Ub News

U.S. stock futures pointed to a solid open Monday as investors look ahead to a week of rate decisions, earnings and key economic reports, including an important gauge of the manufacturing sector.

Recently, S&P 500 futures rose 6.7 points to 1039.7, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 6 points to 1671.5. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 60 points to 9724.

On Friday, U.S. stocks stumbled on concerns over consumer spending, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 249 points, the Nasdaq Composite lost 52 points, and the S&P 500 dropped 29 points. The S&P 500 dropped 4% on the week, and the October drop of around 2% broke seven months in a row of gains.

Bank of New York Mellon chief executive Robert Kelly was recently approached about taking the CEO position at Bank of America but has shown no interest in the job, the WSJ reported. Kelly was approached more than once about potentially succeeding incumbent CEO Kenneth Lewis, who will retire at the end of this year, it said. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC, $14.58, -$1.15, -7.31%) rose 2.13 percent to $14.89 on Monday morning pre-market trading session, while on Last week of Friday, shares of Bank of America fell 7.31 percent, and closed on $14.58, BofA fell 10.06 ercent in the past one month trading.

CIT Group on Sunday filed for bankruptcy protection, though it still will be able to provide funding to its small-business and middle-market customers. CIT’s bankruptcy likely will mean the Treasury Department loses the $2.3 billion it invested in the company, the biggest loss from TARP so far. CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT, $0.72, -0.23, -24.21%) fell 47.22 percent to $0.38 on Monday morning pre-market trading session, even on last week of Friday, CIT shares were down 24.21 percent and closed on $0.72.

The Ford Motor Company on Monday posted a surprise third-quarter profit of $997 million and said it had its first profitable quarter in North America in more than four years. The carmaker also said it increased its cash reserves by $1.3 billion during the quarter, ending September with $22.3 billion. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F, $7.00, -$0.30, -4.11%) rose 1.29 percent to $7.09 on Monday morning pre-market trading session, while on Last week of Friday, shares of Ford Motor fell 4.11 percent, and closed on $7.00.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) said Monday that it will likely have to sell off more assets than initially thought under negotiations with the European Union, a sharp contrast to what peer Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) expects. Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE:RBS, $13.65, -$0.89, -6.12%) fell 7.03 percent to $12.69 on Monday morning pre-market trading session, even on last week of Friday, RBS shares were down 6.12 percent and closed on $13.65.

Israeli digital recording systems maker Nice Systems (NICE) reported a lower third-quarter net profit on Tuesday that beat analysts’ estimates by a cent. Quarterly net income fell to $7.8 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, from $10.9 million or 18 cents a share in the same period last year. Nice Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE, $30.97, -$0.91, -2.85%) droped 2.71 percent to $30.13 on Monday morning pre-market trading session, even on Last week of Friday, shares of Nice Systems fell 2.85 percent, and closed on $30.97.