ECONOMY & MARKETS

Stock index futures pointed to a sharply higher open for equities on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 rising 2.2 to 2.6 percent.

The global economic recovery is running out of steam, leaving the euro zone stuck in a mild recession and the United States at risk of following suit, the OECD said on Monday, sharply cutting its forecasts.

Jefferies revised its estimates for Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) due to revised guidance and capital raise. The brokerage lowered its price target on shares of Netflix to $75 from $90, while maintaining its hold rating.

Wal-Mart is expected to add more items to their sales list

U.S. stock futures jumped in early electronic trading on Sunday on the latest round of proposals out of Europe designed to corral the growing euro zone debt crisis.

Occupy Los Angeles activists said Saturday they intend to continue inhabiting their protest site on the grounds of City Hall despite a fast-approaching deadline for their eviction set by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Amazon.com Inc., eBay Inc., and other online commerce companies had a strong Black Friday, but the industry's growth rate lagged last year's surge in online buying on the traditional first day of the holiday shopping season.

Black Friday shopping along Market Street turned out to be a nightmare as Occupy San Francisco demonstrators picketed in front of stores like Old Navy and Macy's, while also attempting to encamp in Union Square.

India's growth story is still credible and the move to open up the economy to global supermarket chains will help growth and control inflation, says RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao.

U.S. investors came to the Thanksgiving holiday table on Thursday mostly thankful that the week was a short one because, otherwise, market losses could have been larger.

Exchange operator CME Group Inc. fined Infinium Capital Management, a high-frequency trading firm with offices in Chicago, London, and New York, a total of $850,000 for three separate computer malfunctions that rattled futures markets in 2009 and 2010.

Former MF Global Holdings Ltd. CEO Jon Corzine is expected to testify at a U.S. congressional hearing next month, a committee aide said on Friday, tamping down speculation that the former head of the bankrupt brokerage would decline to take part.

Shares of the Chicago-based daily deals site fell once again Friday, closing down 0.88 percent to $16.81. Shares fell as low as $16.20 earlier in the day before the price went up near market close.

The Canadian dollar touched its lowest level in more than 7 weeks against the U.S. dollar on Friday as record borrowing costs for Italy stoked fears that the euro zone's spiraling debt crisis would lead to a break-up of the currency bloc

A Russian businessman and his Lithuanian partner were arrested on Thursday in connection with a money laundering investigation that has affected Lithuania and Latvia.

With a minimal 2 per cent increase in established businesses and a persistent rate of opportunity-driven ventures, the entrepreneurial scenario of the United States was still healthier than rest of the world in 2010.

Unnerved by a second profit warning in a month, investors sent HTC Corp shares tumbling for a second straight day on Friday on concern the world's No.4 smartphone maker may be running out of ideas in an increasingly competitive market.

Indian Rupee gained Thursday, breaking an eight-session losing streak, after the country's central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), took several measures to stem the fall of rupee against the greenback.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Pozen, Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Yahoo, Infosys, and Research In Motion. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: ASM International, ARM Holdings, Randgold Resources, ASML Holding, and Rediff.com India.

The British ex-CEO of Japan's Olympus Corp emerged from a frosty meeting of directors on Friday convinced its board would eventually quit over an accounting scandal engulfing the firm, but he said he wasn't begging to return and clean up the mess.

Crude oil prices edge higher in Asian trade Friday, but remained rangebound as renewed concerns over the eurozone debt crisis offset fears over an escalation of violence in Saudi Arabia may threaten crude supply from the Middle East.

Toronto's main stock index hit a seven-week low on Thursday morning, as materials and financial issues retreated in response to euro zone debt fears, sparked by rising German government bond yields.

Three executives of Japan's Olympus Corp resigned on Thursday ahead of a boardroom showdown with ousted CEO Michael Woodford, as the British whistleblower said he would not be surprised if some criminality were involved in the scandal engulfing the once-venerable firm.

Canadian farmers earned nearly 11 percent more during the first nine months of 2011 than they did in the year-before period, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday.

According to government date released on Thursday, the food and fuel price indexes climbed by 9.01 percent and 15.49 percent in the current year to Nov. 12.

The top after market NYSE Losers on Wednesday were: Quantum Corp, Nabors Industries, MFS Government Markets Income, Daqo New Energy, Weatherford International, Rowan Companies, Halliburton, Exterran Holdings, Diamond Offshore Drilling and Diamond Offshore Drilling.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Wednesday were: Xueda Education Group, LyondellBasell Industries, Northstar Realty Finance, Molycorp, Pioneer Natural Resources, Parker Drilling, Safeway, Southwestern Energy, Huntsman Corp and Quicksilver Resources.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Pozen, Andatee China Marine Fuel Services, Power-One, Cirrus Logic, and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: BGC Partners, Jack Henry & Associates, Perion Network, Alaska Communications Systems Group, and Dendreon.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday raised the interest rate ceiling on the non-resident external (NRE) rupee deposits and the foreign currency non-resident banks (FCNRB) deposits citing prevailing market conditions.