ECONOMY & MARKETS

A man in southwest China died of bird flu on Sunday after three days of intensive care treatment in hospital, the official Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Health as saying.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the growth outlook and business climate have weakened but warned of upward risks to inflation, a day before it is widely expected to keep policy interest rates on hold.

The BSE Sensex rose for a third straight session, inching up 0.08 percent on Monday, helped by financials while a decline in Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), which reported its first quarterly profit fall in two years, capped the index gains.

European shares were flat on Monday morning ahead of a meeting of euro zone financeministers to discuss terms of a Greek debt restructuring deal, with banks rallying on a report about easier capital rules.

The Nikkei average ended flat on Monday to halt a four-day winning streak, with early gains capped by market worries over Greece after negotiations with private creditors failed, raising the stakes for a meeting later in the day at which euro zone finance ministers will decide terms for a debt restructuring.

The euro hit its highest level in nearly three weeks against the dollar on Monday on tentative optimism that Greece will cut a deal with its creditors on a debt swap, prompting a squeeze in short positions.

Stock index futures edged higher on Monday, after stocks posted their best week in a month as the euro zone debt crisis and the economy showed signs of stabilizing.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Sears Holdings, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Cogo Group, G-III Apparel Group, Achillion Pharmaceuticals and Tuesday Morning Corp. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Spreadtrum Communications, NetScout Systems, First Defiance Financial, Ocean Rig UDW, Pacific Biosciences of California and Ancestry.com.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Friday were: National Bank of Greece SA, Chesapeake Granite Wash, W.W. Grainger, Beazer Homes USA, Health Management Associates and Imperial Holdings. The top after market NYSE Losers were: Inphi Corp, Spartech Corp, Aeroflex Holding Corp, K-V Pharmaceutical, A.H. Belo Corp and Talbots.

Following a visit to the Disney World in Orlando, Fl., on Thursday, to speak about boosting the country's economy through tourism, U.S. President Barack Obama announced steps, over the weekend, to cash in on the country's tourism potential.

The massive online protest last Wednesday, in which Wikipedia and thousands of other Web sites closed down or otherwise protested and helped to kill controversial online piracy legislation, was widely heralded as an unprecedented case of a grassroots uprising overcoming backroom lobbying.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed its investigation into fires in the Chevrolet Volt electric cars, concluding that Chevy Volts and other electric vehicles do not have an increased risk of fire compared to gas vehicles.

U.S. stocks posted their best week since Christmas, even with a mixed finish on Friday after comparatively strong earnings reports from tech bellwethers IBM and Intel Corp. contrasted with a relatively weak report from Google Inc.

Stocks Rising, Bulls Rampant are motifs you might pick while designing a coat of arms for Wall Street at the moment. But its motto should read: Caveat Emptor. Yes, buyer beware.

The last public days of the 2012 North American International Auto Show are winding down in Detroit. Here's a look back at the top cars at the show:

The volatility, panic, and the resulting tightening of investors' purses that dominated credit markets for much of 2011 is giving way to calm, creating a flood of cash from investors now confident enough to put their money back into corporate bonds. Somewhat surprisingly, crisis-exposed financial institutions, even in Europe, have been able to take advantage.

Sony and Panasonic had their debt ratings downgraded by Moody's on Friday, citing weak television sales.

China's manufacturing activity slowed for a third consecutive month in January, according to a survey of purchasing managers on Friday, which could compel Beijing to take steps to stimulate growth in the world's second-largest economy.

The latest survey indicates that 69 percent of India's population still live in rural areas.

Bellwether technology companies that are tops in their sector – IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Google – have now reported their final 2011 results. What are some of the key takeaways?

Asia's economic growth may be settling into a middling pace that is too slow to provide significant global support but too fast to warrant aggressive policy easing.

The rupee fell for the first session in seven on Friday as dollar demand from oil importers overwhelmed inflows, although suspected central bank intervention helped the currency recover smartly from the day's low.

The BSE Sensex rose 0.57 percent on Friday to its highest close in six weeks, as appetite was bolstered by strong results from software services exporter Wipro (WIPR.NS) and the country's No. 3 private lender Axis Bank (AXBK.NS).

The number of Americans filing for new jobless benefits dropped to an almost four-year low last week, and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic expanded moderately, suggesting the economy carried some momentum into the new year.

European banks are preparing for a potential worsening of the region's sovereign and banking crisis, with many firms stockpiling cash and cutting back on loans to new clients as they seek to protect themselves against a possible seizing-up of financial markets.

Economic growth, jobs and protectionism are the top three worries at the start of 2012, according to a Call to Action published by 11 leaders of international organizations on Friday in a bid to kick-start debate at next week's Davos Forum.

Hong Kong and Shanghai shares rose on Friday, achieving a second straight week of gains and managing to break above stubborn chart resistances on hopes of policy easing inChina and on stronger overseas markets.

A rally for European stocks and the euro ran out of steam on Friday, with markets focused on debt talks between Greece and its private creditors that may prove the trigger for the next leg of the euro zone's debt crisis.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open for equities on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 down 0.02 to 0.2 percent.