CAIRO - Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has signed a new law allowing the state to issue Islamic bonds — an effort to help ease an expanding budget deficit. The Islamic bonds, known as Sukuk, are similar to regular bonds but do not have a fixed interest rate, which violates Islamic Shariah law. The move also was a way for Morsi to put an Islamist stamp on the country's economy.

CALGARY - Second Wave Petroleum Inc. (TSX:SCS) has received a proposal from its controlling shareholder, Brookfield Bridge Lending Fund Inc., to take the Western Canada-focused oil and gas producer private. Brookfield has offered 30 cents per share, a significant premium over the 13 cents per share closing trading price Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the company said Monday. A special committee of independent Second Wave directors has retained a financial adviser to help evaluate the going private proposal.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons' finances deteriorated in April at a faster pace than in March as incomes fell and living costs rose, and households expected the squeeze to continue, reducing their ability to spend and support the economy. Survey compiler Markit said on Monday that its headline Household Finance Index fell to 37.7 from 39.3 in March, sinking further below the 50 level that would mark no change compared with a month ago. That is the first drop in the index since December.

Jackie Robinson biopic "42" hit a home run at the North American box office in its debut weekend, easily besting its box office rivals, industry estimates showed Sunday. The film, starring Chadwick Boseman as the ground-breaking African American baseball star and Harrison Ford as the Brooklyn Dodgers exec who signed him, raked in $27.3 million in ticket sales. "Scary Movie 5," the latest installment in the horror comedy franchise, opened far behind in second place at $15.2 million, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.