(Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG knew in 2006 that a mortgage company it was preparing to buy lied to the U.S. government about its mortgages, yet went ahead with the purchase and should be held financially responsible, the Justice Department said on Monday. According to the department's amended $1 billion complaint filed Monday evening with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Deutsche Bank was "on notice of and expressly assumed responsibility" for wrongdoing at MortgageIT Inc, which it bought in 2007.

• Read more

(Reuters) - A minister in Angela Merkel's conservative party propelled Germany into a debate about guarantees on bailout payments to Greece, backing a demand from Finland for collateral, but Berlin distanced itself from her comments. Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen, also a deputy president of the chancellor's Christian Democrats (CDU), told German TV on Tuesday that future bailouts should only be made against guarantees.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Stocks surged more than 1 percent in early trading on Monday following four weeks of equity losses as stocks rebounded globally. Equities have been pressured of late by growing concerns about the economy, given a string of weak economic data and the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe. European stocks gained 2.1 percent, while the MSCI world equity index rose 0.3 percent. .EU

• Read more

(Reuters) - Brent crude fell by more than a dollar on Monday to around $107 a barrel with traders and investors anticipating the resumption of oil exports from OPEC-member Libya as a six-month civil war there appeared close to an end. Rebels swept into the heart of the capital Tripoli and crowds took to the streets to celebrate what they saw as the end of Muammar Gaddafi's four decades in power, with government tanks and snipers putting up only scattered, last-ditch resistance.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel faced mounting domestic criticism of her euro zone policies on Monday, with the Bundesbank slamming an anti-crisis package she agreed to in Brussels last month and a senior ally warning he would vote against key parts of it. Elsewhere in the currency bloc, a week-long row over Finnish demands that Greece cough up collateral as a condition for new bailout loans raged on, with the Netherlands condemning a bilateral deal between Helsinki and Athens as illegal.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Lowe's Companies Inc (LOW.N) put aside $5 billion to buyback its shares over the next two to three years, joining a string of companies digging into their cash reserves to shore up their stocks in a weak economy. Shares of Lowe's, which is the second largest U.S. home improvement chain behind Home Depot Inc (HD.N), rose as much as 3 percent on Monday morning in a broader market rally .SPX.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Despite being third to market, a new bloodthinner from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer may become the biggest seller in an emerging multibillion-dollar class of drugs for preventing strokes in heart patients. Eliquis, or apixaban, is set to steal the limelight at Europe's top medical meeting next week -- and if the data are as strong as many industry analysts expect, sales forecasts for the medicine are likely to jump.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Italian oil company Eni led the charge back into Libya on Monday as rebels swept into capital Tripoli, hailing the end of Muammar Gaddafi's rule and warning Russian and Chinese firms of contract revisions. Gaddafi's fall will reopen the doors to the country with Africa's largest oil reserves. New players such as Qatar's national oil company and trading house Vitol are set to compete with established European and U.S. majors.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Japan will take decisive action against any speculative moves in the currency market, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said, signaling Tokyo's readiness to intervene to stem further yen rises after its spike to a record high last week. Noda said he saw recent yen rises as even more one-sided than before and that Tokyo would exchange information closely with other countries regarding currencies, suggesting it would stay in frequent contact with its Group of Seven partners.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Consumer confidence has fallen further after weeks of intensified economic concerns and broad stock market declines, and Conference Board data due later this month could be even weaker than current projections suggest, Consumer Edge Research said on Monday. Readings from high, middle and low-income consumers all deteriorated sharply, due mainly to dramatic declines in outlook, the independent equity research firm said.

• Read more