ECONOMY & MARKETS

Myanmar is eager to rev up its economy with the hard currency that comes with foreign tourists, but officials question just how far to open the doors.

U.S. mortgage rates fell below 4 percent following disappointing housing data released in the past week, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

German unemployment rate fell to a record low in March, in contrast to many other nations in the eurozone which suffer from rising unemployment levels, while also showing evidence that growth in the Europe’s largest economy is picking up.

Economic recovery in Europe and North America is diverging and remains fragile, as Canada and the United States experience steady growth and European economies continue to falter, a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.

Claims for jobless benefits fell to 359,000, but Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned this week that recently improved employment data seem out of sync with the pace of U.S. economic growth.

Futures on major US stock indices point to a lower opening on Thursday ahead of economic data including final estimates for fourth quarter GDP and initial jobless claims.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Wednesday were: Cleantech Solutions International, Loral Space & Communications, Ultra Clean Holdings, Charming Shoppes, Horizon Pharma and QuickLogic Corp. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: Central European Distribution, Saba Software, Oncothyreon, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Brightcove Inc and Arena Pharmaceuticals.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Wednesday were: Collective Brands, Red Hat, Vocera Communications, Guidewire Software, Petroquest Energy and Leapfrog Enterprises. The top aftermarket NYSE losers were: Newcastle Investment, American Greetings, Fortress Investment Group, Western Digital Corp, USG Corp and AVG Technologies NV.

Asian stock markets ended lower for the second day on Thursday as weaker-than-expected US durable goods orders and an unexpected downward revision of Britain's economic growth weighed on the sentiment.

E-commerce website CafePress said on Tuesday it will raise $85.5 million through the initial public offering of 4.5 million common stock shares, priced $19 apiece.

Asian shares eased for a second day in a row Thursday, as investors limited their risk exposures on concerns about growth prospects in the world's two largest economies, the United States and China.

Ahead of next month's French presidential election, incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy has already complained that there are too many immigrants in France.

Stocks fell Wednesday as investors were disappointed by a weaker-than-expected reading on durable goods orders, while a plunge in oil prices dragged energy and material shares lower.

While the U.S. oil and natural gas industries are reaping astronomical profits now, they could increase them even more if companies weren't so wasteful, the Natural Resources Defense Council said.

Experts believe 2012 could mark the beginning of a turnaround for the housing industry, albeit a slow one.

A new law in Pennsylvania has upset some health professionals, who fear they won't be allowed to share information about potential risks of the drilling practice hydraulic fracturing due to confidentiality pacts that protect the oil and gas industries.

The long-term view on gas is bright, and experts say now is the time to invest in the commodity. Gas prices have fallen sharply in recent years, to as low as $2.18 per 1 million BTU this year.

France and the U.K are in talks with the U.S. to release oil from the nations' strategic oil reserves in response to rising gas prices, reports said Wednesday.

People in Europe drink more alcohol than in any other part of the world, downing the equivalent of 12.5 litres of pure alcohol a year or almost three glasses of wine a day, according to report by the World Health Organisation and the European Commission.

U.S. mortgage applications declined 2.7 percent in the week ending March 23, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Orders for long-lasting goods rebounded in February from a deep 3.6 percent drop in January as demand for aircraft surged, the government said Wednesday.

US stocks closed lower on Tuesday, following poor consumer confidence data and a fall in the property value index.

Italy's weak bond auction Tuesday signaled that investors remain concerned about the country and the euro zone region overall.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) isn't just one of the most successful fast food chains -- it's trying to save the world.

Window dressing, the practice of stock fund managers buying up top performers as the quarter ends to boost the appearance of success, failed Tuesday to lift the major indexes into positive territory.

Consumers are still confident about the state and medium-term trajectory of the U.S. economy, a highly-influential survey of consumer confidence indicated Tuesday, but an increasingly polarized view of the situation in the labor market -- as well as less-optimistic predictions about the future -- means they are expressing that optimism less emphatically than a month ago.

Factory output in the central Atlantic region of the U.S. expanded in March for the fourth straight month, but at a more temperate pace than a month ago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported Tuesday.

Bob Rodriguez, CEO of Los Angeles investment firm First Pacific Advisors, fears that loose U.S. money policy could lead to fiscal catastrophes in coming years.

Angelo Gurria, the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said on Tuesday that eurozone finance ministers should need to boost the firepower of the European stability funds to at least one trillion euros ($1.3 trillion).