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The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-year low last week, offering further evidence the jobs market recovery was gaining traction.

Stock index futures fell on Thursday after manufacturing data in the euro zone and China increased worry about a slowing global economy.

Home resales unexpectedly fell in February and the supply of properties on the market rose, underscoring the many hurdles for the housing recovery.

U.S. existing home sales fell to 4.59 million in February, 0.9 percent below upwardly revised sales figures in January, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Wednesday.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday ahead of housing market data after the S&P 500 advanced for a third straight session, moving within 10 percent of its historic closing high.

Adobe Systems Inc, maker of Photoshop and Acrobat software, said revenue growth slowed as sales of its widely used Creative Suite software fell, missing its forecasts, ahead of widely anticipated product launches this quarter.

Shares in Sprint Nextel fell 4.5 percent on Monday after an analyst report said there is an increasing risk that the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider could end up filing for bankruptcy as the debt-laden company faces tough competition and steep costs due to factors such as its iPhone deal with Apple Inc.

Portugal will endure the second deepest recession in the eurozone in 2012-13, according to Capital Economics.

Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) recovered after plunging in the first hour of trading as sales of its latest iPad brought lines to its U.S. retail stores and wireless company outlets.

Economic growth showed signs of becoming more self-sustaining as the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week and manufacturing activity in the Northeast picked up this month.

U.S. economic growth showed signs of becoming more self-sustaining as the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week and manufacturing activity in the Northeast picked up this month.

China's foreign direct investment in February fell for the fourth straight month as companies tightened spending amid a slowdown in the world's second-largets economy and the ongoign European sovereign debt crisis.

Crude inventories rose last week, with stocks at the trading hub in Cushing, Oklahoma increasing to an nine-month high, while oil products fell, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

The number of jobs waiting to be filled dropped slightly in January, the government said on Tuesday.

Obama's approval rating has fallen to a record low of 41 percent. What does this mean for the general election? The numbers tell a complicated story.

Supported by the latest supply and demand report from the United States Department for Agriculture the prices of corn and soybean are expected to fall by 15 to25 percent by the end of the year according to the forecast by Capital Economics.

The People's Bank of China on Monday fixed the yuan's mid-point against the dollar sharply lower, its second biggest single-day fall on record, in the latest sign China intends to let its currency move in a wider range.

The copper price will fall to $5,000 per tonne over the next two years, well below current levels of around $8,400 and less than half the highs seen in early 2011 according to a report by Capital Economics.

Families took on more debt in late 2011 for the first time in 3-1/2 years but a rise in after-tax incomes left consumers in better shape to spend.

U.S. home prices fell 1 percent in December, a sharper decline compared to the previous month, Lender Processing Services Inc. (NYSE: LPS) said Wednesday.

Asian shares fell for the third day in a row Wednesday as investors grew more risk averse, with renewed uncertainty over Greece's bailout and mounting worries about slowing global economies overshadowing support provided by ample liquidity.