The US Conference Board employment trends index lifted for the fourth straight month, up from 100.3 to 100.5 In January. The gauge is a leading index for the job market and it stands 7pct higher than a year ago. And US consumer credit soared by US$6.1 billion in December, well above expectations for an increase of US$2.3bn. Credit card debt rose for the first time since August 2008.

In a speech to a US business group, US President Obama has urged the removal of the "burdensome" corporate tax code.

European shares rose to 28-month highs on Monday with miners and technology stocks amongst the gainers. In London trade, shares in Xstrata rose by 3.6pct with Rio Tinto up 2.9pct and BHP Billiton up 0.8pct. The FTSEurofirst index rose by 1.0pct, with the UK FTSE and German Dax both higher by 0.9pct.

US sharemarkets posted solid gains on Monday in response to a flurry of merger deals. In what has been termed ´´Merger Monday´´ there were mergers in media, oil drilling and healthcare sectors. AOL has agreed to buy the Huffington Post for US$315 million. Oil driller EnsCo Plc will buy Pride International for $7.3 billion. And industrial company Danaher Corp has agreed to buy medical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter for $6.8 billion. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones index was up 69pts or 0.6pct with the S&P 500 up 0.6pct and the Nasdaq was higher by almost 15pts or 0.5pct.

US treasuries fell on Monday (yields higher) with investors continuing to drift away from government bonds to equities in the absence of market moving economic data. US 2yr yields rose by 2pts to 0.77pct and US 10yr yields lifted by 1pt to 3.65pct.

Major currencies basically tracked sideways against the greenback during European and US trade on Monday. The Euro held between US$1.3505 and US$1.3625 and was near US$1.3585 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar traded between US101.10c and US101.60c, and was near US$101.30c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen traded from 82.15 yen per US dollar to around JPY82.45, and was near JPY82.30 in late US trade.

US crude oil prices fell sharply again on Monday as investors took profits. Despite initial fears, the unrest in Egypt has not caused disruption to oil supplies in the Middle East. High levels of US crude stocks also weighed on prices. The Nymex crude oil contract fell by US$1.55 (1.7pct) to US$87.48 a barrel. And London Brent crude fell by US63c to US$99.20 a barrel.

Base metal prices were little changed on the London Metal Exchange on Monday. Aluminium rose 0.3pct and zinc edged 0.1pct higher but other metals lost 0.1-0.4pct. And the gold price eased on Monday with the Comex gold futures price down US80c an ounce to US$1,348.20.

Ahead: In Australia, the January NAB business survey is released. Cochlear and Bradken release half-year results. In the US, Federal Reserve presidents from Richmond, Atlanta and Dallas deliver speeches.
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