IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Monday with a slide in oil prices set to weigh on energy shares and as investors remained anxious about the potential strength of the economic recovery.

Stock markets rewarded companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Cisco who were brave enough to make acquisitions in the months after Lehman Brothers' collapse, a study released on Monday showed.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics , the world's top maker of memory chips and flat screen TVs, forecast second-quarter earnings well above market estimates, driving its shares up more than 4 percent on Monday.

Here are notable events in the world of business and politics the week of July 6:

Oil fell to around $64 a barrel on Monday and touched a five-week low, pressured by doubts over the prospects for a global economic recovery.

The surviving parts of the world's oldest Christian Bible will be reunited online on Monday, generating excitement among biblical scholars still striving to unlock its mysteries.

The financial crisis has laid bare defects in the dollar-led global economy and the world should look to displace the U.S. currency, even if that will take many years, Chinese officials said in comments published on Monday.

Oil fell to a five-week low toward $64 a barrel on Monday, pressured by doubts over the prospects of an early global economic recovery and a firmer dollar.

India said its fiscal deficit would widen as it increases spending on infrastructure and help for farmers, disappointing investors who had hoped the new government would use its strong re-election mandate to usher in a wave of pro-market reforms. Stocks fell 5 percent and bond yields spiked after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, sticking to the ruling Congress party's theme of inclusive growt...

Stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday following a long weekend, as oil tumbled nearly $3 a barrel on mounting doubts over a quick economic recovery.

Oil fell to a five-week low near $64 a barrel on Monday, pressured by doubts over the prospects of an early global economic recovery and a firmer dollar.

Markets got off to a hesitant start Monday as investor doubts on the staying power of a global recovery kept Asian stocks soggy and currencies subdued ahead of a much-expanded Group of Eight meeting this week.

Global miner Rio Tinto agreed on Monday to sell its Americas food-packaging assets for $1.2 billion to packaging group Bemis Co Inc , raising yet more much-needed cash for the indebted miner.

Markets got off to a hesitant start Monday as investor doubts on the staying power of a global recovery kept Asian stocks soggy and currencies subdued ahead of a much-expanded Group of Eight meeting this week.

A U.S. judge on Sunday approved General Motors Corp's bankruptcy sale, in a move that will allow the company's most profitable assets to exit bankruptcy protection under government ownership.

A judge in a federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan late on Sunday approved a plan by General Motors to sell its best assets to a new, government-backed company, The New York Times reported.

A U.S. judge on Sunday approved General Motors Corp's bankruptcy sale, in a move that will allow the company's most profitable assets to exit bankruptcy protection under government ownership.

Search teams for the for the Yemenia air crash have detected the signal beacons from the two flight recorders of the jet that plunged into the Indian Ocean last Monday.

Global miner Rio Tinto agreed on Monday to sell its Americas food-packaging assets for $1.2 billion to packaging group Bemis Co Inc , raising yet more much-needed cash for the indebted miner.

On Sunday, a judge signed search warrants to help determine whether drugs played a role in the death of the King of pop.

Approximately 1.6 million Michael Jackson fans hoping to get a chance to attend the King of pop's memorial service registered online for a chance to get picked and out of this only 8,750 lucky winners were drawn with winners being notified on Sunday afternoon.

Media reports about possible drug use by pop star Michael Jackson the day he died prompted a warning from anesthesiologists on Sunday, as lawyers prepared to square-off in a courtroom battle over his estate.

Details of Michael Jackson's public memorial remained under wraps on Sunday as Los Angeles police braced for a huge crowd of fans expected to turn out and again warned those without tickets to stay away.

Essentially two kinds of people existed in the '80s: Coke drinkers and Pepsi drinkers. And if you loved Michael Jackson, you had good reason to fall into the latter group.

At the time of Michael Jackson's death last week, it was well-known that he was preparing for a 50-show concert series at London's O2 Arena later this month.

The downturn in global advertising is approaching its lowest point and, after a fall of 8.5 percent in 2009, the industry should see a mild recovery in 2010, a leading media agency predicted on Monday.

France and Russia on Sunday urged a debate about the world's reserve currencies, but China said the dollar would keep its pre-eminence for many years to come.

Stock markets rewarded companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Cisco who were brave enough to make acquisitions in the months after Lehman Brothers' collapse, a study released on Monday showed.

The death of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, killed in a shooting incident Saturday morning, was ruled a homicide by police, who also said he was dating Sahel Kazemi, the woman who was also found dead next to him.