(Reuters) - CME Group Inc (CME.O) on Monday unveiled a cross-margining plan that would help customers trading both interest rate and Treasury futures, as the world's largest derivatives exchange prepares for more competition. The move by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange parent to create a new clearing membership class comes weeks before rival NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) is expected to launch a similar cross-margining platform.

• Read more

(Reuters) - The massive U.S. budget deficit is the gravest threat facing the economy, topping high unemployment and the risk of inflation or deflation, according to a survey of forecasters released on Monday. The National Association for Business Economics said its 47-member panel of forecasters increased its estimate for the 2011 federal deficit to $1.4 trillion from $1.1 trillion in its previous survey in November.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Glencore GLEN.UL is priming analysts with in-depth briefings on its business ahead of a possible mega-float which could involve Qatar taking a stake in the world's largest commodities trader. If it goes ahead, an initial public offering (IPO) of privately held Glencore could value the company at as much as $60 billion according to Liberum Capital estimates, making it one of Europe's biggest listings ever.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Continental Airlines, recently bought by United Airlines to form United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N), has scrapped plans to launch new service to Cairo, because of declining travel demand to Egypt, which is grappling with political unrest. Continental said it has "indefinitely postponed" the planned service from Newark, New Jersey, to Cairo, which was to have begun on May 18.

• Read more

(Reuters) - French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen Peugeot (PEUP.PA) and German counterpart BMW (BMWG.DE) plan to invest 100 million euros in a hybrid technology joint venture, the two companies said on Monday. Established carmakers are looking to joint ventures and partnerships to share the costs of developing new technologies to meet tightening emissions legislation and win over customers in the face of growing competition from newer players.

• Read more

(Reuters) - The world's biggest carmakers have until the end of Monday to sign up for Russia's latest scheme to entice major players and strengthen its local industry ahead of any future crisis. Russia was on the verge of overtaking Germany to become Europe's biggest car market before the country's 2009 recession caused annual sales to collapse by half. A sharp recovery in 2010 -- aided by a government sponsored scrappage scheme -- has revived industry optimism about future Russian growth and prompted state attempts to pin down foreign players to invest and support the domestic industry.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Wall Street rebounded on Friday after a week-long sell-off as oil prices stabilized from recent highs. The Nasdaq Composite jumped more than 1 percent led by semiconductor issues. Brent crude futures fell slightly to $111 a barrel, backing off highs after a source said Saudi Arabia raised its output. The futures touched a two-and-half-year high of $119.79 on Thursday.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp.(BAC.N) is no Fidelity Investments when it comes to retirement accounts, but it boosted retirement assets under management by nearly 10 percent last year and is gunning for more by guiding bank depositors to Merrill Lynch advisers and its new online brokerage channel. BofA managed $535 billion in corporate and individual retirement accounts and pension plans at the end of 2010, up from $489 billion 12 months earlier.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Global listings activity has been the highest on record so far this year, with firms raising a total of $24 billion to date, according to Thomson Reuters data, boosted by buoyant stock markets and improved investor interest. It follows a record quarterly volume of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the final three months of 2010, which saw $122.2 billion raised globally, lifted by the mega floats of Asian insurer AIA Group (1299.HK) and U.S. automaker General Motors (GM.N).

• Read more

(Reuters) - Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in three years in February, helped by an improving view of the labor market recovery, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey's final February reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 77.5, up from 74.2 in January, and the highest since January 2008. It was above the median forecast of 75.3 among economists polled by Reuters and also above the early February reading of 75.1.

• Read more