ECONOMY & MARKETS

Jon Corzine, the former chief of MF Global and governor of New Jersey, could be the target of a possible lawsuit linked to the brokerage's bankruptcy and disappearence of $1.6 billion in client funds.

Could Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, be getting a new jolt from the burgeoning China market, its second largest?

The euro has one advocate: billionaire investor George Soros, who said in a speech that he expects the currency to survive with the aid of Germany.

The number of people in Spain claiming jobless benefits declined slightly in May by 30,113, the country's Labor Ministry announced on Monday. The drop was small compared to the decline in claims of 80,000 in May of last year.

Eurozone producer price inflation was flat in April and gained 2.6 percent on the year, Eurostat reported on Monday. Economists had expected a 0.2 percent increase and an increase of 2.7 percent on the year.

Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex and NSE's Nifty opened on a negative note and continued in the red in the morning session Monday, weighed down by a slump in the FMCG and consumer durable shares.

Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Monday are: AuRico Gold, Tata Motors, Cooper Companies, Seadrill, First Solar, salesforce.com, Schlumberger and Yum! Brands.

The April trade data is likely to garner the most market attention, while the Fed Beige Book will set the tone for the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. On Thursday, markets will also be watching Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress, which could provide clues on whether the Fed is ready to take additional steps to support growth.

Crude oil prices declined for the fifth day Monday as sentiment was dampened after reports indicated a slowdown in China's nonmanufacturing activity and U.S. employment.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a lower opening Monday ahead of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce's Report on Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories and Orders, and increasing concerns over the euro zone crisis.

Asian stock markets plunged Monday as weaker-than-expected economic data from the US and China raised concerns over the strength of global economic recovery.

Asian equity indexes are getting whacked on Monday a lot like European and U.S. stock indexes got whacked on Friday, with all of those open at this time having shed between 1 percent and 3 percent in the early going.

Clive Chajet, celebrated brands consultant for companies, offers his free advice to Facebook, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard about undoing the damage from recent mishaps: stick to business and the share price will follow.

Asian markets declined this week due to increasing concerns about China's economic slowdown and heightened Spanish banking sector woes.

With the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing report and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Situation Summary both weaker than analysts' consensus estimates on Friday, U.S. stocks closed a holiday-shortened trading week by dropping like so many hot pennies scattered in cold snow.

A shockingly weak jobs report hammered U.S. equities Friday, as major stock indexes headed for their worst loss of the year and erased all of their 2012 gains.

Some 110,000 people were added to the unemployment rolls of the 17-nation euro zone in April, the statistical office of the European Union reported Friday, once again setting a record high, as every country in the common currency agreement save for Austria, Germany and Ireland reported a deteriorating labor condition. The unemployment rate held steady at 11 percent.

U.S. stocks followed global equities down Friday as fears mount that the American economy may not be able to offset the combined drag of the euro zone crisis and sharply decelerating growth in China and India.

Following a high-volatility period over that past few days that has seen the political situation in Greece worsen, highly disappointing economic data prints in the U.S. and China and -- most prominently -- a surprise banking crisis in Spain, U.S. Treasuries have been hitting historically low yields on a daily basis. Lawrence Dyer, a New York-based rates strategist for British giant bank HSBC says should soon fall to 1.32 percent or lower.

A third straight month of disappointing job data clearly suggests that the U.S. labor market conditions are deteriorating again, which economists say will undoubtedly prompt more speculation that a third round of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve is coming soon.

It has been 18 months since the Arab Spring swept through the Middle East, and, while some nations have emerged with a renewed spirit, others have plunged into daily violence. Here's a country-by-country look at travel and tourism in the region as it stands now.

U.S. stock futures plunged Friday after a surprisingly weak nonfarm payrolls report raised fears that the nation's nascent recovery may be losing steam and raising the possibility that the Federal Reserve may opt for economic stimulus measures.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by a paltry 69,000 in May, the weakest in a year, while the unemployment rate ticked back up to 8.2 percent as the labor participation rate edged up 0.2 percent to 63.8, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had called for a total gain of 150,000 jobs.

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.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a lower opening Friday ahead of the anticipated Bureau of Labor Statistics' Nonfarm Payrolls report, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM)'s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report, and ADP's Personal Income report.

Asian markets fell Friday amid increasing concerns over the slowdown in economic growth in China as the country's manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in May compared to the previous month.

Asian shares and the euro extended losses Friday as China's factory activity data delivered its weakest reading this year, highlighting concerns the worsening euro zone debt crisis will further undermine global economic growth.

Asian shares eased Friday, with China's factory activity data and a U.S. jobs report due later in the day making investors cautious as the escalating euro zone debt crisis threatened to further undermine growth worldwide.

A trade credit crunch, driven by trading partners' fears that Greek businesses will soon be refusing to honor their debts in euro, is making it difficult for Greeks to keep their economy running.