(Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Monday on upbeat U.S. data and earnings and bets Spain was close to asking for a bailout, while the lack of details on Madrid's next actions pressured the euro. Data from China over the weekend that showed a much higher-than-expected rate of growth in exports offered some support to risk markets, but caution remained ahead of data due on Thursday expected to show the world's second-largest economy concluded a seventh straight quarter of slowing growth in September.

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(Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) has suspended a senior rates trader as part of an internal probe into the setting of Libor and other interest rates, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The part-nationalized British bank suspended Jezri Mohideen, head of rates trading for Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, on October 12, the source said on Monday.

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(Reuters) - Wall Street rose more than 1 percent on Thursday, putting the S&P 500 on track to snap a four-day losing streak, after the European Central Bank chief pledged to save the euro zone from collapse. ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday the ECB would do what was necessary to protect the euro zone, including fighting high bond yields, a measure ECB officials had not previously suggested.

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(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to near a four-year low but an unusual pattern for summer factory shutdowns kept hopes in check that the weak labor market was improving. Other data on Thursday showed new orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rose in June although a gauge of planned business spending plans dropped, pointing to a slowdown in factory activity.

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(Reuters) - In a case that illustrates the mounting risks facing cash-strapped California cities and their lenders, the desert city of Victorville is bracing for possible litigation amid allegations that it improperly shifted funds among different city-controlled entities. The Victorville city council was told by its attorney last week that it faced "significant exposure to litigation" relating to a little-publicized Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its financial practices, the city attorney acknowledged in a statement to Reuters.

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(Reuters) - Facebook shares tumbled ahead of its first quarterly results announcement as a public company on Thursday, hurt by a weak quarterly report and a grim outlook from online game developer Zynga. Facebook Inc shares dropped 7 percent to $27.65 in premarket trading while Zynga Inc slumped 40 percent to $3.04 - the two most heavily traded stocks before the bell on Nasdaq.

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(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, posted lower-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday as its oil and gas output sagged and its chemicals business struggled. Weaker global oil prices have weighed on earnings across the sector, and Exxon also felt the sting of decade-low U.S. natural gas prices.

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(Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse, sending a strong signal that inflated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs were in his sights. Fears about the euro zone's future are intensifying with Spain and Italy facing frenzied pressure on financial markets and Greece holding crunch meetings with its international lenders having failed to keep its repair plans on track, raising fresh questions about its place in the currency bloc.

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(Reuters) - Wall Street dropped on Tuesday as high bond yields in Spain remained an overhang and a round of disappointing profit outlooks highlighted the effect of the euro zone debt crisis on corporate profits. United Parcel Service (UPS.N), seen by many as a proxy for economic activity, reported quarterly results that missed forecasts and cut its 2012 outlook, citing uncertain global economic conditions. The shares fell 3.8 percent to $74.90, pulling the Dow Jones Transportation average .DJT down 1.1 percent.

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(Reuters) - Apple Inc claims it is entitled to $2.525 billion of damages in its high-stakes battle against Samsung Electronics Co over patents for technology used in smartphones and tablets, such as the iPhone and iPad. The estimate was revealed in a court filing early Tuesday, six days before the world's largest consumer electronics companies are scheduled on July 30 to begin a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.

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