Welcome to the Reuters Before the Bell news mail.
After a rotten week, Wall Street is perking up over some mergers and acquisitions news.
Stock futures are pointing higher after a source said Yahoo was set to spurn Microsoft's bid - which raises the possibility of a better offer. Meanwhile, Britain's Times says the Internet company is looking to restart merger talks with AOL.
And The Wall Street Journal says Motorola and Nortel are looking into combining their wireless networking units.
Recession fears haven't gone away, but there's no major economic data to reinforce them.
However, leaders from the Group of Seven major economies said over the weekend that the crumbling U.S. housing market had wounded the world economy and conditions may worsen as debt-laden banks clamp down on credit.
This afternoon, the White House is releasing the president's annual economic report, and St. Louis Fed President William Poole is speaking later in the day.
U.S. Treasuries are mostly lower. The dollar is down against the euro and the yen.
Oil prices are up around $92 a barrel after Venezuela President Hugo Chavez threatened to stop sending the commodity to the U.S. The move followed Exxon's lawsuit that froze $12 billion in Venezuelan assets.
Societe Generale, the bank that had been hammered by a rogue trading scandal, has launched its rights issue at a deep discount.
Until tomorrow,
Lisa Von Ahn
News Mail Editor
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Wall Street seen opening higher, Yahoo eyed
February 11, 2008 08:21 AM ET
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Monday against
a backdrop of deal news that brightened the outlook for technology
stocks, with Wall Street set to claw back from its worst weekly
drop for blue chips in nearly five years.
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Yahoo seeks to restart merger talks with AOL: paper
February 11, 2008 05:17 AM ET
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LONDON (Reuters) - Yahoo is seeking to restart merger talks with
AOL as a means of defending itself against an unsolicited bid
approach from Microsoft, the Times newspaper said on Monday.
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Motorola, Nortel reportedly in talks to combine units
February 11, 2008 06:17 AM ET
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motorola Inc and Nortel Networks Corp
are in talks to combine their wireless infrastructure units,
the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting people familiar with
the situation.
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SocGen launches rights issue at deep discount
February 11, 2008 07:21 AM ET
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PARIS (Reuters) - Societe Generale launched a 5.5 billion euros
($7.97 billion) capital increase on Monday to plug holes in
its balance sheet following a rogue trading scandal.
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UPDATE 2-Hasbro profit rises on Transformers, Nerf sales
February 11, 2008 07:59 AM ET
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NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Hasbro Inc , thesecond-largest U.S.
toy company, posted a better-than-expectedfourth-quarter profit
on Monday, boosted by strong demand forits Transformers, Nerf
and Furreal Friends product lines.
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Delta, Northwest may merge after union talks: report
February 11, 2008 05:24 AM ET
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc and Northwest Airlines
Corp may reach a merger agreement within weeks after sharing
details of their plans with pilot unions, according to a report
on Bloomberg.com citing people familiar with the talks.
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Countrywide Financial, Acorn reach subprime agreement
February 11, 2008 06:25 AM ET
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(Reuters) - Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp and housing
advocacy group ACORN said they have reached an agreement to
formalize workout programs to help borrowers with all types
of subprime loans avoid foreclosure.
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Loews quarterly profit falls 31 percent
February 11, 2008 08:19 AM ET
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Loews Corp said on Monday fourth-quarter
profit fell 31 percent, hurt by losses tied to subprime investments
at its CNA Financial Corp insurance unit.
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IMF sees sharp U.S. slowdown
February 11, 2008 07:47 AM ET
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MUMBAI (Reuters) - Economic slowdown in the United States will
be significant and will last for some time, the head of the
International Monetary Fund said on Monday, calling for a coordinated
response to financial turmoil around the world.
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Chocolate bar makers raided in German probe
February 11, 2008 06:55 AM ET
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Investigators raided the German offices
of chocolate bar makers Mars, Ritter, Nestle and Kraft, the
companies said on Monday, on suspicion they colluded over price
increases.
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