![]()
- US Job Losses to Bottom out Next Quarter: NABE
- Late Payments on Credit Cards Drop in Third Quarter
- Smallest US Businesses Borrowing Again: PayNet
- Little Sign of Inflation on the Horizon: IMF
- Kraft Weighs Higher Cadbury Bid as Rivals Circle
- MBS Program Should be Extended: Fed's Bullard
- Tyson Food Profit Beats Estimates
- JPMorgan's Dimon Could Succeed Geithner: Report
- For Newspapers, Even Good News Isn't That Good
- Farrell: Obama Hectored, Ignored and Restricted?
- Don't Dwell on Investment Mistakes; Move on, Like Buffett
- CNBC VIDEO: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates 'Walk & Talk' at Columbia University
- U.S. Stocks Slip, Dollar Rises
- How Stock Investors Can Play Holiday Travel
- Time Lapse World Series Is A Great Play
- Hirschhorn: Greed...or Fear
- My Top 10 Tech Toys for the Holidays
- iPhone a Better Gaming Platform Than Android?
MOST SHARED
- Wall Street Finds Profits by Reducing Mortgages
- CNBC VIDEO: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates 'Walk & Talk' at Columbia University
- Kraft Weighs Higher Cadbury Bid as Rivals Circle
- MBS Buyback Program Should be Extended: Fed's Bullard
- China Wind Power Reportedly Seeking $2.2 Billion in IPO
- Volkswagen to Triple China Sales by 2018
- China Should Stop Property Stimulus Now: Central Bank
U.S. stock index futures were indicating an uncertain number amid a dismal manufacturing report and as contradictory information on a bailout package for troubled automakers were making investors nervous.
After the Senate rejected a plan to grant the Big Three $14 billion, the White House indicated Friday that it may use the Troubled Assets Relief Program to help the automakers.
But President Bush said Monday an announcement on the auto industry rescue was not imminent, bringing back the cloud of uncertainty.
"We're not quite ready to announce that yet," Bush told reporters on Air Force One during a flight from Baghdad on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan.
Investors, though, maintained a level of optimism and sent General Motors [GM
Loading...
()
] shares up more than 6 percent and Ford [F
Loading...
()
] up about 3 percent in premarket trading.
Index futures were below par but still above fair market value, indicating an uncertain start for the market.
Futures moved lower following release of the latest Empire State Manufacturing Index number, which at -25.3 was its lowest on record.
Elsewhere, Honeywell [HON
Loading...
()
] shares gained 5 percent premarket after the manufacturer affirmed a lower 2009 outlook. The company said it expects profits to fall 6 to 16 percent amid the economic slowdown.
Bank of America [BAC
Loading...
()
] shares rose nearly 2 percent after it doused speculation that it was going to dump its stake in China Construction Bank.
And Huntsman [HUN
Loading...
()
] shares tumbled 30 percent after the company said it terminated a potential takeover by Apollo Management's Hexion Specialty Chemicals.
Another issue facing investors this week is the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates which will be announced Tuesday.
Some analysts say the Fed will not cut rates more than a quarter of a percentage point, to keep some ammunition dry, while others are already looking beyond the decision to alternative monetary policy tools.
However, the was buzz Monday that the Fed might drop the rate by 75 basis points, or three-quarters of a percentage point, to 0.25 percent.
Experts are predicting that the dollar's rally may have ended and that the yen's appreciation will only start slowing next year.
As the scandal of one of the biggest pyramid schemes in history continues to unfold, Fairfield Greenwich, one of the big feeder funds, is planning a lawsuit against Bernard Madoff, the New York money manager accused of running what prosecutors say was a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, CNBC has learned.
The list of institutions and individuals with exposure to Madoff's fund is growing, with three of Europe's biggest banks revealing their positions.
In the real estate sector, a revival should begin by next spring, property mogul Sam Zell told an Israeli business conference on Sunday.
Zell, who is the owner of Tribune, publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, declined to comment on his plans to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team and its Wrigley Field stadium.
Also in the housing sector, government-controlled Fannie Mae [FNM
Loading...
()
] will allow tenants to remain in their homes and avoid eviction even if the building's landlord goes into foreclosure, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
Fannie Mae previously had said it would not evict tenants during the year-end holiday season.
On the economic front, industrial production data will be released at 9:15 am New York time and the indicator is expected to have fallen by 0.5 percent in November from October's 1.3 percent rise, according to Briefing.com.
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates discuss the economy and other subjects with CNBC's Becky Quick.
- Many people are facing the holidays with substantially smaller incomes. Here’s how some are adapting.
- The show attracts a big TV audience every year, but this year it may take on even more importance.
- Jim Cramer is a proponent of stocks that pay healthy dividends, and here are his top five dividend plays.
- CNBC’s technology reporter Jim Goldman guides you through the best gadgets to buy this holiday season.
- From salt, to lip balm to envelopes, it turns out that bacon flavoring can sell almost anything.













