MARKETS / FINANCE

Brazil's president has a bold plan to cut electricity prices. But South America's biggest economy has serious problems with power generation.

As France's president visits Mali's officials, questions remain about what will happen after French troops return home.

The widely followed blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished above 14,000 for only the sixth time in its history.

Two-thirds of US companies that have reported fourth-quarter results have beaten analyst expectations.

On Friday, the DJIA came within less than 200 points of its record high following the latest nonfarm payrolls report.

Recent economic indicators prompt the question: Is the recovery for real? One economist says the results are mixed, at this stage.

Dell Inc, BT Group Plc, Nokia Corporation, STMicroelectronics N.V., Annaly Capital Management Inc, Navios Maritime Partners L.P., Bonanza Creek Energy Inc and Constellation Brands Inc are among the companies whose shares are moving in the pre-market trading Friday.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open Friday ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' nonfarm payrolls and unemployment reports.

Asian stock markets were mixed Friday as disappointing Chinese manufacturing activity data weighed on the sentiment.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Thursday were Netsuite Inc, Green Dot Corp, Standard Pacific Corp, Tyson Foods and Gramercy Capital Corp. The top after-market NYSE losers were Berry Plastics Group, Navios Maritime Partners, Cytec Industries, Chesapeake Lodging Trust and Emulex Corp.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Thursday were Audience Inc, Tesco Corporation, Gevo Inc and Cavium Inc. The top after-market NASDAQ losers Thursday were Electro Scientific Industries Inc, Tellabs Inc, Oplink Communications Inc, Constant Contact Inc and Astro-Med Inc.

As if Argentina and the United Kingdom weren't enough, now Uruguay has staked its own claim of ownership of the Falkland Islands.

The niece of Italy's erstwhile, and possibly future, prime minister shares at least one trait with her uncle: a penchant for spectacular gaffes on national tv.

When Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) introduced the BlackBerry 10, it also announced a name change. A mistake?

Latin America contributed nearly 30 percent of Colgate-Palmolive's 2012 sales while North America contributed less than 20 percent.

The head of the Syrian National Coalition, Moaz al-Khatib, wrote on his Facebook that he was "ready for direct discussions" with Assad.

Al-Qaeda is re-emerging as a formidable fighting force in Mali and other unstable countries. But is the threat of terrorism contained?

Falling revenue in the U.K., Brazil and Mexico, plus billions in delinquent Spanish mortgages, hammered Banco Santander's 2012 results.

Online Resources Corporation, JDS Uniphase Corp, Ericsson, and Nokia Corporation are among Thursday's pre-market movers.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open Thursday ahead of the Labor Department's weekly jobless claims data and the Commerce Department's personal income and spending data.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Wednesday were Fortinet Inc, JDS Uniphase Corp, Skyworks Solutions, Citrix Systems and Align Technology. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were Concur Technologies, Facebook, Silicon Laboratories, Aviat Networks and Anacor Pharmaceuticals.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Wednesday were ServiceNow, Las Vegas Sands Corp, Owens-Illinois, Fair Isaac Corp and MGIC Investment. The top after-market NYSE losers were Fusion-io, ResMed, Vanguard Natural Resources, Medifast and YPF SA.

Can designers' pre-fall collections influence what will be shown at New York Fashion Week for the 2013 fall season?

Big government is not the economy’s friend this year. Taxes, regulations and more intervention will take its toll.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, demonstrated it's creating a 21st-century hybrid of technology and retailing.

After two years of waiting, a shakeup and near collapse, Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) finally unveiled the BlackBerry 10 on Wednesday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp, Amazon.com, Ultra Petroleum, Qiagen N.V., Research In Motion, KB Home, Facebook Inc, Yahoo Inc and UBS AG are among the companies whose shares are moving in the pre-market trading Wednesday.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a flat open Wednesday ahead of the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data and the Automatic Data Processing’s (ADP) National Employment Report.

Crude oil futures slightly declined and hovered above $97 a barrel during the Asian trading hours Wednesday as traders opted for caution ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision and fourth quarter GDP figures from the government.