ECONOMY & MARKETS

Five major corporations will join the emergency campaign to save the world's threatened forests by pledging to buy REDD multimillion dollar credits from projects protecting threatened forests around the world, the campaign announced Tuesday at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, commonly known as Rio+20.

Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Wednesday are Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal, Zynga, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Alexza Pharmaceuticals, 3D Systems Corp, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Autoliv, Seadrill and Kraft Foods.

Wal-Mart lawyers have identified India, China, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico as the most corrupt countries, according to a letter from two congressmen investigating the bribery charges leveled against the company.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a slightly lower opening Wednesday ahead of the retail sales report and producer price index.

Crude oil futures hovered above $83 a barrel Wednesday ahead of a weekly report on US oil supplies as well as Thursday's OPEC ministerial meeting in Vienna.

European markets rose Wednesday following an overnight rally in the Wall Street amid anticipation that the U.S. Federal Reserve would announce further quantitative easing to support the economy.

Asian markets rose Wednesday but gains were weighed down as investors were worried about the debt crisis lingering over the euro zone.

Stock markets in Hong Kong and China advanced Wednesday following an overnight rally in Wall Street overnight.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose Wednesday but maintained a cautious tone as investors have concerns of the persisting debt crisis looming over the euro zone.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Tuesday were: Higher One Holdings, Alpha Natural Resources, Curtiss-Wright, Health Management and J.C. Penney Company. The top after-market NYSE losers were: Scotts Miracle, 3D Systems, Endeavor International, Celadon Group and Fifth & Pacific Companies.

That massive pile of cash corporate America has been sitting on for years is shrinking, and the reason it's declining bodes well for the nation's economy.

One of the fastest growing segments of Kevin Hartz's business is bacon. Hartz isn't a chef or farmer. Rather, he's founder and CEO of Eventbrite, a ticketing website that offers an independent platform for event organizers of all types.

The European Union's ?100 billion ($126 billion) bailout of Spanish banks may have, at least temporarily, saved those institutions. But the rescue is being judged a failure by the markets, as it appears to have seriously damaged the government's ability to borrow from international creditors, something a country running on deficit financing for the foreseeable future is vitally dependent on.

Though rents went down, grocery bills shrank and companies trimmed their workforce after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Tokyo edged past Angolan capital Luanda to become the world?s most expensive city for expatriates in Mercer?s 2012 survey.

Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win Nobel Prize in economics, died on Tuesday, June 12, after battling cancer. She was 78 years old. The distinguished Indiana University professor received the 2009 Nobel Prize in economic sciences for her groundbreaking research on the ways that people organize themselves to manage resources. She was the first and, to date, only woman to win the prize in this category.

The reassurance provided by the ?100 billion ($125 billion) Spanish banking bailout last Saturday has already waned, and on Tuesday morning, the country's 10-year bond yields rose again to 6.67 percent, drawing closer to euro-era highs of 6.8 percent.

Crude oil futures declined on Tuesday amid concerns that Spain's banking bailout may not be enough to rescue the country from the financial crisis.

Futures on the major U.S. indices point to a higher opening Tuesday ahead of the May Treasury budget statement and Import Price Index.

European markets maintained a cautious tone Tuesday as stocks fell in the U.S. and Asia following the fading of optimism relating to the aid to the Spanish banks and revival of the debt crisis looming over the euro zone.

Asian stocks fell Tuesday as optimism on the 100 billion euro ($125 billion) aid for Spanish banks faded, and markets failed to uphold the gains made Monday.

Stock markets in China and Hong Kong declined Tuesday, following losses on the Wall Street overnight as the early optimism over the Spanish bailout plan faded.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Monday were: Fiesta Restaurant Group, Shanda Games, ModusLink Global Solutions, TFS Financial and SodaStream International. The top after-market NYSE losers were: Newport Corp, Intermolecular, MAP Pharmaceuticals, Energy Recovery and Zipcar.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell Tuesday as the early investor excitement on the bailout for Spanish banks subsided to revive concerns about the debt crisis looming over the euro zone.

Asian markets reversed the previous day's hefty gains on Tuesday as a European bailout for Spain's debt-stricken banks failed to convince investors that the spread of the debt crisis in Europe will be halted.

China's May data dump over the weekend and on Monday painted a mixed picture of the economic health of the world's second-largest economy.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson, 68, was hospitalized late Saturday near Los Angeles after allegedly being involved in two hit-and-run accidents, the San Gabriel Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff?s Departments said.

Chinese banks are ramping up their lending to retain the country's pace of growth in the face of a listless global economy.

Telefonica SA (NYSE: TEF), Europe's largest telecommunications operator by revenue, will sell part of its stake in China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) for $1.4 billion to reduce debt as the eurozone debt crisis stresses Europe's economy and corporations based there.

This week's data releases could reignite hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon provide more policy stimulus. May's producer price index and consumer price index should show that inflationary pressures are easing, with the latter falling below the Fed's 2 percent target rate. Retail sales and industrial production figures for May are likely to come in on the soft side, as well.