Before the Bell

Most of us are heaving a sigh of relief over the willingness of the UK and Iran to use diplomacy to end a dispute over 15 British sailors and marines seized in the Gulf.

Wall Street's mood is up, and so are stock futures. Bolstering investor sentiment is a drop in oil prices, which are hovering below $65 a barrel. But pending home sales figures from February set for release shortly after the opening bell could also influence the market. So could March car sales numbers from GM and others later in the day.

The dollar is up against the yen and the Swiss franc as the market's willing to take a chance on higher-yielding currencies. U.S. Treasuries are steady.

The TV advertising business may never be the same after Google gets into it. The company is teaming up with EchoStar to create an automated system for buying, selling, delivering and measuring the impact of spots running on the 125-channel Dish network.

The Texas Attorney General's office has accused RadioShack of exposing customers to identity theft by dumping lists of addresses and credit-card numbers in a trash bin behind one of its stores.

Lisa Von Ahn Editor
Reuters.com