ECONOMY & MARKETS

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday as gains from materials and health care sector shares were offset by declines from technology and financials.

Retail sales in eurozone fell unexpectedly in February, as consumers curtailed spending amid rising prices. The volume of retail trade in the 17-nation eurozone dropped 0.1 percent in February compared with 0.2 percent increase in January, the Eurostat said on Tuesday.

The manufacturing slump in March confirms that Japan's economy contracted for a second successive quarter in the first three months of the year, and will mark outright decline in 2011, an analyst has said.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Intersil, Expedia, and ON Semiconductor. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Team, Meru Networks, Prospect Capital, Royal Gold, and Sify Technologies.

On April 7, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet will almost certainly announce a 0.25 percent interest rate hike. After April 7, the best short-term play is probably to short the euro

Texas Instruments buys National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion; the latter's stock soars in after-hours trading.

The latest Commitment of Traders (COT) report shows that investors have piled $3.6 billion into AUD/USD futures in the week ended March 29, pushing the level to a record-high $8.8 billion.

Shares of Omnivision were battered on Monday after reports surfaced this weekend suggesting that the company had lost a major contract to supply Apple with camera parts to Sony.

US stocks are mixed in Monday’s session as investors wait for the Fedspeak due later this week.

US stocks are mixed on Monday as optimism over last Friday’s non-farm payrolls (NFP) report proved short-lived and grim global realities set in.

WTI oil prices are pushing $108 per barrel and Brent prices are nearing $120 per barrel. Such prices are unsustainable, according to Credit Agricole.

Wedbush Securities expects VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) to continue to return capital to investors through 2011. The brokerage maintained its neutral rating on shares of VeriSign with a price target of $38.

The US dollar continued to fall in Q1 2011. It lost 2.4 percent against G10 currencies, similar to the pace of decline in Q4 2010 but more moderate compared to the 8.4 percent QE2-induced drop in Q3 2010.

The Gold Price rose early Monday in London, nearing last week's high of $1439 per ounce as energy prices led a surge in commodity prices and Silver Bullion jumped 1.9% to fresh 31-year highs.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Monday as investors looked to extend a two-week winning streak in the major indexes.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, VIVUS, Orexigen Therapeutics, Star Scientific, and Optimer Pharmaceuticals. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: OmniVision Technologies, DepoMed, TD AMERITRADE Holding, Logitech International, and Check Point Software Technologies.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) said it agreed to sell its Capsugel business, a maker of hard capsules, to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Robert & Co. for $2.375 billion in cash.

A professor from the University of Tennessee analyzed the economic impact of the loss of bats in North America in agriculture and found it to be roughly $22.9 billion a year, with the extremes ranging as low as $3.7 and $53 billion a year.

Kofax Plc said completion of the sale of its non-core hardware business has been delayed by around two months. Jefferies & Co. said the delayed hardware business sale does not impact its investment case.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday on strong jobs data. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.99 points, or 0.46 percent, to 12,376.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 advanced 6.58 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,332.41. The Nasdaq Composite rose 8.53 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,789.60.

Shares of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) touched a new 52-week high of $66.87 on Friday.

The Australian stock market closed higher on Friday on stronger international oil prices and as investors looked past overseas negatives to forthcoming economic data from the United States.

During the height of the financial crisis, banks around the world lined up to borrow money from the discount window of the Federal Reserve. In the few months before and after Lehman Brother’s collapse on September 15, 2008, billions were lent out.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it has downgraded its sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Ireland to 'BBB+/A-2'.

The companies whose shares are actively trading in Friday's morning session include Bank of Ireland, Alexander & Baldwin, NYSE Euronext, SRA International, Logitech International, Office Depot, Ascent Solar and Omeros.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Friday following better-than-expected monthly non-farm payrolls and unemployment data.

The amount of competitive new launches near-term is making it a little bit tougher for Motorola Mobility, especially for its Xoom tablet.

The number of people employed in the non-farming businesses in the US rose more than expected in March, showing that economic recovery in the nation is on track.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Golar LNG, Star Scientific, Ebix, Sino Clean Energy, and AEterna Zentaris. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Omeros, Atrinsic, Logitech International, Ascent Solar Technologies, Xyratex, and Nasdaq OMX Group.