North American markets look set to rise Monday, bolstered by a continuing decline in crude-oil prices to below US$50 a barrel and fresh merger activity.

This morning crude-oil futures fell 42¢ to US$49.30 a barrel, drifting down to levels last seen in February, in the wake of reports on rising U.S. crude supplies and slower economic growth.

In merger news, Verizon Communications sweetened its bid for MCI to US$26 a share and MCI’s board deemed the new offer “superior” to the rival offer from Qwest Communications International. Based on MCI’s total shares outstanding, the Verizon proposal is valued at about US$8.44 billion, compared with Qwest’s most recent $US9.74 billion offer.

Private-equity firms Warburg Pincus and Texas Pacific Group announced a deal to acquire luxury icon Neiman Marcus Group for about US$5.1 billion, or US$100 a share, the latest in a line of big-ticket private buyouts in the U.S. retail sector.

In other business news, insurance giant American International Group said late Sunday it would restate more than four years of financial statements, a move that will reduce its net worth by US$2.7 billion, or 3.3%.

There are no major economic announcements from Statistics Canada today.

In today’s earnings news, released its delayed earnings report for 2004, showing a loss of US$51 million on lower revenue. The loss amounted to 1¢ a share and contrasted with a restated profit of US$434 million or 10¢per share in 2003.

On Friday, financial and resource stocks, energy shares included despite falling crude prices, fueled a strong finish to the week and the month on Toronto markets, while U.S. investors pushed U.S. markets to a triple-digit gain.

At close, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 94.20 points or 1.02% at 9,369.30, while the TSX Venture Exchange added 17.11 points or 1.02% to 1,702.62.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials finished ahead by 122.14 points or 1.21% at 10,192.51. The Nasdaq composite advanced 17.47 points or 0.92% at 1,921.65. The S&P 500 index gained 13.63 points or 1.19% at 1,156.85.

The Canadian dollar was down more than half a cent late in the day, losing 0.51 of a cent to US79.38. The currency has been pressured this week after Prime Minister Paul Martin agreed to include $4.6 billion in new social spending in the federal budget in return for parliamentary support from the New Democratic Party.