IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, signaling a rebound from Friday's steep losses, ahead of data expected to show U.S. manufacturing grew for a third consecutive month.

Shares of Japanese consumer lenders soared on Monday after a source said the government may ease regulations that have crippled the sector and raised hurdles for small businesses to get loans.

News, details on bond issues in the European markets on Monday:

Britain's top share index was up 0.3 percent early on Monday, as gains in commodity stocks outweighed slight weakness in defensives like pharmaceutical and tobacco stocks.

European shares hit a four-week low on Monday, extending the previous session's sharp declines on doubts that the stock market had rallied ahead of economic recovery, with banks featuring among top losers.

* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, signalling a rebound after the previous session's steep losses, with futures for the S&P 500 SPc1 up 0.74 percent, Dow Jones DJc1 futures up 0.68 percent and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures up 0.02 percent at 0912 GMT.

Oil rose above $78 a barrel on Monday, recovering from the previous session's steep drop, after manufacturing data from China revived expectations economic recovery would generate extra fuel demand.

Oil rose toward $78 a barrel on Monday, recovering from the previous session's drop, after manufacturing data from China revived expectations economic recovery would generate extra fuel demand.

White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers will lead a high-level meeting on Monday to discuss the state of the economy, job creation and ways to achieve sustainable growth.

MTV Urge ... Yahoo Music Unlimited ... Virgin Digital ... Since 2003 -- when iTunes launched in the United States -- all of these digital music services have come and gone, without challenging Apple's market dominance, despite the backing of resource-rich parent companies.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, signaling a rebound after the previous session's steep losses, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.74 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.68 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.02 percent at 4:12 a.m. EST.

Oil rose above $77 a barrel on Monday, retracing some of the previous session's drop, as manufacturing data from China helped to allay fears about the pace of the rebound in global energy demand.

World stocks added to the previous week's losses on Monday, hugging one-month lows as investors pulled back from a more than seven month rally and prepared for the eventual withdrawal of stimulative monetary policy.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Monday announced its second round of price cuts on toys as the world's biggest retailer backs up its intention to be the price leader this holiday shopping season.

Comcast Corp and General Electric Co are closer to a deal to give Comcast a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal and a formal announcement may be made in the coming week, the New York Times said, citing people briefed on the talks.

Oil rose above $77 a barrel on Monday, retracing some of the previous session's 3.6 percent drop, as bullish manufacturing data from China helped to allay fears about the pace of the rebound in global energy demand.

Uncertainty for Economic Growth;CIT's Capitulation; SEC's Missed Chances

The U.S. economy has been kick-started into growth but stock investors still face an uncertain outlook as Wall Street gears up for comments from the Federal Reserve and a key report on employment this week.

White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers will lead a high-level meeting on Monday to discuss the state of the economy, job creation and ways to achieve sustainable growth.

The yen reversed steep early gains and slid on Monday in choppy trade as market players bought the Australian dollar against the Japanese currency ahead of an expected rate hike in Australia this week.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is in talks to buy millions of dollars of tax credits from Fannie Mae, but the U.S. Treasury could block the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Shares in Sony Corp lost nearly 6 percent on Monday as investors shrugged off the electronics maker's upward revision to its earnings forecast and sold on worries over the U.S. market and a stronger yen.

Barely a month goes by without some new energy or mineral deal being struck between China and an African nation. These deals have transfixed the West, but China gets far more from the relationship than raw resources.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp Chief Executive Robert Kelly was recently approached about taking the CEO job at Bank of America Corp , but he has shown no interest in the job, The Wall Street Journal reported.

CIT Group Inc, a lender to hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, as the global financial crisis left it unable to fund itself and the recession clobbered its loans.

The yen rose to two-week highs while the U.S. dollar clung to gains on Monday as jittery investors cut back long positions in growth-linked currencies.

U.S. factory workers at Ford Motor Co overwhelmingly rejected proposed concessions it has said it needs to stay competitive, while union workers in Canada on Sunday accepted cuts aimed at retaining jobs.

The U.S. economy has been kick-started into growth but stock investors still face an uncertain outlook as Wall Street gears up for comments from the Federal Reserve and a key report on employment this week.

The Australian Dollar begins the new week sharply lower against the greenback at 0.8990. After a local session of range-trading on Friday which saw the Aussie move as high as 0.9174, volatility returned offshore as U.S consumer spending fell 0.5 per cent in September as economic stimulus starts to dry up. High yielding currencies came under selling pressure throughout the New York trading session as the data indicated that consumers will make a limited contribution to the recovery without govern...