is unlikely to raise interest rates in the first quarter of 2010, a senior government economist said in remarks published on Monday.

Privately-held real estate company Fairfield Residential LLC filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, saying that the collapse of the U.S. real estate and capital markets has made it difficult to continue without restructuring.

If a currency represents a country's standing on the global stage, then China has been poorly represented until now.

To all extents and purposes, 2009 is over for investors and the coming week will be dominated by the issues of 2010.

Fed at Its Limits; Closing the Climate Deal Gap; D-Day for Dubai

Japanese business confidence edged up more than expected in the three months to December but remained negative for the sixth quarter in a row, a Bank of Japan survey showed, as the economy slowly recovers from its worst postwar recession.

Warehouses holding everything from beer kegs to frozen chickens crowd the roadside along Highway 146 south of Houston, and a ferocious building boom is adding acres more, thanks to an even bigger project 1,800 miles away in Panama.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp Chief Executive Robert Kelly is the front-runner to succeed retiring Bank of America Corp CEO Kenneth Lewis, but compensation issues could get in the way of a deal, the Wall Street Journal said on Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Citigroup is nearing a deal with the U.S. government that would allow it to pay back some of its bailout money, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Michael Widenius, creator of MySQL database, which could become the stumbling block for Oracle in its Sun takeover, has launched an Internet campaign trying to line up MySQL users to stop the deal.

The Aussie dollar was unable to hold onto momentum gained by Thursday's stellar employment report peaking near 92 cents during Friday's European session.