U.S.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the U.K. has issued an advisory recommending that British citizens avoid travel to Tunisia due to the surge in civil disturbances in the country. The US and France have also advised against non-essential travel to Tunisia.

Retail sales in the U.S. rose marginally in December as well as for the year 2010, according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department.

U.S. inflation increased a marginal 0.5 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, helping annual inflation rate to rise to a seven-month high, while core prices nudged up by 0.1 percent.

The fulfillment of Google's dream to rule the sky which neared reality with its $700 million acquisition of ITA Software may fail as the U.S. Department of Justice gears up to file an antitrust motion to block the deal.

US futures are set to open lower on Friday after a disappointing jobless claims data, which could weigh on sentiment.

2010 was a “wonderful year” for energy investors, as more than 65 percent of oil and gas stocks delivered positive returns over the year, IHS Global Insight has said in a report released on Thursday.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for finished goods rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in December, marking a sixth week of rise, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits continued to rise for the second week, according to a report by the U.S. Labor Department.

The United States wants a real, demonstrative commitment from China that it is serious about shifting away from export-led economic growth, a U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday ahead of next week's state visit by China's Hu Jintao.

The S&P 500 Index gained 3.69 points, or 0.29 percent, to trade at 1,278.17 at 9.30 a.m. EDT. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.93 points, or 0.28 percent, to trade at 11,704.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 11.50 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,728.49.

For the U.S., however, the Iraqi plan to buy billions of dollars of weapons will only be small consolation for the dismal turn of events in the last week. Muqtada al-Sadr, one of the fiercest anti-US warlords in Iraq whom the U.S. failed to annihilate, returned to Iraq after years and called for intensification of the war against Washington. That despite the hundreds of billions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost defending an intangible moral high ground as if it were!

The extra fiscal stimulus in the form of tax cuts approved in December could produce a 4 percent growth rate for the U.S. economy in the first half of 2011, but there are lingering risks that could lead to a cold shower in 2012, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Directors of Federal Reserve banks in Dallas and Kansas City again requested, unsuccessfully, a 0.25 percent rise in the rate charged to banks for emergency loans, minutes of Fed meetings in November and December showed on Tuesday.

US stocks advanced in early trade on Tuesday as Alcoa kicked off the earnings season by beating forecasts, while Japan’s pledge to buy eurozone bonds eased concerns about eurozones debt.

Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega has accused the United States of engaging in currency manipulation, and said his country would raise this issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO), adding that the U.S. and Chinese policies are fomenting a trade war.

Britain now intends to focus on growth as Prime Minister David Cameron urged the importance of trade to the country's business ambassadors. Cameron urged the ambassadors to 'sell Britain' to the rest of the world, and emphasized on the importance of growth.

Statistics released by the People’s Bank of China on Tuesday showed the Chinese forex kitty is bursting at seams with an 18.6 percent growth in 2010 which made it zoom to a record $2.85 trillion.

Arnold Fields, who was in-charge of investigating corruption from the United States, has resigned.

Some privacy advocates say a U.S. Department of Commerce-proposed system for smoother identification of people on the Internet could create as many problems as it is designed to solve.

Socialbakers, which specialize in monitoring the Facebook platform, has revealed some interesting Facebook statistics. Perhaps the most surprising finding is that Japan, whose renown as a technology pioneer is unparalleled, is lagging way behind most countries in terms of Facebook penetration.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to lower opening on Monday with futures on the S&P 500 down 0.58 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.42 percent and Nasdaq100 futures down 0.40 percent.