ECONOMY & MARKETS

Shares of Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) dropped to their lowest price since 2002 on Monday, while shares of Abbott laboratories (NYSE: ABT) rose after a medical study showed that Abbot's stent device was better at treating clogged heart arteries.

Shares of computer maker Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) rallied today after investment bank Goldman Sachs upgraded the firm from to a buy rating from its previous neutral rating.

Memory maker SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) announced last night that it reached a settlement to a long-standing patent dispute with rival memory maker, Hynix, sending shares up over 3 percent in mid-day trading on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks headed for a narrowly mixed opening Wednesday as investors await the Federal Reserve's latest take on the economy and any hint of the central bank's plans for short-term interest rates.

Shares of memory technology maker Rambus (NASDAQ: RMBS) soared on Tuesday after anti-trust authorities delayed an order to that would have required the company cut royalty rates on its key patents.

Shares of technology company Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) fell Wednesday, a day after the firm gave a mild forecast for its upcoming quarter.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) rallied on Wednesday after Prudential Equity Group raised its earnings estimate for the firm's current quarter, expecting strong computer sales as well as cheaper parts.

E-Trade Financial (Nasdaq: ETFC) announced the launch of a global trading platform on Tuesday to provide its retail investors with online access to foreign markets for the first time.

Shares of Daimler Chrysler rose on Friday, after a report stated that General Motors could buy the German-American car maker's struggling Chrysler unit.

Shares of software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) fell on Friday after Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, said analysts' revenue predictions for Windows Vista were a 'little overly optimistic.'

Shares of Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) rose Thursday, following a strong third quarter and upgraded estimates from an investment bank.

GPS and consumer electronics maker Garmin Ltd (GRMN) soared today after reporting that fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year ago.

Shares of technology company Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) edged slightly higher in Tuesday mid-day trading, after an analyst raised his price target for the company on strength from its core businesses.

Shares of aluminum industry leader Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) rose over six percent Tuesday on talk of a possible takeover bids from mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Shares of memory makers fell on Monday as Micron Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MU) after management warned analysts on last week of steep memory price declines.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) shares rose Monday, following a Wall Street upgrade citing several product catalysts and potential upside from declining memory prices.

The U.S. is trying to see if a new set of dollar coins can catch on after previous attempts have fizzled.

Shares of MasterCard Inc. fell almost 10 percent Friday after the company declined to forecast additional profit growth.

Gateway Inc. (NYSE: GTW) shares fell almost 10 percent Friday after the personal-computer maker reported a drop in revenue.

Shares of the first publicly listed U.S. hedge fund soared in early trading Friday, doubling on their opening day.

Apple Inc. was removed from the 'convicted buy' list of investment banks Goldman Sachs this morning, as the firm cited 'negative speculation' ahead of the June release of the iPhone.

A strong quarterly report by network equipment maker Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) provided strength in the technology sector Wednesday, and German chipmaker Infineon's (NASDAQ: IFX) deal with Nokia made it one the top tech movers of the day.

Boeing Co. (BA) shares continued to rally on Wednesday after air transport firm FedEx announced Tuesday that it had switched to Boeing freighters in response to the delay of the Airbus A380 Super Jumbo Jet.

Technology stocks rose in Tuesday noon trading, as industry titans Intel Corp. (INTC) and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) lead the way with better than expected quarterly earnings.

Technology stocks fell in Tuesday noon trading.

The dollar hit a 5- month high against the yen on Monday as investors dumped the Japanese currency after it failed to hold on to gains following the BOJ tankan survey, which showed confidence at big manufacturers hitting a two-year high.

The dollar rose against major currencies on Friday as a slew of economic data eased investors' concerns about a sharp slowdown in the U.S. economy.

U.S. stocks may test record highs next week as muted oil prices take center stage. But the September jobs report on Friday could keep traders cautious and upend a rally.

Fixed income is likely to be less of an engine for profit growth for Wall Street firms as the United States housing market growth shows signs of slowing after two years of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.