BEN BERNANKE

Stocks snapped a three-day slide on Monday as signs that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would win a Senate vote for a second term helped ease investors' concerns.

The U.S. Senate looked likely to grudgingly approve Ben Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman this week after the White House stepped in to defend his crisis-fighting record and rally votes.

A broad-based stocks advance drove the S&P 500 up 1 percent on Monday as signs that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would win a U.S. Senate vote for a second term relieved the market of some of the uncertainty that contributed to last week's decline.

U.S. stocks moved higher on Monday as signs that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke would win a U.S. Senate vote for a second term helped lift shares beaten down in last week's sell-off, such as technology stocks.

U.S. lawmakers looked likely to grudgingly approve Ben Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman this week after the White House stepped in to defend his crisis-fighting record and rally votes.

The S&P 500 index is up 7.33 points or 0.67 percent in early afternoon trading. The basic materials sector leads the rally, with the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index is up 1.3 percent and the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index up 1 percent.

Sales of previously owned homes suffered a record drop last month as the boost from a popular tax credit waned, raising doubts the housing market recovery can be sustained without government support.

Seventeen Senators, four of them Democrats, have declared that they will vote against Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's confirmation for second term, according a Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones survey.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, set to snap a three-session sell-off that wiped out index gains for the year, as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke edged closer to winning support for a second term.

The S&P 500 rose slightly in early trading amid signs over the weekend that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will be confirmed for a second term.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a strong gain at the open on Monday and looked set to reverse a three-day selling spree that wiped out index gains for the year as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke edged closer to winning support for a second term.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to gain at the open on Monday after the worst 3-day slide in 10 months following fears a White House plan to curb risk-taking by banks would cut profits.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a 1 percent rise on Monday after the worst 3-day slide in 10 months, which came on fears that the White House plan to curb bank risk-taking would cut profits.

Stock index futures pointed to a rebound on Wall Street on Monday following last week's sharp sell-off, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.82 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.74 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.51 percent at 4:15 a.m. EST.

World stocks added to the previous week's fall on Monday, weighed down by Wall Street losses, uncertainty over U.S. bank plans and concern that Greece's debt crisis could spread.

Asian stocks fell on Monday after Wall Street's worst three-day slide in 10 months, but moved off intra-day lows as a gain in U.S. futures signaled New York markets could recover some of last week's losses.

Asian stocks fell on Monday after Wall Street suffered its worst three-day slide in 10 months, but losses were muted, and high-yielding currencies edged up as some investor appetite for riskier assets surfaced.

The yen and the U.S. dollar dipped on Monday while the euro and high-yielding currencies advanced, lifted by reports that Ben Bernanke was moving closer towards being confirmed for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Markets have been fretting since late last week over whether Bernanke would be approved for the job. [nN24141266]

The U.S. economy probably closed out 2009 with the fastest growth rate in nearly four years, yet it won't be enough to tempt the Federal Reserve to lift record-low interest rates.

The U.S. economy probably closed out 2009 with the fastest growth rate in nearly four years, yet it won't be enough to tempt the Federal Reserve to lift record-low interest rates.

Embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke edged closer to winning support for a second term after the Senate's Republican leader predicted confirmation and Democrats aimed to have a vote this week.