ECONOMY & MARKETS

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.

Amid the hoopla surrounding new product introductions by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the initial public offering of Facebook (NYSE: FB) and what’s new with “Angry Birds,” people forget to acknowledge the true “brains” of the whole business: the chip.

China Construction Bank , the world's No.2 lender valued at $193 billion, joined smaller rival AgBank in reporting earnings lower than the market had expected as China's slowing growth squeezes its top lenders.

Yields on 10-year inflation-linked Treasury bonds fell into negative territory Thursday -- only the second time that has happened -- ona flight to quality in U.S. notes, a belief that inflation will begin rising and the seemingly heady effect of the Federal Reserve's Operation Twist.

This week - March 26 to 30 - will highlight Wednesday's durable goods report and a busy policy calendar, including the core of the Federal Open Market Committee: Chairman Ben Bernanke and New York Fed President William Dudley. Wall Street will be closely monitoring the Fed officials' speeches, hoping to find clues of their latest views on the economic, inflation and policy outlooks.

Analysts, economists, and market participants were concerned with three things this week, and three things only: inflation, inflation, and inflation.

A surprisingly weak U.S. new-home sales report Friday exposed the vulnerability of the nation's economic recovery and renewed hopes -- or fears, depending on one's views -- that the Federal Reserve will expand its balance sheet for a third time by purchasing more bonds.

Sen. Bernard Sanders (Independent-Vt,), introduced a new law this week to curb speculation in oil futures.

The group UltraViolet said it hoped Obama's nominee, a doctor with extensive experience in public health and now Dartmouth College's president, will be a champion for women and girls throughout the world.

Another possible scenario, if the situation in Europe continues to improve and we are able to avoid any black swans, involves a robust economic growth period.