U.S.

Sales of single-family houses in the US fell unexpectedly in February, showing continued weakness in the housing industry recovery.

Shares of companies active in Wednesday's early trade are: Jabil Circuit, Cree, Adobe, Veeco Instruments, XOMA, Tata Communications, China Southern Airlines Co., Cintas, Global Industries and Northern Oil & Gas.

U.S. stocks declined in early trade on Wednesday as renewed concerns over the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis and higher than expected rebuilding costs in Japan weighed on the sentiment.

RBC Capital Markets said the ultimate low in the U.S. equity markets might not have been reached, but a bottoming process has probably started. The brokerage said most of the technical indicators suggest that an intermediate-term low is near. Readings from sentiment, positioning and internal momentum indicators reveal much more damage under the hood than at the index level.

The U.S. army failed to detect tell-tale signs of mental disorder in an army scientist who unleashed the anthrax letter attacks that killed five people in 2001, according to a panel of behavioral analysts.

The top U.S. companies that are reporting earnings before the market opens on March 23 are: General Mills, Texas Industries, and Wonder Auto Technology. The top U.S. companies that are reporting earnings after the market close on March 23 are: Paychex, Red Hat, SAIC, Steelcase, HB Fuller, and OMNOVA Solutions.

Canadian regulators see no big environmental impact from a plan to expand a nuclear power station 70 km (45 miles) from Canada's biggest city, Toronto, but Greenpeace activists halted a second day of hearings with pleas for a delay while Japan unravels its nuclear mess.

US stocks edge down as turmoil in the Middle East continues to rage on.

US stock slipped on the continued unrest in the Middle East and escalating tensions in Yemen.

Americans who are opposed to the U.S. participating in air strikes against Libya have held small (and thus far peaceful) demonstrations across the country, although there doesn’t appear to be a large national movement against the action yet.

US stocks wavered between small gains and losses in early trade on Tuesday as investors watched with caution geopolitical developments in Japan and Libya.

The average transaction prices for key fuel-efficient Japanese imported cars in the United States are starting to creep up in the wake of the quake and tsunami in Japan that caused supply disruptions, according to an analyst.

Sony Corp. has suspended production at more Japanese plants after a massive earthquake on March 11 has made it difficult for the plants to get raw materials and components.

U.S. stocks surged on Monday as sentiment was buoyed after Japan made progress in its battle to control radiation leaks at a crippled plant, and AT&T announced that it will buy T-Mobile USA from German company Deutsche Telekom to create the largest mobile provider in the United States.

US stocks jumped higher on positive news from Japan and AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile.

Existing home sales in the US fell more than expected in February, indicating an uneven recovery in the housing industry. Sales of previously owned homes dropped 9.6 percent to 4.88 million in February compared with an upwardly revised figure of 5.40 million in January, the National Association of Realtors said on Monday.

US stocks advanced in early trade on Monday as sentiment was buoyed after Japan made progress in its battle to control radiation leaks at a crippled plant, and AT&T announced that it will buy T-Mobile USA from German company Deutsche Telekom to create the largest mobile provider in the United States.

US stocks ended higher on Friday as sentiment was buoyed after Libya announced a cease-fire and the Group of Seven (G-7) Finance ministers agreed to intervene in the markets to stabilize the Japanese yen.

Nuclear energy experts in the U.S. believe that the quake-damaged atomic plant in northeastern Japan that is at the center of an unrelenting crisis has a dire breach in the wall or floor – a predicament that will pose serious problems when they seek to refill the spent fuel pool with coolant in order to prevent the release of extremely harmful radioactivity.

Shares of companies active in Friday's early trade are Nike Inc., Cisco Systems, Lorillard Inc., LDK Solar Co., Celera, Under Armour and Longtop Financial Technologies.

US stocks advanced in early trade on Friday after the Group of Seven (G-7) Finance ministers had agreed to intervene in the markets to stabilize the Japanese yen.