AP - Japanese stocks ended slightly higher Monday as investors were cautious ahead of earnings and financial data due out later in the week.

AP - Franca Tantillo puts rising fuel prices in the same category as the springtime hail storm that wiped out part of her strawberry crop. Both cut into the profit she can make at the farmers markets she sells at in New York City, about 135 miles south of her farm.

Reuters - Wall Street earnings are "unlikely" to recover in the second half of this year meaning New York City's fiscal deficits could soar above the mayor's forecasts, the state comptroller warned on Monday.

Reuters - Merrill Lynch shares dropped nearly 10 percent on Monday, leading the entire sector lower as investors fretted over credit quality and the housing sector.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Monday as fears of more credit losses pushed financial shares lower while a mixed bag of quarterly results kept investors cautious about the outlook for the economy.

Reuters - Kraft Foods Inc posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as price increases and gains on hedging positions offset rising costs for energy and commodities like wheat.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the nation's four biggest banks were ready to kick-start a market for covered bonds that could help significantly expand home mortgage financing.

AP - Coming to a store near you: Even higher prices.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Friday as a drop in oil prices, and stronger-than-expected data on consumer sentiment and housing blunted the latest concerns about the health of U.S banks.

AFP - Democratic White House contender Barack Obama was to shift the focus of his campaign on the troubled US economy Monday, after basking in the adulation of foreign crowds during last week's trip.

Reuters - U.S. retail gasoline prices fell sharply in the last two weeks, just below $4 a gallon, in line with retreating crude oil markets, and prices at the pump may slide further, an industry analyst said on Sunday.

Reuters - World stocks slipped on Monday as some disappointing earnings in Europe and a survey showing German consumer morale at a 5-year low followed a warning that the United States' major mortgage lenders could lose their top credit rating.

Reuters - Qantas Airways Ltd said on Monday Alan Joyce will take over as chief executive, taking the baton from Geoff Dixon who steps down after a string of belt tightenings as world airlines battle soaring fuel bills.

Reuters - Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co , one of the world's most powerful private equity firms, plans to brave the turbulent equity markets and list on the New York Stock Exchange this year, joining rival Blackstone in bringing the famously secretive industry into public view.