U.S. stocks on steady ground; focus is on Wednesday's FOMC

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:01:04 (GMT)
BUSINESS NEWS

U.S. stocks on steady ground; focus is on Wednesday's FOMC

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks held steady Monday morning, enabling the major
averages to hold onto recent gains, as investors looked ahead to the
Federal Open Market Committee's mid-week monetary-policy meeting.
------------------------------
Futures Movers: Oil falls below $63 mark on bets for lower demand,
higher output

SAN FRANCISCO -- Crude-oil futures moved lower Monday morning to fall
under the $63-a-barrel mark, weighed down by market expectations for
lower oil demand and higher production.
__________________
Freescale Semiconductor agrees to $17.6 billion buyout

SAN FRANCISCO -- Freescale Semiconductor Inc., a maker of chips used in
cell phones and cars, said Friday it agreed to be bought by a private
equity consortium for $17.6 billion, the largest-ever buyout of a
technology company.
___________________
Crisis manager, diplomat Rossi to the rescue at Telecom Italia

LONDON -- Telecom Italia has made an emergency call.
--------------------------------
Symbol Technologies nears sale: report

WASHINGTON -- Wireless-equipment firm Symbol Technologies is set to
wrap up an auction that could see the sale of the $3.2 billion firm
within days, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.