UNITED STATES

As unemployment rises and economic forecasts sour, the White House has delayed until August the release of its mid-year budget review, which may include a record-shattering deficit projection.

For nearly a decade, the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 has been the recording industry's ultimate evergreen release, certified by the RIAA as the all-time best-selling album in the United States. But thanks to continued robust demand for Michael Jackson's catalog since his June 25 death, Thriller appears on the verge of matching Their Greatest Hits, at least in the eyes of the industry trade group.

Socks rose on Monday after CIT Group Inc was thrown a financial lifeline to avoid bankruptcy and investors bet this week's corporate earnings will reinforce recovery optimism.

Political and economic logic are set to collide in the byzantine decision-making over the future of German carmaker Opel, the main European arm of fallen U.S. auto giant General Motors.

General Motors (GM) said on Monday that it had received three binding takeover offers for Opel that it would consider together with the European countries that would be affected by the deal.

A U.S. judge delayed the trial of a former Credit Suisse Group AG employee on securities fraud charges to await the return on Monday of a co-defendant who fled to Spain.

CIT saved, Schwab Probed, KKR steps toward IPO

U.S. commercial property prices plunged for a second straight month in May as distressed transactions weighed, but the pace of decline may signal a bottoming process, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday.

LaSalle Investment Management on Monday said investor sentiment in the European commercial property sector had stabilised, that repricing had found a floor and that there was rising interest in the UK market.

M&T Bank Corp (MTB.N), a large U.S. mid-Atlantic regional bank, on Monday posted better-than-expected results even as increased credit losses and writedowns led to a 75 percent decline in second-quarter profit.

The U.S. housing market is showing signs of stabilization, according to inventory data released on Monday by national real estate brokerage ZipRealty.

Commercial mortgages at U.S. banks have been failing at the fastest rate in nearly 20 years, the Wall Street Journal said, citing its own analysis.

Stocks climbed on Monday, lifted on expectations that lender CIT Group Inc would be able to avoid bankruptcy.

The United States and India said on Monday they had agreed on a defense pact that takes a major step toward allowing the sale of sophisticated U.S. arms to the South Asian nation as it modernizes its military.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday as troubled lender CIT Group Inc is expected to close a deal with bondholders that could remove uncertainty and point to a healthier financial sector.

Halliburton Co posted a higher-than-expected profit on Monday, lifting its shares, but the world's second-largest oil services company warned that North American natural gas markets would stay weak throughout 2009.

Jarden Corp , maker of Sunbeam appliances and other home products, said on Monday it expects to meet or exceed analysts' profit and sales expectations when it reports second-quarter results later this week, sending its shares up 1.5 percent.

The European Commission is to hold a hearing on September 7 for interested parties to comment on Google's deal with publishers to make millions of books available online and its impact on EU writers' rights.

Stocks rose on Monday, but were off session highs, after CIT Group Inc clinched a deal with bondholders that removed some uncertainty from a recovering financial sector.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc said U.S. health regulators accepted for review the company's response on its experimental cancer drug, Zevalin, as a Class 1 submission -- which typically means the regulators would review the drug within 60 days.

Honduras' political rivals were on a collision course on Monday after negotiations collapsed and deposed President Manuel Zelaya vowed to return home despite warnings from a defiant de facto government.