ECONOMY & MARKETS

Shares of iPhone maker Apple Inc. (AAPL) reached an all-time high of $325.72 on Wednesday's regular trading session.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Subaye, Oncothyreon, American Science & Engineering, ARM Holdings, Tesla Motors, XOMA, CROCS, Micron Technology, ASML Holding, and Sycamore Networks.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to lower opening on Thursday following weaker-than-expected reports on durable goods orders and consumer spending.

Applications for jobless benefits in the U.S. fell unexpectedly for the week ended Dec. 18, posting a decline for three consecutive weeks.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in November fell by $2.6 billion or 1.3 percent to $193.7 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced on Thursday.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Sonic Solutions, Verigy, Aixtron, Bed Bath & Beyond, MannKind, FuelCell Energy, Sequenom, Veeco Instruments, InterMune, and Solarfun Power Holdings.

The UK's GMB union has said thousands of public sector workers in the country are getting at risk warning letters, dampening the upcoming holidays, the BBC has reported.

Growth in the eurozone will be weaker than in the US and the UK in 2011 and the euro will fall further, despite positive near-term forecasts for the region and improving global economic prospects, analysts have said.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices remained-range bound on Thursday ahead of a wave of economic data including key weekly U.S. jobs data from the government.

ThinkEquity has listed out its leading internet stock picks for 2011 that includes Google (GOOG), Baidu (BIDU) and Priceline (PCLN). Following are those stocks.

As the global economy is entering arguably another tumultuous year, spotlight is sharply on the prospects, policies and risks of China's economy, which has all but sailed past Japan's as the world's second largest after the United States.

The top after-market NYSE losers on Wednesday are: Carnival Corp, Christopher & Banks, Phoenix Companies, Orbitz Worldwide, Quiksilver and Invesco.

Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage of Soligenix Inc. (OTC: SNGX) with a Market Outperform rating and a $0.90 price target, saying shares of the late-stage biopharmaceutical company are poised to run higher on outlook for its orBec (oral beclomethasone) lead product.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: IDT Corp, Office Depot, Limited Brands, Synovus Financial, Hudbay Minerals, Navigant Consulting, Kraton Performance Polymers and Tesoro.

The United States on Wednesday dragged China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) alleging that the country was illegally providing subsidies towards manufacture of wind power equipment.

Following are the companies that have declared dividends on Wednesday, Dec. 22: Williams-Sonoma, MSC Industrial Direct, RF Industries, Lindsay, Suffolk Bancorp, First of Long Island, Bank of Commerce, and Acme United.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Penford, Pacific Biosciences of California, Netlist, Micron Technology, Copano Energy, SMTC, Coldwater Creek, Avanir Pharmaceuticals, ChinaCast Education, Oncothyreon, and Gilead Sciences.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Bed Bath & Beyond, Sequenom, Ener1, GTX, Entropic Communications, Rediff.com India, InterMune, Advent Software, Sina, Sino Clean Energy, and Sonic Solutions.

California-based start up Lookout Mobile Security, a provider of smartphone protection software, said it raised a further $19.5 million in funding led by Index Ventures.

When the return on savings is less than the rate of inflation it doesn't matter that gold doesn't provide you with an income. Tightly supplied and indestructible, it offers a natural and obvious alternative to cash. Inflation expectations are rising as 2011 begins.

Stocks rose moderately higher, given a slight boost by a small upward revision to third-quarter GDP and an uptick in sales of existing homes.

The property industry should not an important pillar of the economy, said Yun Xiaosu, vice minister of the Ministry of Land and Regulation.

Shares of Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) are climbing today following the filing of an SEC document last night which revealed the company had entered into a new change-in-control (CIC) agreement with several top executives.

Regional bank stocks are getting a big lift today from the agreement by Hancock Holding Co.’s (Nasdaq: HBHC) to acquire another Gulf Coast bank, Whitney Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: WTNY) in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at almost $1.5 billion.

The 2010 holiday shopping season is seeing far more discounts and promotions compared to last year and late holiday bargains are still available.

China will buy 4 to 5 billion euros of Portuguese debt in first quarter 2011 and save Europe once again in the process.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Xilinx, XOMA, Capitol Federal Financial, Altera, Hercules Offshore, LM Ericsson Telephone, InterMune, Sino Clean Energy, and Vodafone Group.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to flat opening on Wednesday after government data showed that US economic activity grew at a 2.6 percent annual rate in the third quarter.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Arena Pharmaceuticals, Tibco Software, ARM Holdings, Nova Measuring Instruments, Ariad Pharmaceuticals, YRC Worldwide, priceline.com, Activision Blizzard, Popular, and Huntington Bancshares.