ECONOMY & MARKETS

Many U.S. manufacturing firms that run Chinese plants are considering bringing those operations back home because -- in many cases -- it makes more economic sense to do so than to keep them abroad, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey of business executives released on Friday.

The International Monetary Fund is eyeing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a bloc of countries commonly known as BRICS, to meet its goal, set by the institution's managing director Christine Lagarde, to raise at least $400 billion of additional funds to safeguard the global financial system against the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

McDonald's Corp. met analysts' expectations in first-quarter revenue and profit growth, as economic troubles in Europe did not to put a dent in the world's largest restaurant chain's balance sheet, the company reported on Friday.

In a seeming effort to profit from the latest European disaster, large investors are causing some unusual movements in the U.S. securities markets.

European economic data released on Friday topped analyst expectations, giving a boost to the region's stock markets.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Friday are: Deutsche Bank, Microsoft Corp, EDAC Technologies, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, First Solar, General Electric, Advanced Micro Devices, Riverbed Technology, Sandisk Corp and Nokia Corp.

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Friday as weak US economic data and fears over European debt crisis weighed on the sentiment.

Futures on major US indices point to a higher opening Friday as investors awaited the earnings from major firms including General Electric Co. and McDonald's.

Asian stock markets declined Friday as batch of disappointing economic readings from the US signaled that the recovery was slowing in the world's biggest economy.

Automaker Ford said Thursday that it plans to build a $760-million assembly plant in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou as part of expansion plans in the country.

Asian shares slipped Friday as disappointing U.S. economic data stirred doubts about the strength of recovery, while the yen weakened after the Bank of Japan flagged the prospect of further monetary easing to support the struggling economy.

The Spanish stock market plunged on Thursday, closing just 1.3 percent above its March 2009 low and reigniting fears about the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and the weak U.S. labor market.

When trying to explain real-world problems, economists always say things like: The market will sort it out. Or, the market will decide what's best.

Regional manufacturing activity shrank in April, but employment increased, according to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's Business Outlook Survey, which was released Thursday.

U.S. existing home sales fell 2.6 percent in March to an annual rate of 4.48 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday, missing expectations and highlighting continued weakness in the housing market.

The index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose 0.3 percent in March, extending its upward trend for a sixth month. Thursday's data points to a more positive outlook despite subdued consumer expectations and weakness in manufacturing new orders.

Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW), the second-largest chemical company by revenue, said Thursday it will build an ethylene plant in Texas to take advantage of the sharply lower costs of natural gas feedstock, something its foreign rivals cannot take advantage of.

Brazil’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 9 percent from 9.75 percent on Wednesday, bringing the rate down to a near-historic level. This is the sixth time Banco Central do Brasil has reduced its Selic rate since August, when it cut the rate to 12 percent from 12.5 percent.

Chinese workers who are exposed to silica dust in mines, and pottery and gemstone factories suffer not only from respiratory illnesses, but are at higher risk of contracting heart and infectious diseases and cancer, researchers in China have found.

More Americans than expected filed for jobless benefits last week, which also happens to coincide with the April payroll employment survey week, echoing the International Monetary Fund's view that job creation this year and next will be modest at best.

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD), the world's largest restaurant chain, is expected to report higher first-quarter revenue and earnings per share on Friday as a mild U.S. winter boosted foot traffic and thinning wallets drove consumers to cheaper food options.

Eurosclerosis may finally have hit the technology sector.

Asian shares moved in a narrow range Thursday after the previous day's rally as investors grew cautious ahead of a key Spanish bond sale that would test the market's risk appetite as concerns mounted over the euro zone's debt crisis.

The head of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Alicia Barcena suggested Wednesday that Mexico’s 2012 GDP growth could be higher than expected due to the pace of recovery in the United States and Mexico’s open economic policies relative to other countries in the region.

Global markets saw a shallow but broad selloff Wednesday, as unsettling news from Spain combined with a histrionic report by the International Monetary Fund to give investors pause regarding the situation in Europe.

European banks could be forced to shrink their balance sheets by as much as $3.8 trillion through 2013, or almost 7 percent of total assets, with a quarter of the deleveraging likely to come from cuts in lending and the remainder from sales of securities and noncore assets, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.

First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) announced Tuesday it will cut nearly a third of its workforce and shutter an overseas factory as a market flush with solar panels cuts into revenue.

Investment guru Jeffrey Gundlach's natural gas outlook for the long term is extremely bullish despite recent depressed prices, even as futures on the fuel breached a 10-year low on Wednesday.

Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday as sentiment was boosted by a successful Spanish debt auction and strong global growth forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).