Miner Newmont Corp NEM.N slid 4.8% on its $16.9 billion offer for Australian peer Newcrest Mining Ltd NCM.AX to build a global gold behemoth. By Carolina Mandl, Shubham Batra and Johann M Cherian Feb 6 (Reuters) - The main U.S. stock indexes fell on Monday as investors shifted gears after considering the possibility that the U.S. Federal Reserve may take longer to start cutting rates. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday the United States may avoid a recession as inflation is coming down while the labor market remains strong.