ECONOMY & MARKETS

Internet company AOL, Inc. (AOL) reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results on the top-line, with in-line earnings. Management believes that 2011 is the come back year for AOL. Jefferies & Co. reduced its price target on shares of AOL to $26 from $27, while maintaining its hold rating.

Stocks finished narrowly mixed in uneasy trading as the political crisis in Egypt seems to be worsening as fighting between forces supporting President Hosni Mubarak and those who oppose him intensify.

Stocks gained for the second day running on Wednesday with Vodacom (VODJ.J) among the top gainers on upbeat quarterly results while metal prices boosted miners.

The Middle East is headed into the unknown, on that everyone agrees -- but the speed of events in Egypt and elsewhere has left analysts and financial markets struggling to find their bearings.

Rwanda's economic growth will slow to 7 percent in 2011 from 7.4 percent a year before, while inflation is projected to quicken to an average of 4.4 percent due to oil prices, the finance minister said on Wednesday.

Four of the nine Nigerian banks rescued in a $4 billion bailout two years ago are expected to sign agreements with new investors over recapitalisation this month, Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said on Wednesday.

Stocks gained for the second day running on Wednesday with Vodacom among the top gainers on upbeat quarterly results while metal prices boosted miners.

According to a report in the New York Times, Mets ownership family the Wilpons' involvement with Bernie Madoff's billion-dollar Ponzi Scheme was closer than previously thought.

ThinkEquity has outlined its top technology stock picks for 2011. The stocks include AMD, Spansion, Entropic, Micron Technology, Nvidia, Aruba Networks, Mellanox, Stec, Google and Priceline.

Employment in the US private sector rose more than expected in January, posting a gain for the fourth consecutive month. Private sector employment increased by 187,000 from December to January, ADP Employment Report said on Wednesday.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: EDAP TMS, iGo, Electronic Arts, Matrixx Initiatives, and Acme Packet. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Key Tronic, Axcelis Technologies, Intevac, Alvarion, Nuance Communications, and Broadcom.

Gold prices eased a touch in Europe on Wednesday after well received U.S. economic data and a spate of upbeat corporate earnings deflected interest away from bullion on to higher-risk, higher-yielding assets.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Wednesday are: Electronic Arts, Anadarko Petroleum, Freeport-McMoRan, CME Group, Broadcom, Whirlpool, Boston Scientific and Netflix.

Employers in the U.S. announced plans to cut 38,519 jobs in January, according to the Challenger jobs data released on Wednesday. Compared to a year ago, however, last month’s job cuts were down sharply, falling 46 percent from the 71,482 job cuts recorded in January 2010.

Credit Suisse said the civil unrest in Egypt and Tunisia could have positive implications on nitrogen and phosphate prices, as Egypt is a key supplier of urea while Tunisia is a major supplier of phosphate rock and fertilizer products.

The U.S. home loan demand rose sharply in the week ended Jan. 28, even as the mortgage rates continue to rise from their lowest levels, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.

Construction activity returned to growth in January, helped by better weather and a rise in new business, the monthly Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index showed on Wednesday.

Industrial producer prices in the eruozone surged 5.3 percent annually last year while the growth in the broader European Union was 5.9 percent, Eurostat data showed on Wednesday.

China is expected to see another interest rate hike within a month as the government intensifies its efforts to control the rising inflation, The New York Times reported on Wednesday citing a forecast of economists and bankers.

Intel's design issue could have a ripple effect throughout the IT Hardware food chain, said an analyst at Barclays Capital.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a mixed opening on Wednesday, after Dow and S&P finished at two year highs in the previous session.

China is estimated to become the world’s largest luxury goods market over the next decade, boosted by rising incomes and a transition from saving to spending culture, said a report on Wednesday.

China may speed up its soybean imports after the Lunar New Year and slow its vegetable oil buys as floods cut off palm oil supply in Malaysia and if port strikes further stall Argentine soyoil exports.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Electronic Arts, Acme Packet, Verigy, Independent Bank, and Concurrent Computer. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Key Tronic, Intevac, Axcelis Technologies, Broadcom, and Quality Distribution.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Tuesday are: First Marblehead, Hershey Foods, MEMC Electronic, Timberland, Elan Corp, United Microelectronics, Bank of Ireland, NRG Energy and RSC Holdings

The top after-market NYSE losers on Tuesday are: North American Energy Partners, United Rentals, Global Cash Access, Statoil ASA, Liz Claiborne, ProLogis, Boston Scientific, Mechel Steel Group and Cash Store Financial Services.

China's oil demand growth in 2011 may slow to half of last year, as Beijing's moves to rein in excessive credit are expected to slow economic growth and energy use.

Company announces a quarterly cash dividend increase while saying its revenue will sink in the first quarter of 2011.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 finished above 12,000 and 1,300 points, resepctively, for the first time since mid-2008.