IBT Staff Reporter

Stock index futures rose on Monday as investors shrugged off last week's dismal employment data and shifted focus to technology shares, including Hewlett-Packard after its chief executive resigned.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.42 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.17 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.16 percent at 3:55 a.m. ET.

Chrysler Group LLC posted a second-quarter net loss on Monday and said it still had an extraordinary amount of work to complete, but its restructuring was on track and it could raise its financial outlook later this year.

The dollar was on the defensive against major currencies on Monday, as disappointing U.S. jobs data on Friday highlighted a weakening U.S. economic outlook and added to speculation about further monetary easing. Market players refrained from chasing prices aggressively, having already priced in some form of modest easing at the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Tuesday.

Oil prices rose to above $81 a barrel on Monday, as a weaker dollar supported prices that had fallen for three straight days last week, in part on poor U.S. economic data. Analysts said the dollar, which is slipping toward a 15-year low against the yen, could, along with rumblings of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, continue to bolster oil prices that last week ended above $80 for the first since May.

The dollar was on the defensive against major currencies on Monday, as disappointing U.S. jobs data on Friday highlighted a weakening U.S. economic outlook. Market players were wary of chasing prices aggressively ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Tuesday, with expectations mounting for some form of additional monetary easing.

Asian stocks edged higher on Monday on growing speculation the Federal Reserve will have to buy bonds sooner rather than later to bolster the sagging economy, which is keeping the U.S. dollar under pressure.

Asian stocks edged higher on Monday on growing speculation the Federal Reserve will have to buy bonds sooner rather than later to bolster the sagging economy, which is keeping the U.S. dollar under pressure.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has informed the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that 25 percent to 35 percent of its revenue was derived from the derivatives businesses, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the situation.

Gold prices remained steady in Asian trade Monday as the dollar dropped further amid safe haven buying by investor's. Gold for immediate delivery was at $1203.45 an ounce while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were hardly changed at $1,205.5 an ounce.

U.S. wheat futures fell 4.3 percent on Monday, extending their losses to nearly 12 percent in two sessions as traders take profits from a near-doubling in prices in just over a month. With a key U.S. Department of Agriculture stocks and production report out on Thursday and the impact of a Russian decision last week to ban exports still to be felt, the market looks set for another volatile week.

The dollar dipped against the yen on Monday, slipping towards a 15-year low, after a disappointing U.S. July payrolls report boosted talk the Federal Reserve could consider further easing monetary policy as early as this week.

China's economy will enjoy a strong, stable second half, putting it on course for full-year growth of about 10-11 percent, a leading government economist said in comments published on Monday.

Allied World Assurance Holdings Ltd said it bought back $250 million worth of stock from funds affiliated to Goldman Sachs Group Inc that are its founding shareholders.

South American OPEC member Venezuela will begin a widely expected $3 billion new debt issue from Monday, Economy Minister Jorge Giordani said.

The Bank of Japan hopes to avoid having to dig into its depleted policy arsenal next week, but may ease monetary policy if the yen soars toward an all-time high against the dollar and threatens a fragile economic recovery.

Friday's release of the RBA Monetary Policy statement swayed little from the recent central bank rhetoric with a relatively neutral document.

The Australian Dollar has opened this morning just under 0.9200 after breaching this level on Friday night after the market digested the release of US July non-farm payrolls that saw a decline of 131k in the month, which was more than the forecast loss of 65k.

Childcare centres in NSW will increase their fees to as high as $33 per 3-year-old child per day or reduce childcare places if the government requires them to hire more and better qualified staff.

Remote monitoring of heart patients has reduced the number of deaths and hospitalisation from chronic heart failure, according to studies on telephone and wireless monitoring published in the Cochrane Systematic Review.

The University of Queensland's Parenting and Family Support Centre is offering a free less-intensive parenting program for Brisbane parents with autistic children.

According to a Cochrane review, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) -also known as antidepressants - can't be recommended for treating autism in children or adults.

Hewlett-Packard Co said it has received an extremely supportive response from investors and customers following the surprising ouster of Chief Executive Mark Hurd for expense account irregularities.

According to health officials, an increase in the number of Australian teen pregnancies has fuelled controversy over whether schools should offer condoms and for what ages are they appropriate.

Even with U.S. interest rates already near zero, Federal Reserve policymakers will still spend much of a meeting on Tuesday discussing ways to offer more rather than less monetary stimulus to the economy.

Global commodity prices have begun to soften as China's economic juggernaut slows. The prices of steel, zinc and aluminium have fallen in the past three months. China's manufacturing sector growth rate has dropped to February 2009 levels, when global markets had just bottomed out after the Lehman impact. While absolute price levels still remain above the year-ago levels, the softening of commodity prices is expected to impact Indian companies in coming quarters.

According to study author Graham K. Kerr, PhD, of Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, falls are a significant problem for people with Parkinson's as they can lead to injuries and decreased mobility, which can cause increasing weakness, loss of independence and increased use of nursing facilities.

The recent breakthrough finding that proves humans share similar gene pool with sea sponges - which existed more than 600 millions ago - has triggered a change in a the long-held views of the scientific communities that the first animals were nothing but simple ball of cells.

Chronic heart failure patients equipped with the access to remote monitoring, through the use of telephone support or telemonitoring technology experienced reduced death and hospitalization rates, and may be getting benefits in terms of quality of life and health care costs, says international team of scientists.