IAG

British Airways-owner switches pilot as CEO quits

UK-Spanish airline giant IAG says CEO Willie Walsh retiring

The Gulf airline said it would look to strengthen commercial ties with the European carrier and may consider increasing its stake over time.

This is the third offer from IAG in six weeks but Aer Lingus' trade union has claimed that a takeover may lead to the loss of 1,200 jobs.

Spain's Iberia has created a euro zone crisis management group to deliver a "Spain euro exit road map project" to prepare for a possible exit by the indebted country, with the group meeting every two weeks.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Thursday were: Sony Corp, PerkinElmer, Genworth Financial, Covanta Holding, Neustar, Iamgold Corp, Investment Technology Group, Netsuite and Weyerhaeuser Co.

Precious metals enjoyed a steady climb on Thursday despite a slow day for the broader market, as gold futures reached an eight-week high while the dollar fell briefly and concerns about the Greek debt crisis subsided slightly.

Spanish airline Spanair collapsed on Friday, stranding over 20,000 passengers and putting Europe's second-tier airlines on alert.

Virgin Group owner, Richard Branson has slammed a $270 million acquisition deal by rival company, International Airlines Group (IAG) saying that the approval of the deal will mean higher prices for flyers.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Thursday are: Flotek Industries, Symantec Corp, CVS Caremark, TJX Companies, Northstar Realty Finance, Silvercorp Metals, Cisco Systems, Nvidia, Emerson Electric, AU Optronics and Iamgold Corp.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: Aegean Marine Petroleum, Teekay Tankers, Flotek Industries, Hovnanian Enterprises and AU Optronics Corp. The top after-market NYSE losers are: Northstar Realty Finance, Iamgold, NetQin Mobile, Silvercorp Metals and Talisman Energy.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd., Australia's largest auto and home insurer, ended three year talks to buy a stake in China Pacific Property Insurance Co., saying the company's parent resisted the move.