1.       At 7:45 a.m., the ECB is widely expected to leave its key lending rate at 1%.

2.       At 8:30 a.m., U.S. initial jobless claims may have risen to 475k from 473k in the prior period.  Data at 10 a.m. may show contracts to buy

previously owned homes fell for a third straight month in July and factory orders increased 0.2 percent, according to the survey.

3.       Retailers will be in focus with the release of August same store sales.  Overall retailers are expected to report a 2.8% increase for August, after the 2.3% decline registered in August ’09.

4.       Avis(CAR) raises bid for Dollar Thrifty(DTG) by increasing cash portion to $40.75/shr.  Revised offer equals premium of more than 22% over Hertz(HTZ) offer.