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Wall Street returns to work after the key averages posted gains last week. The Dow was up 0.1 percent, while the S&P rose 0.5 and the Nasdaq composite added 1.5 percent. Futures trading suggests modest gains this morning.
- International stock markets rose today after surveys showed a recovery in China's manufacturing. Benchmark crude oil rose to hover just under $89 per barrel. The dollar fell against the euro and the yen.
- The Institute for Supply Management today releases the monthly manufacturing index. Also, the Commerce Department has construction spending for October.
- Greece says it will spend up to $13 billion in a heavily-discounted bond buyback program that it hopes will help stabilize its debts. Meanwhile, finance ministers from the 17 EU countries that use the euro are scheduled to consider a report on a plan to reduce Greece's heavy debt - another step that's part of a strategy to restore the health of the country's public finances.
- A committee of British lawmakers says major multinational companies including Starbucks, Google and Amazon are guilty of immoral tax avoidance. Parliament's public accounts committee said the government should clamp down on multinationals that exploit tax laws to move profits generated in Britain to offshore domains. Public anger at such companies is growing and Starbucks says it is reviewing its British tax practices in a bid to restore public trust.
