IBT Staff Reporter

Manufacturing in China shrank in July for the first time since March 2009 while it perked up in the euro zone, according to surveys that underscored the unevenness of the global economic recovery.

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Two flu vaccine makers said on Friday they had started shipping supplies for the U.S. market, one of the earliest starts ever to distributing seasonal influenza vaccine.

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Wall Street was poised to open about 1 percent higher on Monday, building on last month's solid gains as investors focused on encouraging corporate results, including strong bank earnings out of Europe.

MetLife Inc lowered its estimate of how much of a boost it will get from acquiring Alico, the foreign life insurance business of AIG, and announced fund-raising plans to help pay for the deal.

Gold prices slipped below $1,180 an ounce in Europe on Monday knocked by a dearth of haven buying as confidence in the financial markets improved, though some emergent physical demand limited losses. Spot gold was bid at $1,177.65 an ounce at 6:21 a.m. ET, against $1,181.50 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell $4.00 to $1,179.90.

A large study in Japan into possible genetic causes for prostate cancer has uncovered five new gene variants which have never been seen in previous studies in Caucasians, researchers said on Monday.

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First Lady Michelle Obama is calling on the Congress to pass legislation to improve nutritional standards and help fight childhood obesity in American schools.

BP's newly appointed Chief Executive Bob Dudley and outgoing CEO Tony Hayward will meet Russia's top energy official, Igor Sechin, for discussions in Moscow this week, Sechin's spokesman said on Monday.

HSBC and BNP Paribas, strengthened by the financial crisis in their roles as top European banks, both trumped earnings forecasts as bad debts fell sharply to make up for slowing investment banking growth.

A broad fall in the dollar has propelled the yen higher, bringing the Japanese currency within range of levels it has not traded at for 15 years and raising speculation whether even more gains will tempt Japanese authorities to intervene.

China's Geely on Monday completed its purchase of Ford Motor Co's Volvo unit, marking China's biggest acquisition of a foreign car maker and reflecting the nation's rapid rise in the auto world.

Oil hit a 12-week high near $80 a barrel on Monday as robust corporate earnings fueled optimism over the strength of the global economic recovery and the outlook for energy demand. European stock markets hit a 3-month high as risk appetite across commodity and financial markets picked up following strong results from leading banks HSBC (HSBA.L) BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA).

BP Plc Chief Executive-designate Bob Dudley will fly to Moscow this week to meet government officials and BP's oligarch partners in its Russian venture as the oil giant prepares to plug its blown out Gulf of Mexico well for good.

Stock index futures were sharply higher on Monday, building on last month's solid gains, as investors focused on encouraging corporate results.

The dollar index hit a three-month low on Monday, hurt by worries that the U.S. economy's recovery is losing steam, while the high-yielding Australian dollar reached a three-month high, buoyed by a rise in equities.

BP Plc Chief Executive-designate Bob Dudley will fly to Moscow this week to meet government officials and BP's oligarch partners in its Russian venture as the oil giant prepares to plug its blown out Gulf of Mexico well for good.

BNP Paribas , France's biggest listed bank, trumped second-quarter profit expectations on Monday and said the market environment would improve in the third quarter as investor confidence in Europe's banks rises.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street on Monday, with the S&P 500 futures up 1.1 percent, Nasdaq futures 0.8 percent higher, and futures for the Dow Jones industrial average up 1 percent by 4:38 a.m. ET.

HSBC's half-year profit more than doubled from a year ago to easily beat analysts' expectations as bad debts at Europe's biggest bank fell to their lowest level since the start of the financial crisis.

BP Plc has asked Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund to raise its share in the company to three percent, the al-Anba newspaper reported on Monday.

World stocks kicked off August in a strong mood on Monday as results from BNP Paribas and HSBC boosted optimism for corporate earnings and the economic outlook for the rest of the year.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> plans to buy BNP Paribas' stake in a Chinese fund venture for $50 million, giving Japan's biggest bank access to China's $300 billion mutual funds market, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

Asian stocks rose on Monday on strong corporate earnings and shrugged off news that Chinese manufacturing shrank in July amid investor hopes that the world's fastest growing major economy will expand strongly.

China's Geely will complete its $1.8 billion purchase of Ford Motor Co's Volvo unit on Monday, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, capping China's biggest purchase of a foreign car maker.

Gold prices edged up in Asian trade Monday, tracking high level of investor confidence amid strong stock markets in the region. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1183.39 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore while U.S. gold futures for December delivery was at $1,185.4 an ounce on the comex division of NYMEX.

Contract cellphone maker Foxconn International has resumed operations at a mobile phone parts manufacturing facility in India, it said on Monday, sending its shares up more than 5 percent.