Before the Bell

Good Friday was pretty good for Wall Street, which must have been chomping at the bit to trade on the stronger-than-expected employment data released that day.

Now stock futures are pointing upward. The prospect of a whopper of a takeover deal is also putting investors in a sunny mood. A British tabloid says a group of Middle East investors and U.S. buyout shops, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is preparing a $50 billion bid for Dow Chemical.

Then there's oil, which has fallen below $64 a barrel, but trading is subdued because most of Europe is shut down for Easter Monday.

Meanwhile, leading gas powers are discussing the idea of transforming their benign group into an OPEC-style cartel while trying to reassure consumer nations that it's business as usual for now.

Still basking in the glow of Friday's jobs data, the dollar is steady against the yen and euro as the odds of an interest-rate cut anytime soon continue to diminish. That's bad news for Treasuries, though, whose yields are at six-week highs. Burlington Northern shares are up on news that none other than Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has acquired a 10.9 percent stake in the railroad, becoming its biggest shareholder.

And this just in: Power supplier Mirant is in strategic-option-evaluation mode, which could mean the entire company could go on the block.

Lisa Von Ahn - Editor
www.Reuters.com