During the first half of the year, worldwide mergers-and-acquisition activity reached $2.7 trillion, up 62% from last year, according to Thomson Financial.

After several weeks of small-ticket deals on the proverbial "Merger Mondays," this Monday has brought a couple of big-ticket deals:  including the $49 billion takeover of Canadian telecom BCE; Carlyle Group has offered between $33 and $35 a share for Virgin Media that would value all of Virgin Media's equity at up to $11.7 billion;  and late on Friday ATT agreed to buy Dobson Communications  in a deal valuing the mobile operator at $2.8 billion, or $13 a share. AT&T also will be in focus on reports of activation problems for the Apple iPhone which debuted on Friday.

There is an important economic release today in the form of the ISM Index, the report on national manufacturing activity that will be released at 10:00 ET. Click on “Today’s Calendar”  above for a detailed discussion as well as market expectations.

As of this writing the futures are indicating: DOW +33, S & P + 3.45, Nasdaq + 6.6, Oil is flat but still above $70, and Gold is ahead by $3.6.

Have a Great Day!