JPMORGAN CHASE

Are U.S. technology companies fast-growing enterprises or are they banks? In a time when banks are enduring federal ?stress tests? of their ability to withstand a crisis, the tech sector seems to be rolling in money.

BlackBerry developer Research in Motion made payments of $12 million to its founding co-CEOs after they quit earlier this year, the company told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Nokia Corp, Navistar International, Sohu.com, Facebook, JPMorgan Chase, Alcoa and GlaxoSmithKline are among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Friday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) Chairman Jamie Dimon floated unscathed through a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee meant to examine what happened inside his banking behemoth earlier in the year, when a massive bet on the credit-default swaps derivatives market reportedly meant to 'hedge' other bank risks went sour, resulting in multibillionaire losses.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon defended the intent of the portfolio behind the bank's recent multibillion-dollar trading loss, telling lawmakers it was a genuine hedge that would make the firm a lot of money if a credit crisis hit.

Protestors were present on Wednesday, June 13, when JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon testified on Capitol Hill in Washington. The activists reportedly heckled Dimon as the head of the largest bank in the U.S arrived to take his seat at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

The vast majority of donations from members of the financial industry have so far flowed to Mitt Romney, according to an analysis by POLITICO.

Within a week of Facebook Inc.'s (Nasdaq: FB) $16 billion initial public offering, at least six lawsuits were filed against its top officials, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as well as six investment banks involved in the deal. That in itself is not surprising, considering the IPO flopped. What would be surprising is if the shareholders actually get anything near what they feel they deserve.

Italian banks appear close to joining Spanish banks as the euro zone's latest contribution to the financial world's endangered species list.

Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Wednesday are: Ancestry.com, Telefonica, JPMorgan Chase, Shuffle Master, Logitech International, Diageo, Facebook and Mitcham Industries.

Research In Motion's appointment of bankers to advise on drastic options, including an outright sale of the BlackBerry maker, may only hasten moves by major customers to offer their employees smartphones produced by rivals.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued subpoenas to JPMorgan Chase & Co. to determine whether fraud was committed in connection with the bank's multibillion-dollar proprietary-trading fiasco, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Friday are: Coca-Cola Co., Bank of America Corp., Dean Foods Co., General Electric Co., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Facebook Inc.

Shares of smartphone manufacturers Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) and Nokia (NYS: NOK) swooned this week on fears of mounting losses and dwindling share.

Two months ago, Toronto activist investor Victor Alboini, whose Jaguar Financial had acquired a stake just below 5 percent in Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), said the company won?t be around in its current shape in two years. Now it's for sale.

French and German consumer confidence showed unexpected strength, reports showed Friday. While the market is cheering about the good news, some economists view this as a warning sign of a euro zone crisis fatigue - something that is as dangerous, if not more so than the crisis itself.

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, fell 3.4 percent again Friday, a week after their disastrous debut in their initial public offering.

U.S. mortgages rates have dropped to record lows for four consecutive weeks, but that doesn't mean more homes will be sold. In fact, at least one housing expert argues that extremely low rates are causing banks to be even more stringent with underwriting approvals, turning away more prospective buyers and hurting the national housing market.

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, rose $1.03 to close at $33.03 on Thursday. A week ago, they were priced at $38 for the IPO.

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, didn?t just set records for enriching inside investors like CEO Mark Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sandberg, Accel Partners and Digital Sky Technologies. Underwriters fared very well.

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, are up six cents to $32.06 in late morning trading on Thursday.