ECONOMY & MARKETS

The price of gold is at a critical juncture. What happens in the next couple of weeks can determine whether the metal's spectacular rally will continue or fade.

Palm oil output and stocks, already lagging robust demand due to rains in top Southeast Asia producers, could be made worse should the cooking ingredient become the next target for emerging markets seeking to buy big and dampen adverse effects of booming world food prices.

Investors from China and Libya are interested in buying agribusinesses in Ukraine to secure food supplies, a newspaper quoted top Austrian investment bankers as saying.

For Esther Moloto, the 32-year-old owner of a little house on top of the world's biggest platinum reserves, the sound of progress is falling plaster.

U.S. employment rose far less than expected in January, partly the result of severe snow storms that slammed large parts of the nation, but the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since April 2009.

U.S. stocks wavered in early trade on Friday after a government report showed that U.S. added fewer jobs than forecast for January, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly declined to its lowest level since April 2009

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: JDS Uniphase, Silicon Image, Orexigen Therapeutics, China MediaExpress Holdings and Entropic Communications. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Power-One, Coinstar, Toreador Resources, YRC Worldwide and GT Solar International.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Friday are: JDS Uniphase, Aetna, PulteGroup, Symantec, Tesoro, Las Vegas Sands, Fiserv and Wynn Resorts.

When it comes to the size of corporates, most Americans are wary of giant-sized ones straddling continents and effectively controlling many a government.

The central bank of Indonesia predictably raised interest rates on Friday as inflation fears began to spook foreign investors out of the market.

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's leading luxury products group, recorded a 19% increase in revenue in 2010, exceeding the 20 billion Euro mark for the first time.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Thursday are: Alliant Techsystems, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Tyson Foods, Vonage Holdings and China Yuchai International. The top after-market NYSE losers on Thursday are: DHT Holdings, Teekay Tankers, RealD, Las Vegas Sands and Netsuite.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: JDS Uniphase, Opnext, Aviat Networks, Silicon Image and China MediaExpress Holdings. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Power-One, Biodel, Coinstar, pSivida and MedQuist.

India's efforts to calm inflation by allowing easier imports and restricting exports of key foodstuffs are disappointing farmers who are keen to exploit global high prices and say structural reforms are the way ahead.

Pharma major GlaxoSmithKline Plc posted a quarterly loss hit by a massive charge to settle further litigation related to its diabetes drug Avandia, but the company raised its dividend and said it would resume its share buyback program.

Billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson wrote in his 2010 year end firm report that US stocks will continue to rise.

U.S. stocks, after selling-off in the early session, bounced back to finish moderately higher on some positive economic news, despite continued political unrest in Egypt.

The fundamental reason is that the tropical storm Cyclone Yasi, headed towards Queensland, Australia, did not disrupt the country's sugar production as much as initially feared. Australia is the third largest sugar exporter in the world.

Sudan's north will continue to use the Sudanese pound after the oil-producing south secedes on July 9, a central bank official said on Thursday, dousing reports that Khartoum may adopt a new currency.

South Africa's rand weakened more than 1.7 percent to near six-month lows against the greenback on Thursday, pushing through its long-term moving average as offshore hedge funds drained dollars off the market.

Kenya has halted plans to build a toll road through its capital, its roads minister said on Thursday, a day after World Bank said it would not fund the project as it did not comply with its financing standards.

Retail clothing stores such as Ann Taylor are leading the way so far on strong retail report by the Institute for Supply Management

U.S. stocks declined in early trade on Thursday as political crisis in Egypt overshadowed better-than-expected economic reports on weekly jobless claims, non-farm productivity and monthly factory orders.

Mobile carriers risk an end of profit within four years amid increased smartphone usage, rising investment costs and falling revenue per unit of data, says a new study.

U.S. stocks fell modestly in early trade on Thursday despite better-than-expected weekly jobless claims data as mixed earnings and political crisis in Egypt weighed on the sentiment.

US nonfarm business sector productivity rose in the last quarter of 2010, indicating improved economic conditions in the country.

Applications for jobless benefits in the U.S. fell more than expected for the week ended Jan. 29, following a sharp increase in the previous week.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Hansen Medical, Shutterfly, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Netlist and Entropic Communications. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are Intersil Corp, Travelzoo, ON Semiconductor Corp, Ampal-American Israel and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Thursday are: Dow Chemical, GameStop, Yum Brands, CF Industries Holdings, Micron Technology, Merck & Co and Cvs Caremark.