CHINA

Stocks fell on Friday, a day after ending a six-day losing streak as weaker trade data from China, the scrapping of a large IPO and ongoing disputes about a second Greece bailout weighed on sentiment.

Vietnam's navy announced it will conduct live-fire drills in the South China Sea next week

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Micromet, Verigy, Harbin Electric, Zipcar, Lululemon Athletica, and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Diana Containerships, Life Partners Holdings, LM Ericsson Telephone, SIRIUS XM Radio, Research In Motion, and Vodafone Group.

Disappointing trade data from China and the scrapping of a large IPO fed into fears about market volatility and the economy on Friday, with U.S. stocks set to fall a day after rebounding from a six-day losing streak.

China posted a smaller-than-expected trade surplus in May of $13.1 billion because of soaring imports and weaker global demand growth, giving mixed signals about how the economy fared when some of its best export customers faltered.

Disappointing trade data from China and the scrapping of a large IPO fed into fears about market volatility and the economy on Friday, sending futures lower a day after stocks bounced from a six-day losing streak.

Nokia was expected to report a loss for this quarter and next as it cuts prices to try to prevent more customers defecting to rivals' smartphones, a Reuters poll found.

China's constant search for natural resources to fuel its burgeoning economy has driven Beijing's helmsmen to the far reaches of Africa, South America and the embattled Middle East.

A proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site is facing threat to its green cover which may also lead to extinction of the Amur tiger with the shrinking habitat in Russia’s Primorsky Province.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Yongye International, Global Sources, Sky-mobi, School Specialty, and Pantry. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Gladstone Commercial, Diodes, Wi-LAN, SeaChange International, and Pharmasset.

Morgan Stanley and its China partner Huaxin Securities launched their joint venture on Friday, joining several other rivals looking to cash in on the country's booming investment banking business.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde takes her campaign to become the IMF head to social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.

Citibank becomes the latest victim in the large-scale corporation hacking trend of 2011.

Christine Lagarde, who has been touring prominent developing nations to solidify her efforts to become the next chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is apparently a shoe-in for the post, according to a rival for the top job.

Cheap and good. It's been a winning formula for Rodger Riney, the founder and chief executive of brokerage Scottrade. And he's not about to change it.

General Motors is considering putting Opel up for sale again as management loses confidence its European arm will return to profitability, two German magazines reported.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in April, as U.S. exports rose to a new record and imports from Japan tumbled more than 25 percent in the aftermath of its earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, a U.S. government report showed on Thursday.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid unexpectedly edged higher last week, stoking fears of a stalled economic recovery even as a separate report showed record exports in April.

Vietnam has accused Chinese ships of harassing another Vietnamese vessel in the South China Sea.

Nokia said its technology chief was on indefinite leave after a media report of strategy disagreements, and a second credit agency cut its rating in another blow for the stricken phone maker.

China said it hoped the United States will take effective steps to improve its fiscal position, in Beijing's latest expression of concern about the possibility that Washington could briefly default on debt.