Wall St set for higher open; ISM data awaited

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities, with investors waiting for a slew of economic data, including U.S. ISM figures for November and pending home sales numbers. Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.8 to 0.9 percent.

Dubai ruler plays up strength as Gulf markets fall

DUBAI (Reuters) - Gulf markets dropped again on Tuesday, taking little comfort from Dubai World's plan to restructure about $26 billion of debt, while the rulers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai talked up their economic strength. Dubai stocks <.DFMGI> fell a further 3.6 percent and the Abu Dhabi bourse <.ADI> lost 5.6 percent on their second trading day since Dubai last week asked creditors of Dubai World and its property arm Nakheel <NAKHD.UL> for a six-month delay on debt repayments. Qatar's bourse <.QSI> was also more than 8 percent lower.

Staples profit beats estimates on cost cuts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top office-products retailer Staples Inc <SPLS.O> reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as cost cuts offset weak sales. Net earnings rose to $269.4 million, or 37 cents a share, in the third quarter that ended on October31, from $156.7 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier.

Geely taps China banks to back $1.8 billion Volvo deal

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Geely, the Chinese carmaker picked as the preferred bidder for Ford Motor's <F.N> Volvo unit, is seeking at least $1 billion in loans from Chinese banks to finance its $1.8 billion bid, sources said on Tuesday. Home-grown Geely, which means "lucky" in Chinese, is hungry for modern and innovative technologies from the Swedish brand to upgrade its car lineup and tap the auto market in China, the world's biggest.

Vivendi shares rise on hopes NBCU stake sale near

PARIS (Reuters) - Vivendi shares <VIV.PA> rose on Tuesday as hopes mounted that Europe's largest entertainment group was close to selling its stake in U.S. media group NBCU and getting cash to fund its growth plans. A source familiar with the matter said on Monday that Vivendi and General Electric Co <GE.N>, which owns 80 percent of NBC Universal (NBCU), had agreed in principle to a deal in which GE would buy Vivendi's 20 percent stake for $5.8 billion,

November sales to shed light on holiday season start