EGYPT

A coalition of groups on Monday has called for a march of 1 million protesters in Cairo on Tuesday. It is unclear what the groups' agenda will be, although many of the protesters in the streets over the last several days have been calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

U.S> stocks, led by AMD and Exxon Mobil, are up slightly today

U.S. stocks rose on Monday on strong earnings and merger activity, overshadowing concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt which had caused a sharp selloff in world stocks on Friday.

The most famous Egyptian in the world, actor Omar Sharif, well known for starring in film classics such as Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Ariabia, told a French radio station this morning that Mubarak should go.

U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in December to post the sixth straight month of gains as households drew down on their savings to fund purchases, government data showed on Monday.

A new Egyptian cabinet took office on Monday but the protest movement calling for the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak said the changes were irrelevant.

Governments, airlines and tour operators worked together on Monday to fly their nationals out of Egypt where protesters pressed their campaign to topple President Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak overhauled his government on Monday to try to defuse a popular uprising against his 30-year rule but angry protesters rejected the changes and said he must surrender power.

The violent protests in Egypt could deal a major blow to the country’s vital tourism industry, a development that could be economically crushing to the already riot-ravaged country.

Dow Jones Index was up 21.99 points, or 0.19 percent, to 11,845.69 and the S&P 500 index rose 4.54 points, or 0.36 percent, to trade at 1,280.88. Meanwhile, Nasdaq gained 0.39 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,687.28.

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Monday as merger activity and expectations for solid earnings overshadowed concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt to other parts of the Middle East.

Protests in Egypt sparked a sell-off in Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) shares as investors feared disruption in operations, said an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

Israel, which has been at peace with Egypt since 1979, has expressed its support for the beleaguered regime of President Hosni Mubarak, while its allies in Europe and the U.S. have more aggressively pushed Mubarak to enact reforms in the face of a massive uprising.

Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based Arabic news network which has already been shut down in Egypt, said six of its English-speaking journalists have been arrested in Egypt, amidst continuing unrest in the country.

The Egyptian government has abruptly shut down Internet, the main access point that can help people communicate with the outside world. But all is not lost as a few hackers have come across a solution to the nationwide shutdown.

Gold eased on Monday after posting its largest daily gain in eight weeks on Friday and while the market did encounter some safe-haven buying on the back of the unrest in Egypt, this was expected to be temporary.

Moody's has downgraded Egypt's government bond ratings to Ba2 from Ba1 and has cut the outlook to negative from stable.

European banks' total exposure to turmoil-ridden Egypt stands at around $40.3 billion, with banks in France and the United Kingdom being at greatest risk.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to lower opening on Monday amid continuing political unrest in Egypt.

Nobel Peace laureate, Mohamed ElBaradei took a stand in Tahrir, or Liberation Square on Sunday calling for the ruling Mubarak regime to resign.

Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi finds himself in a potentially dangerous predicament.