Today's 5 Top Stories

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Here at the Fool, we've searched high and low across the Web this Monday morning to find the biggest news and best stories around. Here are your top five reads to kick off the week.

1. Philips follows Alcoa with surprise profit
Days after Alcoa (NYSE: AA) kicked off earnings season with unexpectedly good earnings news, Philips (NYSE: PHG) followed up with a profitable surprise of its own. The news further lifted hopes that this earnings season will keep the good times rolling. (Read more at Bloomberg.)

2. The next crazy derivatives idea: movies
In a move that should officially kill any lingering belief that the past two years have squelched people's desire for weird financial products with dubious benefits, Variana Networks has applied to set up an exchange for movie derivatives. Amazingly, this is the second company to apply with the CFTC for a movie derivatives exchange. (Read more at The Financial Times or The Business Insider.)

3. CNOOC challenges in Africa
Chinese energy giant CNOOC (NYSE: CEO) is in talks to outbid Exxon (NYSE: XOM) on a $4 billion stake in an oil field off West Africa. The move is another example of China's emergence in the contest for global energy assets. (Read more at The Wall Street Journal.)

4. Legendary investor David Swensen speaks
David Swensen, the legendary head of Yale's endowment, spoke with The Financial Times about his career in investing and whether the financial crash has changed his fiscal style. (Read more at The Financial Times.)

5. One year later, how's Iceland doing?
A year after its economy collapsed, Iceland is still coming to terms with its new economic standing. (Read more at BBC.)

That's your Monday-morning recap. If you have a chance, please leave links to other stories you found noteworthy in the comments box below. With so many great articles published each day, this is just a slim collection of what's going on in the investing world.

Check Fool.com throughout the day for commentary and analysis on these and other stories. Or you can follow us on Twitter, on Facebook, or through our email digests.