STORM

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann told Florida voters on Sunday that Hurricane Irene and the recent earthquake were manifestations of God's desire to cut back government spending.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, Chase bank has found a heart for potential suffering customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut: Staff will be increased, banking hours will be extended, and that banking overdraft fees and credit card late fees will be waived.

While American cities started limping back to normalcy from around a week-long disaster created by Hurricane Irene, on the other side of the globe one more natural disaster -- Super-typhoon Nanmadol -- left at least 16 confirmed and many others feared dead after hitting the Philippines last weekend.

According to state officials, about 444,000 households remain without power and at least seven people have been killed because of the storm.

Hurricane Irene's rampage through 10 states caused an estimated $7 billion to $13 billion in damage from violent winds and flooding, and left almost 6 million homes and businesses without power.

Hurricane Irene shut down the neon lights on Broadway, and substantially reduced commercial activity over the weekend -- including canceling thousands of flights, but the storm's economic damage will likely be far less than originally predicted. In particular, New Yorkers, for the most part, feel like they were spared.

Uncounted thousands remain vulnerable to continued flooding.

Dozens of homes in the Diamond State were damaged or destroyed by fierce winds; while many roads remain impassable due to fallen tree limbs and power lines.

Hurricane Irene has left the U.S. East Coast but the update in the aftermath reveals a path of destruction, as the storm plodded along 1,100 miles of coastline while inflicting whipping and drenching impact. Clean will likely take months, and damage could near $20 billion on all.

Gold prices eased a touch in holiday-thinned trade on Monday as investors took bets on higher prices off the table, disappointed by a lack of clear guidance from the Federal Reserve on Friday on the options for U.S. economic stimulus.

While it is still early in the recovery process for Hurricane Irene, given weaker-than-expected wind speeds, particularly for the New York metro area landfall, FBR Capital Markets believes it is safe to say that loss expectations are lower than many investors thought last Thursday and Friday when forecasts shifted to show a more inland path for the storm.

Following Irene's fury, America's largest metropolitan city is back in business on Monday as most subways and buses resumed service. Commuter traffic is lighter than normal as many in the region still lack power and others who fled remain out of town, but it was a quick turnaround for New York.

Tropical storm Nanmadol headed for China on Monday, losing strength after drenching southern and eastern Taiwan, forcing evacuations, shutting businesses and disrupting transport, but causing no major damage or casualties.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 1 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 1 percent at 0930 GMT (5:30 a.m. ET).

The Atlantic City casinos, which were shut as Hurricane Irene moved toward the city and the rest of New Jersey, will reopen at noon on Monday.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday warned that flooding from Hurricane Irene could worsen as rivers flood their banks and said federal recovery efforts would last a few weeks.

Hurricane Irene swept through Manhattan on Sunday but reserved the worst of its fury for towns and suburbs up and down the northeastern United States where driving rain and flood tides inundated homes and cut power to millions.

More than 470,000 Long Islanders lost power due to Irene

Reporting live about Hurricane from Ocean City, Maryland Sunday, Tucker Barnes, a TV reporter for WTTG, was drenched in what he described as organic matter that doesn't taste great.

Was the Hurricane Irene Path Evacuation and transit system shutdown ordered by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wrong?

A final decision on whether to cut power to Lower Manhattan due to storm surges has not been reached, said New York power utility Consolidated Edison, or Con-Ed, said Sunday, but flooding in the area appeared to be less severe than expected.