DOW JONES

The global markets tumbled this week, due in part to concerns about China's slowed economic growth. There are several reasons, however, why China's economic slowdown could actually benefit the U.S., despite the market's immediate reaction. One reason is the possible return of jobs to the United States' manufacturing sector.

German exports rose 2.3 percent in January, driven by increased activity in all sectors of the economy, the German Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, said Friday.

Stocks rose on Friday, adding to their best two-day run in nearly three months, after a report showed the economy added more jobs than expected in February.

A year ago, Apple had its weight in the Nasdaq 100 cut in half after having grown to where it tipped the scales at more than one-fifth of the index.

The U.S. experienced a trade deficit of $52.6 billion in January, an increase of $2.2 billion from December, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Greek officials say the deal eases their country's debt burden by €105 billion. Next up: Action by the European Union to determine if Athens will get emergency loans to help avert a default.

Stock index futures edged lower on Friday after their strongest two-day gain in nearly three months and ahead of a report likely to show employment grew solidly for a third straight month.

Wall Street opened higher on Thursday as strong uptake by investors in Greece's debt swap fed optimism a deal could be completed by a deadline later in the day, staving off a messy default.

Claims for jobless benefits rose to 362,000, but is still hovering around a 4-year low for the fourth consecutive weeks, underscoring Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's view that the U.S. economy has to show stronger growth to ensure that more Americans can find jobs.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a higher opening on Thursday ahead of key weekly jobless claims from the government.

Forbes Magazine released its list of the world's billionaires on Wednesday, a collection of 1,153 families and individuals, rife with familiar names like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Carlos Slim Helu, who topped the list with a net worth of $69 billion.

Fiat SpA is searching for an Asian partner following the solidification of an alliance between General Motors Co. and PSA Peugeot Citroën, Bloomberg reports.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a higher opening on Wednesday ahead of economic data including ADP national employment report and non-farm productivity.

Stock markets in Asia declined for the third day Wednesday uncertainty over Greece's debt deal and concerns over a slowdown in global economic growth dampened sentiment.

Precious metals and the broader market plunged on Tuesday, with gold diving to its lowest point in six weeks, driven down by concerns about the global economy.

U.S. stocks finished Tuesday with the worst one-day decline so far in 2012 as a sell-off spread from Europe driven by fear of a disorderly default in Greece and a slowdown in global economic growth.

Wall Street was set to open lower on Tuesday on renewed concerns that Greece and private bondholders may not meet a looming deadline to complete a debt swap and as caution grew over the global economic outlook after recent weak data.

U.S. equities sank, mirroring falls across Asia and Europe Monday after China cut its growth target. Worries over whether Greece can entice enough private investors to participate in a bond swap deal also dampened investors' sentiment.

A significant but largely unnoticed shift is underway in how big U.S. companies account for pensions on their books. The move to mark-to-market accounting could signal that corporate America is betting on rock-bottom interest rates and continued economic recovery through 2012 and into next year.

China lowered its economic growth target to an eight-year-low of 7.5 percent from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005, a signal that the country's leaders are determined to scale back the reliance on external demand and foreign capital, in favor of domestic consumption.

Stocks have proven the naysayers wrong so far in 2012. And the February employment situation summary on Friday could be just the ticket to keep the bulls going next week. Besides the jobs report on Friday, next week brings an ADP private-sector employment report on Wednesday.