News

Global financial markets open this week still in shock from Friday's dramatic surge in oil prices and plunge in stock prices -- and facing new doubts about the U.S. consumer's ability to help spur a recovery in the struggling economy. Asian stock markets were falling early today and the battered dollar continued to lose ground against other major currencies as investors braced for Wall Street's starting bell. There was a bit of relief in energy prices: Crude oil futures slipped $1.14 a barrel to $137.40 in electronic trading Sunday evening in New York. But that was just a sliver of the $10.75-a-barrel jump Friday to an all-time high of $138.54.