IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. grain and soybean futures rose over 1 percent on Monday in a broad commodities rally as investors bet that European leaders would reach a deal to tackle a euro-zone debt crisis and took heart from an improved manufacturing indicator in China.

It's much ado about something. Joss Whedon has directed, adapted, cast and filmed an entire movie -- an adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing -- in secret, TheWrap has learned.

Eurozone authorities should in future have greater powers to influence the economic policies of countries in the bloc if a member persistently fails to meet economic targets, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi summoned his cabinet for an emergency meeting on Monday to seek ways to overcome opposition from coalition allies to demands from European partners for swift economic reforms.

The board of TNK-BP Holding , half owned by BP, on Monday voted against an initiative to join a minority shareholder in a lawsuit against the British oil major, a spokesman for BP in Moscow told Reuters.

Caterpillar Inc far exceeded analyst expectations on Monday, reporting a 44 percent quarterly earnings increase due to record revenue, and the company signaled optimism in its 2012 outlook.

Daylight Savings Time in 2011 is coming to its end on Nov. 6 in the U.S. and Canada, following Oct. 30 in the UK.

James Murdoch will appear before the British parliament once again on Nov. 10 to discuss the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, the Media, Culture and Sport Committee announced Monday.

The euro zone should combine two proposals for increasing the firepower of its rescue fund -- an insurance model and a special purpose investment vehicle -- according to an EU paper for the mid-week summit obtained by Reuters on Monday.

Stocks rose on Monday, adding to three weeks of gains for the S&P after strong earnings from Caterpillar and some proposed acquisitions boosted investor appetite for risky assets.

The China hard-landing debate is a classic tail risk story -- an unlikely scenario, but if it materializes the consequences could be catastrophic.

Oracle Corp plans to buy online customer service company RightNow Technologies Inc for about $1.5 billion, sparking speculation of bids for other so-called cloud technology companies that deliver software, data and computing power over the Internet.

FedEx Corp. expects a 12 percent jump in holiday shipments this year and will add about 20,000 workers to handle the record volume driven by online shopping.

Just weeks before fallen hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison for insider trading, U.S. prosecutors pressed him to turn on his friend, former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, The Daily Beast online newspaper reported.

Just weeks before fallen hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison for insider trading, U.S. prosecutors pressed him to turn on his friend, former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, The Daily Beast online newspaper reported.

Angela Merkel's supporters praised her for getting France to drop demands to use the European Central Bank to leverage euro crisis funds, but looked like making a meal out of the German parliament's new right to be consulted on how these are used.

A Minnesota farm is issuing a recall after its organic eggs were linked to six cases of salmonella.

In a panel Friday, three startup founders discussed how their companies will challenge the large financial institutions.

Caterpillar Inc far exceeded analyst expectations on Monday, reporting a 44 percent quarterly earnings increase due to record revenue, and the company signaled tempered optimism in its 2012 outlook.

Brent crude oil rose above $110 a barrel on Monday after stronger Chinese manufacturing data suggested China's economy may not be in as much danger as feared, supporting fuel consumption and outweighing fears over weak European data.

Apple on Monday quietly upgraded its MacBook Pro line with up to twice faster processors and graphics.

Health insurer Cigna will buy HealthSpring for about $3.8 billion to jump-start its business selling Medicare plans for the elderly.

Airport security failed to detect a loaded .38 caliber gun that fell out of a checked bag at Los Angeles International Airport while loading Sunday.

Steve Jobs called long-time rival and Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates as unimaginative and not really a product person, according to a biography of the deceased Apple Inc chief executive.

NASA agents confront a 74-year-old woman at a Denny's to recover moon artifact.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the massive advisory fee involved in Olympus Corp's takeover of a British company, a media report said, in a deepening scandal that has wiped out more than half the company's value.

David Prend is one of the most respected investors in green technology - but even he picks some losers.

E-commerce will drive record holiday shipments this year for FedEx Corp., the world's No. 2 package delivery company said on Monday.

- The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a global public authority and a central world bank to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises.