1.Crude prices are down in the first trading session after OPEC-members failed to agree on output targets to reduce a bulging glut that has resulted in oil prices falling by more than 60% since June 2014:
US crude was trading at $39.58 (£26.21) a barrel at 00.38 a.m. GMT (7.38 p.m. ET), down 39 cents (26p).
2.Iron Ore Price Index Falls 2.4% to $39.06 a Ton:
Iron ore fell 97 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $39.06 a ton, according to a price index compiled by Metal Bulletin.
3. Microsoft made more revenue in October from online sales of its Surface line than Apple did from selling the iPad:
That’s a first for the company, and a sign that Microsoft’s high pricing for the Surface is working.
4.Rand Weakens to Near Record After South Africa Rating Reviews:
The rand fell for a third day to near a record against the dollar and bonds tumbled, sending yields to their highest levels since February 2014.
5.Fifty individual shareholders of Toshiba sued the Japanese conglomerate in Tokyo on Monday, seeking 301.99 million yen (£1.62 million, $2.45 million) in damages after the firm’s stock plunged in the wake of a multi-billion dollar accounting scandal:
The lawsuit against the company, as well as three former chief executives and two chief financial officers, comes as Toshiba shares hover about 40% lower than their value before the company questioned its accounting in early April.
6.Qatar, the third-largest shareholder in Volkswagen, is urging the German carmaker to reduce the influence of its powerful trade unions as it battles to overcome its emissions scandal, a German newspaper reported on Sunday:
Bild am Sonntag, without citing sources, said the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) would use a meeting on Sunday with VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller and other top players in the firm to demand a scaling back of the role of the works council.
7.AIG Seeks $750 Million Selling Shares in China Insurer PICC P&C:
American International Group Inc., the insurer being pressured by activist investor Carl Icahn to boost returns, is seeking $750 million selling shares in China’s PICC Property & Casualty Co.
8.Stocks Buoyed by Strong U.S. Jobs Report:
Global stocks started the week with gains after Friday’s strong U.S. jobs report boosted confidence in the world’s largest economy and heightened expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in December.