ECONOMY & MARKETS

U.S. home prices in 20 major cities fell by 2.6 percent in March, hitting the lowest level since 2002, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller housing index released Monday.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Tuesday are: Popular Inc, North American Energy Partners Inc, United States Steel Corporation, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, Pfizer Inc, Banco Santander S.A. and Facebook Inc.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a higher opening Tuesday ahead of the report on consumer confidence for May.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex and NSE's Nifty were trading with moderate gains in morning session Tuesday. Auto, IT and capital goods stocks were trading higher while the consumer durables and FMCG shares were trading negative.

Asian Markets rose Tuesday as expectations that China will take measures to lift its economic growth undermined the euro zone concerns amid Spanish banking woes.

The economic calendar is quite full this week, with most of the focus on the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. The Institute for Supply Management, or ISM, manufacturing index and the second estimate of U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product also will draw a lot of attention.

Asian markets rose Monday as concerns of Greece exiting the euro zone eased with Greek opinion polls published over the weekend showing that pro-bailout party is leading by a small average margin over the anti-austerity measures party.

Indian markets opened on a positive note Monday as Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex was trading at 16,360.34, 142.52 or points 0.90 percent up from the previous close and NSE Nifty was at 4,965.20, up 44.80 points or 0.80 percent, in the morning session.

Asian stock markets mostly advanced Monday as concerns of potential Greek exit eased after recent opinion polls showed that pro-austerity parties could be able to form a coalition government.

Central banks in emerging markets continued to gobble up gold last month, and analysts anticipate this trend has legs. Why are these central banks doing it? And why should you care?

Several industry bellwethers like Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) ) and NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP) have reported poor resuilts or forecasts. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) will axe 27,000 people. Is a new tech recession ahead?

Asian markets declined this week on increasing concerns about China's economic slowdown and Greece possibly exiting the euro zone.

Spain's Bankia S.A. requested the country's government provide it with a bailout worth ?19 billion ($24 billion) on Friday, the same day Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered its ratings on five financial institutions based in the Iberian nation.

You can't blame investors for feeling a bit squeamish regarding deploying new money in the U.S. stock market these days, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average?s (DJIA) recent slide from 13,300 to 12,450 unnerving even the most experienced institutional investors. Where?s the market headed in the next six months?

Sam Zell, the Chicago real-estate mogul, has become so well-known for feasting on distressed assets that he's been called the grave dancer. This week, Zell took the nickname to the next level: He's about to receive $70 million from a ghost.

Investing in Brazil's booming economy has turned another page as foreign companies, especially Japanese firms, move from putting money into the nation's financial industry to putting it into the real economy of South America's largest nation.

Renesas Electronics (Tokyo: 6723), one of Japan's biggest chip-makers, could fire as many as 30 percent of those on its payroll, or 14,000 workers.

U.S. equities closed a moderately green week with a moderately red day on Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74.92 points, or 0.60 percent, to 12,454.83, the S&P 500 index dropped 2.86 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,317.82, and the Nasdaq Composite index dipped 1.85 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,837.53.

French and German consumer confidence showed unexpected strength, reports showed Friday. While the market is cheering about the good news, some economists view this as a warning sign of a euro zone crisis fatigue - something that is as dangerous, if not more so than the crisis itself.

However, it remains far from certain that the Scottish public even wants independence.

Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in more than four years in May as Americans stayed optimistic about the job market, while higher income households expected to see bigger wage increases, a survey released on Friday showed.

The CEO of a New York commercial mortgage company sold his personal condo at 15 Central Park West, one of the most expensive buildings in the world, for $23.3 million, according to city records filed Friday.

Bankia, Spain's fourth largest bank, reportedly asked for the suspension ahead of a board meeting on Friday afternoon aimed at redrawing its accounts for 2011 and submitting a plan to bolster its finances.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Friday are: Frontline Ltd, EMC Corporation, Deutsche Bank AG, SAP AG, Carnival Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company and BHP Billiton Limited.

U.S. mortgages rates have dropped to record lows for four consecutive weeks, but that doesn't mean more homes will be sold. In fact, at least one housing expert argues that extremely low rates are causing banks to be even more stringent with underwriting approvals, turning away more prospective buyers and hurting the national housing market.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a higher opening Friday ahead of the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index and Inflation Expectation survey.

Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex started on a negative note Friday and was trading in the red in the morning session.

Asian markets fell Friday on increasing concerns about China?s economic slowdown and Greece exiting the euro zone.

Global stocks eked out gains on Thursday while the euro fell as data suggested Europe's debt woes were spreading and worsening a global economic slowdown.