IBT Staff Reporter

New York's attorney general brought civil fraud charges against hedge fund operator Ezra Merkin on Monday, saying he duped investors by secretly steering $2.4 billion in client money into Bernard Madoff's Ponzi fraud without their permission.

Egyptian police have detained a Muslim Brotherhood blogger who backed calls for a national day of protests against the government, security sources said on Sunday.

Ford Motor Co said on Monday it had slashed automotive debt by 38 percent, or $9.9 billion, bolstering its finances amid a deep auto industry downturn and sending its shares up more than 13 percent.

The U.S. Treasury on Monday extended the deadline for fund managers to apply to its toxic securities purchase program by two weeks and said it eased selection criteria for these firms.

Ford Motor Co has reduced its automotive debt by 38 percent, or $9.9 billion, part of a series of moves to bolster its finances amid a deep industry downturn, sending its shares up more than 11 percent.

Stocks slid on Monday, as bank shares fell after a widely-followed analyst recommended investors reduce or sell holdings of several large bank stocks, sapping recent optimism on the health of the financial sector.

Five central banks in Europe, Japan and the United States said on Monday they have agreed to currency swap lines that enable the Federal Reserve to provide foreign currencies to U.S. financial institutions.

The U.S. Treasury on Monday extended the deadline for fund managers to apply to its toxic securities purchase program by two weeks, and said it widened its criteria for selecting these firms.

Shares of Sun Microsystems Inc tumbled 23 percent on Monday after the company rejected rival computer and software maker International Business Machines Corp's $7 billion offer.

Oil prices fell toward $51 a barrel on Monday as stock markets sputtered, erasing early gains on expectations that rich nations' efforts to stimulate their economies may help end the global downturn sooner than expected.

Ford Motor Co has reduced its automotive debt by 38 percent, or $9.9 billion, part of a series of moves to bolster its finances amid a deep industry downturn, sending its shares up more than 11 percent.

Stocks slid on Monday, as bank shares fell after a widely-followed analyst recommended investors reduce or sell holdings of several large bank stocks, sapping recent optimism on the health of the financial sector.

Royal Dutch Shell has resumed operations at its Utorogu gas plant in Nigeria three days after it was shut down to repair a pipeline that was tapped by thieves, a spokesman said on Monday.

A research team at Taiwan's top university has rolled out a tiny low-budget device that can sense earthquakes within 30 seconds, enough time to issue crucial disaster warnings, the lead inventor said Monday.

Shares of utility Energias de Portugal (EDP.LS) are the top pick for April among Portuguese fund managers polled by Reuters, followed by oil company Galp (GALP.LS) and Zon Multimedia (ZON.LS).

Western nations and lending agencies have agreed a financing package of more than $1 billion to improve infrastructure in southern and central Africa at an investment conference meant to expand transport links and trade.

Italy's biggest oil and gas group, Eni, has made a new hydrocarbon discovery offshore Indonesia as it aims to boost activity in the region, Eni said in a statement on Monday.

Six car bombs exploded across Baghdad Monday, killing at least 34 people and wounding scores, police said, after a spate of arrests targeting Sunni Arab fighters raised tensions in the Iraqi capital.

Wireless carrier T-Mobile is planning an aggressive push into the home with a variety of communication devices that will use Google's new Android operating software, the New York Times said.

U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Monday to help Turkey resolve its differences with Armenia as the United States sought to strengthen ties with a crucial NATO ally in its war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The financial crisis provides an incentive for countries that use the euro to remain inside the monetary union, billionaire investor George Soros said on Monday, though countries on the periphery still face serious problems.

Stocks slid further on Monday as concerns about the health of banking system diminished appetite for riskier assets and as billionaire investor George Soros said the banking system was basically insolvent.

DNO International said on Monday authorities in Kurdistan had assigned minority stakes in three fields that the Norwegian oil exploration company is developing in the Middle Eastern region.

Google Inc should defend a trademark lawsuit by Rescuecom Corp over advertisements linked to keyword searches, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday.

Stocks opened lower on Monday, as bank shares fell after an analyst initiated coverage on several large banks with an underperform or sell rating, sapping recent investor optimism on the financial sector.

The outage at Japan's biggest nuclear power station was likely to have pushed up manufacturers' CO2 emissions in the year ended last month, despite a slowdown in economic activity, a government official said on Friday.

Oil prices fell below $51 a barrel on Monday as stock markets sputtered, erasing early gains on expectations that rich nations' efforts to stimulate their economies may help end the global downturn sooner than expected.

Revolution Money, an online payment firm backed by AOL co-founder Steve Case, said on Monday it has received funding of $42 million from a group that includes a Goldman Sachs affiliate and earlier investors Citigroup and Morgan Stanley .

Four of the world's top airlines have backed a global scheme to curb carbon emissions and hope the proposal will be included in a broader U.N. pact to fight climate change.