BUSINESS

The top after-market NYSE gainers Thursday were AVG Technologies, Fortress Investment, Orient-Express Hotels, Magnum Hunter Resources and FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. The top after-market NYSE losers were Quiksilver, Verifone Systems, LaSalle Hotel Properties, Primero Mining Corp and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd.

China's manufacturing activity expanded to a 14-month high in December, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index released Friday.

Asian shares snapped a weeklong winning streak Friday, tracking global equities lower on worries that U.S. lawmakers are still too far apart to avert a year-end fiscal crisis.

Key players in the continuing Europe debt saga and financial crisis announced what amounted to Christmastime gifts to Greece and Britain.

S&P warns there is a one-in-three chance that it will strip the U.K. of its cherished AAA status within the next two years.

The Swiss bank is expected to announce it will pay a $1.5 billion fine Monday in the Libor scandal.

PepsiCo's got a brand new bag: Lay's newest flavor of potato chips, Pepsi-Chicken Chips.

Globally, aviation supports some 57 million jobs and $2.2 trillion in economic activity.

Airbus, Mitsubishi and Bombardier secured $15 billion worth of orders this week for greener, cheaper-to-fly jets.

More than half of all Pakistani adults are illiterate, while the figure for women is nearly 75 percent.

U.S. retail spending rose less than expected last month and stayed at roughly the same level it has been at since September.

Claims are now below pre-Sandy levels and near their lowest point in about four years.

Multinationals are cash-rich abroad and cash-poor at home.

PhotoMedex, RF Micro Devices, Charles River Laboratories, Vera Bradley, Credit Suisse Group, Yum! Brands, Ceragon Networks, Lexmark International and Nokia Corp. are among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Thursday.

The U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open Thursday ahead of the Labor Department's weekly jobless claims data.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Wednesday were Boston Beer, Kemet Corp, Wolverine World Wide, Best Buy and Medifast. The top after-market NYSE losers were Harbinger Group, Regal Beloit Corp, Petrobras Argentina, Roundy's and Barnes & Noble Inc.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Wednesday were Online Resources Corporation, RR Donnelley & Sons Company, The Finish Line Inc, Skyworks Solutions Inc and AmTrust Financial Services. The top after-market NASDAQ losers Wednesday were Endo Health Solutions Inc, NASDAQ OMX Group Inc, Randgold Resources Limited and BGC Partners.

Japan's Nikkei average rose above 9,700 Thursday to reach an eight-month high as investor sentiment was lifted on hopes that policymakers will soon announce stimulus measures to boost growth of the world’s third-largest economy.

The Bank of Korea Thursday announced its decision to keep the policy rate at 2.75 percent, withstanding the pressure from the market participants for additional stimulus measures to give a boost to the country's weakening economy.

The Google Maps app is set to return to the Apple iPhone and iPad tonight via Apple's App Store, according to a report released Wednesday evening.

Asian shares extended gains for a seventh day Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve took new stimulus steps.

The Geminids meteor shower is poised to be the best meteor shower of the year, and this NASA live stream view is your best way to watch the spectacle from the comfort of your home.

The chairman attempted to clarify new guidance from the Fed, but the more things were explained, the more complicated they became.

The murder of a 10-year-old boy in Taiwan sparks calls for the death penalty, as human rights groups urge the government to abolish capital punishment.

The Fed Wednesday announced a new round of monetary easing and, in a historic turn, tied future actions to a numerical jobless target.

It seems the “Fifty Shades of Grey” phenomenon is having an effect on gift buying this holiday season.

Berkshire Hathaway's board bought 9,200 of its shares from Warren Buffett's estate for $131,000 per share.

Even in China's red-hot economy, recent graduates aren't securing jobs. But it's not always because they can't find them.

If Congress can strike a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, the U.S. economy could show some meaningful improvements in 2013.