Global equities are mostly higher Monday including gains of more than 2% in Japan and Hong Kong. In Europe, where George Provopoulos, governor of the Bank of Greece, recently said he had “full confidence” in dealing with the deficit, stocks are more mixed but on the whole still positive. In the the US, equities are looking to a positive open. The schedule includes plenty of fresh data later in the week, but the focus this morning will be on testimony from Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve. 90 minutes before the opening bell, Dow futures are trading 51 points higher at 10,429 and S&P 500 futures are up 5.90 points to 1,112.10 Over the past five trading days the Dow climbed 3.9% and S&P 500 gained 4.03%. Also, NYMEX crude oil is up 43 cents to $80.24 per barrel...(read more)

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