Briefly, Libya agreed to a cease-fire with rebel forces and briefly oil prices dropped in New York.
That was Friday. What a difference a day makes.
Reports in Libya essentially wiped out the government's credibility in one fell swoop because fighting continued unabated in several locations and a jet fighter, flying in violation of a United Nations resolution, was downed near Benghazi .
British Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama both said there would be consequences and delivered on their pledges, with strikes against Libyan air-defense and radar stations Saturday.
Oil prices immediately turned around and headed higher, adding $2 per barrel by Monday, peaking at $103.25 per barrel.
Oil prices last week were up-and-down anyway, slammed by the earthquake in Japan that signaled demand fromthe major industrial nation may drop sharply in the short-term while the country rebuilds. At least for a while, major Japanese corporations shuttered factories and billions of dollars spent on rebuilding was a major setback for a government trying to reduce the country's debt.
Goldman Sachs in New York estimated the earthquake would cost 3.3 percent of Japan's gross domestic product, which would be enough, currently, to throw the U.S. economy back into a recession should a similar catastrophe occur somewhere between Miami and Anchorage.
On Sunday, U.S. telecommunication giants AT&T and T-Mobile announced a merger agreement valued at $39 billion that included, the companies said, up to $40 billion in savings, which will look terrific on paper, but likely mean the loss of thousands of jobs, The Wall Street Journal said.
The deal, which would combine the second largest and fourth largest U.S. telecommunications firms, will require approval from the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson said he believed the deal would receive a green light from regulators.
It will be a relatively light week for economic reports.
A report on U.S. existing home sales was due Monday. New home sales data is due Wednesday. February's durable goods data will be released Thursday. On Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its third estimate of the fourth quarter's gross domestic output, which was estimated a month ago at 2.8 percent growth over the previous quarter.
In international markets Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Japan was closed for a holiday, but other markets in Asia rose. The Shanghai composite index in China gained 0.08 percent and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 1.73 percent. The Sensex in India fell 0.22 percent and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.35 percent.
In midday trading in Europe, the FTSE 100 index in Britain rose 1.22 percent while the DAX 30 in Germany added 1.97 percent. The CAC 40 in France rose 1.94 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 1.55 percent.
