Wall Street stock futures pointed to a higher open Monday following this weekend’s meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bankers.

The ministers pledged to do “whatever is necessary” to fix the global economy and restore a shaky financial sector.

Meanwhile, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession in the United States will probably come to an end this year, though the U.S. unemployment rate will continue to rise.

Here at home, household net worth retreated for the second consecutive quarter, declining $252 billion, or 4.4%, in the fourth quarter as stock market prices continued to fall, Statistics Canada said Monday.

On a per capita basis, household net worth fell from 179,300 in the second quarter of 2008 to 165,300 in the fourth quarter, a $14,000 decrease.

Separately, StatsCan said Canadian industries operated at 74.7% of their capacity in the fourth quarter of 2008, down from 78.1% in the third quarter. This was the lowest capacity utilization rate since the start of the data series in 1987.

Today’s U.S. economic calendar includes the Empire State index for March, Treasury inflows for January, industrial production for February and the NAHB housing market index for March.

In corporate news, Barney Frank, chairman of the U.S. House financial services committee is calling for a shakeup at insurance giant American International Group in the wake of disclosures it will pay roughly US$165 million in bonuses to its executives.

In commodities news, oil futures took a hit after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries opted not to cut production quotas over the weekend. OPEC said they would focus instead on compliance with earlier cuts. Crude prices slid nearly 5% to US$44.16 a barrel.

Overseas, banks leading markets moved higher in Europe and Asia. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.8% and the FTSE 100 traded 2% higher in London.

On Friday, the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange marked a fourth consecutive day of gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished at 8,303.39, up 21.12 points, or 0.3%. For the week, the benchmark index gained 9.4%, marking its best week so far in 2009.

Junior companies also finished the day higher, pushing the S&P/TSX Venture index up 5.55 points, or 0.7%, to 848.97.

In New York, the main U.S. stock market indexes also finished the day higher, topping off their strongest week in nearly four months.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 53.92 points, or 0.8%, to end at 7,223.98. For the week, the Dow advanced 9%.

The S&P 500 index rose 5.81 points, or 0.8%, to end at 756.55 on Friday, finishing the week up a sharp 10.7%.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 5.4 points, or 0.4%, to 1,431.5, ending 10.6% above last Friday’s level.

IE