IBT Staff Reporter

Deutsche Lufthansa could turn an airline sector slump to its advantage by negotiating lower prices and more cost cuts out of acquisitions it agreed last year that threaten to hurt its shares.

The world's population of older people is growing at the fastest rate ever seen and the old will soon outnumber the young for the first time, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Halliburton Co , the world's second-largest oilfield services company, reported a 47 percent drop in quarterly profit as spending on oil and natural gas projects in North America slumped sharply.

Magna and Sberbank have changed their offer for General Motors' former European unit Opel, a source familiar with the matter said.

Hasbro Inc , the No. 2 toy company, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, helped by lower costs and demand for toys linked to summer movies such as G.I. Joe and Transformers.

Samsung Electronics said on Monday it would invest 5.4 trillion won ($4.3 billion) in green research and development and facilities to make the world's largest memory chip maker a leading eco-friendly company by 2013.

Stocks were set to open higher on Monday, extending gains following Wall Street's best week in 4 months, after CIT Group Inc clinched a deal that could help avoid bankruptcy, removing some uncertainty as the financial sector recovers from a deep crisis.

A dual system of both national emissions caps and carbon trading schemes should play a central role in cutting global greenhouse gas emissions, a report commissioned by the British government said on Monday.

Stellar earnings from U.S. banks have raised expectations that European rivals will follow suit in the next month, although rising bad debts have the potential to douse that optimism.

Hasbro Inc , the No. 2 toy company, posted a higher second-quarter profit on Monday, boosted by demand for toys such as G.I. Joe and Transformers linked to popular summer movies.

Charles Schwab Corp , the largest U.S. online brokerage, denied allegations by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of civil fraud in its marketing and sale of Auction Rate Securities .

The U.S. recession's grip on the economy appears to be easing but likely has not yet ended, according to a survey of economists released on Monday.

Apple, the iPhone maker, is scheduled to report their fiscal third quarter 2009 results after the market closes on Tuesday. Analyst estimate between $1.02 earnings per share to a high of $1.31, with a consensus estimate of $1.15.

U.S. and European IT budgets are expected to fall 2 percent over the next year, less than the 5 percent decline expected three months ago, according to a survey of 100 chief information officers carried out by UBS.

Stock index futures rose on Monday after CIT Group Inc clinched a deal that could avoid bankruptcy, removing some uncertainty as the financial sector recovers from a deep crisis.

The conference board's index for June will be released today at 10am EST. The June indicator is expected to show a slight gain after the number of housing permits rose. May indicators spiked 1.2 percent, topping the 1.1 percent jump in April that ended a long run of declines.

The following are highlighted earnings releases from Monday July 20 to Friday July 24, from Earnings.com

CIT Group Inc's board signed off on a deal late Sunday for $3 billion in rescue financing from a group of bondholders, in a plan the lender hopes will stave off bankruptcy, a source close to the situation said.

Charles Schwab Corp , the largest U.S. online brokerage, denied allegations by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of civil fraud in its marketing and sale of Auction Rate Securities .

Australia's trade minister said on Monday that Australia wants more details on the detained employees of miner Rio Tinto from China quickly, but said the case would not hurt economic relations if handled properly.

Australia's trade minister said on Monday China's detention of Rio Tinto employees would not hurt economic relations if handled properly, but said the case was a signal to everyone looking to invest in China.

U.S. stock index futures were higher, pointing to a firmer start on Wall Street on Monday, with both the Dow Jones futures and the S&P 500 futures up 0.3 percent by 3.56 a.m. ET, and the Nasdaq futures up 0.2 percent.

Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co on Monday moved a step closer to merging with its Euronext-listed fund after receiving approval from the board of the fund to combine businesses.

Asian stocks outside Japan rose on Monday to their highest level since the dark days following Lehman Brothers' collapse in September while the U.S. dollar fell, as strong company earnings encouraged investors to move into riskier, higher-yielding assets and commodities.

Asian stocks rose on Monday to their highest level since the dark days following Lehman Brothers' collapse last September while the U.S. dollar fell, as a solid outlook for corporate earnings lured investors to riskier, higher-yielding assets and commodities.

Creditors of Wilton Holdings Inc, one of largest makers of equipment for decorating food, asked a court to put the company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to $208 million in debts, according to court documents.

Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co on Monday moved a step closer to merging with its Euronext-listed fund, after receiving approval from the board of the fund to combine businesses.

CIT Group Inc's board signed off on a deal late Sunday for $3 billion in rescue financing from a group of bondholders, in a plan the lender hopes will stave off bankruptcy, a source close to the situation said.

Citigroup is facing fresh problems at its private-investments division over two funds that were overseen by Michael Froman, who left the bank's Alternative Investments unit in January to be a White House aide, the Wall Street Journal said.