IBT Staff Reporter

Wall Street was set to open higher on Monday on renewed risk-taking sentiment after the Group of 20 pledged to maintain economic stimulus in place until a recovery was reassured.

General Motors Chief Executive Fritz Henderson was due in Germany on Monday to start talks aimed at soothing workers' tempers over the carmaker's plan to reorganize European arm Opel on its own.

Opel's top German labor leader said on Sunday he was willing to hold negotiations over a restructuring of the European carmaker under its parent General Motors so long as it gains greater independence.

General Motors Co will probably stick to a plan to cut costs at Opel by 30 percent after deciding to restructure the European subsidiary itself rather than sell it, Bob Lutz, a GM executive set to become Opel's chairman, was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Home values in the United States stabilized in the third quarter and fewer mortgages were underwater, but impending foreclosures could threaten to delay a housing market recovery, real estate website Zillow.com said on Monday.

The joint venture that borrowed heavily to buy Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in 2006 could be among the first to take advantage of changes in U.S. tax law that let borrowers seek payment relief, when it said last week that it could not keep paying interest on a $3 billion loan.

Kraft Foods turned hostile in its bid for Cadbury on Monday, making a formal but unchanged takeover offer which now triggers a bid battle for the British confectioner which could last up to three months.

Cadbury's shares edged up by early afternoon on Monday as the clock ticked toward a 1700 GMT deadline for Kraft Foods to either make a formal takeover bid for the British confectionery group or walk away.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing starts reached 157,300 units in October. This is an increase from 149,300 units started in September, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Targets and trust. These are at the heart of a tougher new global climate pact possibly just weeks away.

French insurer AXA sought full control of its majority-owned Asian arm to get a tighter grip on the region's booming markets, and stuck with plans to grow in China in spite of regulatory obstacles there.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a 1 percent gain at the open on Monday as investors took comfort from a pledge by the Group of 20 to keep economic stimulus in place until a recovery was reassured.

Looking at Holiday Sales; Traders Go Higher on Aid Pledge; Advanta's Bankruptcy

French insurer AXA bid for full control of its majority-owned Asian arm on Monday, seeking a tighter grip on the region's strong growth potential.

The dollar weakened broadly on Monday, pushing the euro above $1.50, after a weekend G20 meeting and U.S. jobs data last week did little to alter the view that U.S. interest rates will stay low for some time.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.9 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.8 percent at 5:10 a.m. EST.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday as investors took comfort from a pledge by the Group of 20 to keep economic stimulus in place until a recovery was reassured.

Oil rose more than $1 toward $79 a barrel on Monday after Hurricane Ida forced the shut in of U.S. oil and gas facilities, and on the outcome of Group of 20 talks sent equities up and the dollar down.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.9 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.8 percent at 5:10 a.m. EST.

Oil rose more than $1 to above $78 a barrel on Monday after Hurricane Ida forced the shut in of U.S. oil and gas facilities and the outcome of Group of 20 talks sent equities up and the dollar down.

Luxury goods group Burberry has hooked up with social networking company Facebook to launch a Web site celebrating its trench coat, becoming the latest retailer to use social media in a bid to boost its brand.

Global stocks rose and the dollar fell on Monday after the Group of 20 pledged to keep stimulus in place until recovery was assured, following data on Friday showing the U.S. unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high.

Asian stocks and currencies rose on Monday on bets a surge in the U.S. unemployment rate to a 26-1/2-year high would force policymakers to keep many stimulus measures in place until an economic recovery spread further.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview airing Monday he is taking steps to root out corruption in his government, but he also said foreign money was making the problem worse.

Asian stocks and currencies rose on Monday as investors bet that a surge in the U.S. unemployment rate to a 26-1/2-year high would force policymakers to keep many stimulus measures in place until an economic recovery was on more solid footing.

Advanta Corp , a small business credit card lender in the United States, said on Sunday it filed for bankruptcy protection after the economic crisis over the last two years devastated its small business customers.

Oil rose more than $1 to above $78 a barrel on Monday, recouping some of the previous session's near 3 percent loss, on fears a powerful hurricane would cut U.S. oil and gas supplies and also lifted by the falling dollar.

Kraft Foods Inc is expected to formalize on Monday a hostile takeover bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc valued at roughly 10.2 billion pounds ($16.7 billion), sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

Kraft Foods Inc is expected to formalize on Monday a hostile takeover bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc valued at roughly 10.2 billion pounds ($16.7 billion), sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday.