ECONOMY & MARKETS

U.S. home prices fell in January to new lows, but prices declined at a slower rate compared to the previous month's decline, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday.

U.S. single-family home prices were unchanged in January, suggesting the battered housing market continues to crawl along the bottom, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.

Up to 10 percent of the Cuban population are now practicing Catholics and that the rising influence of the church may help to speed up reforms in the country after 50 years of Marxism.

Futures on major US stock indices point to a flat opening on Tuesday ahead of reports on home prices and consumer confidence.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook is on a visit to China, its second largest market after the US, and the company has said it is eyeing greater investments in the country.

The top after-market NASDAQ losers Monday were: Neurocrine Biosciences, Nektar Therapeutics, Apollo Group, ValueVision Media, Gen-Probe, Hi-Tech Pharmacal, Harmonic, Techne Corp, Expedia and Myriad Genetics.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Monday were: Jaguar Mining, Harvest Natural Resources, Inphi Corp, ENSCO plc, TrueBlue and Amcol International Corp. The top aftermarket NYSE losers were: Stoneridge, PolyOne Corp, Fabrinet, Cato Corp, Edwards Lifesciences and Orion Marine Group.

Asian stock markets surged Tuesday, following gains in the Wall Street overnight as market-friendly comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke boosted sentiment.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Monday were: Landec Corp, Endocyte, ISTA Pharmaceuticals, MDC Partners Inc, Ku6 Media Co, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Energy Recovery, Primo Water Corp, Computer Task Group and OraSure Technologies.

Private aviation firm NetJets Inc, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, has said it is setting up a joint venture in China to cash in on the rapidly growing popularity of private air travel in the country.

Mubadala Development Company, Abu Dhabi's state investment fund, said Monday that it will invest $2 billion in the EBX group of Brazil.

Eye care company Bausch & Lomb (BOL) will acquire Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc for $500 million, according to a joint statement made by the two companies on Monday.

British taxpayers may take billion-pound hit if plans go ahead to sell off up to a third of stake in RBS to sovereign wealth investors in Abu Dhabi.

According to recently released U.S. Census Bureau statistics on urban density, 80.7 percent of Americans live in urban areas.

Since Greece technically defaulted over two weeks ago, yields on its bonds have risen sharply while insurance for Greek bonds has virtually disappeared, reflecting a lack of bond buyers and reluctance by loss-wary banks to write new protection.

Stocks surged Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the U.S. central bank would continue its present monetary policies and keep interest rates low, offsetting soft readings on the domestic economy.

After years of strong growth, China's biggest banks could face a slump in 2012. Analysts warned that an economic slowdown could trigger defaults by real estate developers and the increase in bad loans would erode Chinese banks' profitability this year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, previously reluctant to expand the size of euro zone bailout funds, agreed to support a €200 billion ($265 billion) increase of the firewall on Monday.

The federal regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is arguing that principal reductions for home loans would benefit the banks that hold secondary debt while weakening the mortgage giants' finances.

U.S. pending home sales fell 0.5 percent in February compared to January, the National Association of Realtors said Monday, missing expectations and heightening concerns the real estate market's recovery may not be as robust as thought by economists.

After calling the recent recovery a puzzle, markets reacted enthusiastically to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's pronouncements

The Fed chairman said U.S. job market conditions remain weak despite three months of strong hiring and that the improved employment data seem to be out of sync with the overall pace of economic growth.

The Ifo Business Climate Index in Germany, a key business confidence report from one of the largest think tanks in the country, showed little change in March from February, indicating the slowdown in recovery.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening Monday ahead of pending home sales data and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Friday were: Cornerstone OnDemand, TASER International, MAP Pharmaceuticals, Affymax, Avis Budget Group and Steel Dynamics. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: Pacific Biosciences of California, Targacept, Ancestry.com, Theravance, Vocus and Commercial Vehicle Group.

Asian stock markets ended with modest gains in lackluster trade Monday as concerns over the economic slowdown in China weighed on the sentiment.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) announced on Sunday a 2 percent rise in profit for the year 2011 thanks to higher oil prices and increasing fuel sales.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Friday were: Teekay Tankers, Armstrong World Industries, CapitalSource, Convergys Corp, Emergent Biosolutions and ExactTarget. The top aftermarket NYSE losers were: China Ming Yang Wind Power Group, HFF, Ion Geophysical Corp, ExamWorks Group, Superior Energy Services and SouFun Holdings.

Yahoo Inc. announced Sunday that it has appointed three new independent directors following a failure to arrive at a settlement with Third Point LLC, its largest shareholder that owns about 5.15 percent of shares.