UNITED STATES

BP Plc announced a return to paying dividends, which it cut at the height of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last summer and said it planned to sell refineries as it refocused on oil and gas production.

A survey by London-based Brand Finance Plc of banks, based on the notional amount that a company would have to pay for the brand, has ranked the Bank of America as the most valuable banking brand with an estimated price of $30.6 billion.

With the government blocking Internet and cell phone connections in Egypt for the fifth consecutive day, the scene is one of complete chaos at the Cairo International Airport as tourists flock to escape the growing disturbance in the country.

Bank of America Corp senior executives will not get cash bonuses for 2010 and Chief Executive Brian Moynihan will not receive a base salary increase in 2011, according to a securities filing on Monday.

A senior human resources manager at Toshiba Corp has filed a $100 million lawsuit accusing a U.S. unit of the Japanese technology company of gender bias against women in pay and promotions.

Gold fell on Monday, notching its first monthly decline in six months, as strong U.S. factory and spending data coupled with fading worries about the euro zone debt crisis put a damper on the metal's rally.

The largest U.S. money-market funds reported shadow prices at $1 per share or more on the first day of a new federal reporting requirement, an outcome that analysts said should reassure investors shaken by the ride some funds took during the financial crisis.

U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman has told the White House he plans to resign, fueling speculation he may be laying the groundwork to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

U.S. auto sales lost momentum in the final weeks of January, auto executives and a leading analyst cautioned on Monday, setting the stage for a softer start to 2011 than the industry had expected.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc sued H&R Block Inc to stop a new advertising campaign that it said misleads customers about tax refund loans and disparages Jackson Hewitt's competence.

Factory activity in the U.S. Midwest hit a 22-1/2 year high in January as orders surged and employment prospects brightened, providing a fresh signal that the economy would stay on a solid growth path this year.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said on Monday that a federal judge's ruling has confirmed many assumptions about the illegality of last year's landmark healthcare law.

Exxon, IBM, Alcoa lead strong day for U.S. stocks

Florida federal judge Roger Vinson ruled on Monday that the health care bill President Obama passed last year, in conjunction with the Democrat-controlled Congress, is unconstitutional.

Full text of Judge Roger Vinson's ruling that the health care reform bill, passed by President Obama and Democrat lawmakers, is unconstitutional.

The U.S. economy is recovering, but the speed of improvement should not be overstated and it is too early to declare victory, a top Federal Reserve policy-maker said on Monday.

The World Trade Organization handed a report to U.S. and EU officials on Monday, which industry sources said found that plane manufacturer Boeing received billions of dollars in unfair subsidies from the U.S. government.

With ongoing turmoil in Egypt, a friendly between the U.S. men's national team and Egypt scheduled for February 9 has been canceled.

Banks were the most optimistic in years as 2011 began that they will not have to write off as many bad business and consumer loans this year, a survey issued by the Federal Reserve showed on Monday.

Pimps will traffic thousands of under-age prostitutes to Texas for Sunday's Super Bowl, hoping to do business with men arriving for the big game with money to burn, child rights advocates said.

U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday as merger activity and solid earnings, including Exxon Mobil, overshadowed concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt to other parts of the Middle East.