Stock futures inch higher after deal-making

[September 27, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock futures are edging higher after the latest batch of corporate deal-making.

With no new economic reports to be released Monday, investors are turning their attention to individual companies for insight into the health of the economy.

Unilever is buying beauty products maker Alberto Culver for $3.7 billion. Wal-Mart Stores is proposing to buy a South African consumer goods distributor.

Corporate takeovers are a positive sign for the economy because they mean companies are increasingly willing to take large cash reserves built up during the recession and invest them to grow operations.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 13, or 0.1 percent, at 10,797. S&P 500 futures are up less than 1 at 1,143, while Nasdaq 100 futures are up 2, or 0.1 percent, at 2,020.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN BERNARD]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.