ECONOMY & MARKETS

The top aftermarket NYSE Losers Tuesday were: Fusion-io, Rock-Tenn, Quest Diagnostics, Cemex SAB, Williams Partners, Petrobras Argentina, Williams-Sonoma, Norfolk Souther and Advanced Micro Devices.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Tuesday were: CA, Saba Software, Cirrus Logic, Apple Inc and TriQuint Semiconductor. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: First Midwest Bancorp, Mercury Computer Systems, Approach Resources, NVIDIA Corp and Nektar Therapeutics.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Tuesday were: Radian Group, Peabody Energy, MGIC Investment, Tempur-pedic International, Lions Gate Entertainment, Patriot Coal Corp, MagnaChip Semiconductor, MGM Resorts International, Youku and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.

The rupee was little changed in narrow-band trade on Wednesday as month-end dollar demand from oil importers offset positive local shares.

Chinese New Year began Jan 23, and it seems the Year of the Dragon appears to bring good luck to some Australian miners.

Asian shares rose on Wednesday, underpinned by strong earnings from U.S. technology giant Apple, stabilizing European money markets and falling eurozone debt yields, with investors shifting their focus from Europe to the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The BSE Sensex nudged higher on Wednesday, a day after the RBI indicated it would support growth, raising expectations for more foreign fund investments.

In today's volatile markets, for buyers, building stronger Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) capability, strategy, capital and integration skills will enable them to capitalize on quick deals and monetize new assets quickly after deal close according to an expert in the field.

Japan logged a trade deficit of 2.49 trillion yen ($32 billion) for 2011, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, the first annual deficit since 1980.

The chief economist at Swiss banking giant UBS said Tuesday afternoon that Greece would likely default on its sovereign debt obligation, putting underwriters of insurance against such an event on the hook for billions of dollars in payments. He was only the latest market observer to say a default was imminent.

General Motors has effectively cleared one hurdle in its quest to market the Chevrolet Volt to the mass market. But the bigger hurdle is the one that has remained throughout the Volt's existence: Are Americans ready for an electric car?

About one-third of city residents (33.2 percent) live in poverty, among the highest such rates in the country for large cities.

Stocks edged lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 pulling back from a five-day rally, as talks to resolve Greece's debt crisis hit a snag and a number of earnings from blue chips disappointed investors.

Boeing, the largest U.S. airplane and defense manufacturer, is projected to report lower fourth-quarter earnings because the mix of aircraft delivered was less profitable and the year-earlier quarter saw a favorable tax settlement.

40-million new people are expected to enter the global workforce annually.

United Technologies Corp., manufacturer of jet engines, elevators, and products for the aerospace and building sectors, is expected to report another sizeable profit growth for the fourth straight quarter. But the company and analysts expect a step back in 2012.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) and United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL), the two largest U.S. airlines by market capitalization, are expected to report profits in the fourth quarter as revenue growth overcomes high fuel prices.

The companies expected to see active trade on Tuesday are: Apple, DuPont, McDonalds, Johnson & Johnson, Advanced Micro Devices, Yahoo, Harley-Davidson, CA, Verizon Communications, Travelers Companies, KeyCorp and International Game Technology.

The top aftermarket NYSE losers Friday were: Kansas City Southern, Hyperdynamics, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Community Bank System, CSX Corp, EnCana Corp, Helmerich & Payne, Murphy Oil Corp, YPF SA and Bank Of Montreal.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Monday were: Western Digital, Fifth Street Finance, VMware, K-V Pharmaceutical, Range Resources Corp, Talbots, MBIA, Texas Instruments, Bank of Ireland and Novartis AG.

This year could be an interesting one for Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) related activities, with the likelihood for improvement in overall deal volumes; although, given the cautious optimism in the global economy, any exponential growth in deals seems far from the reality, according to an expert in the field.

Japan's Nikkei average hit its highest level in nearly three months Tuesday on hopes that a Greek debt deal will still be reached even after European finance ministers rejected an offer by Greece's private creditors.

To fight hunger and famine in Africa, Time Warner and DC Entertainment, including its Justice League superheroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and others, have created a campaign called We Can Be Heroes.

Stocks finished almost flat on Monday as investors took a break from a recent rally, awaiting earnings from bellwethers such as Apple later in the week.

Stocks ended little changed on Monday as investors took a pause from a recent rally, awaiting earnings from bellwethers such as Apple later in the week.

As state and federal officials near a deal with top banks to settle claims of foreclosure abuses, left-leaning activist groups have stepped up pressure on the officials to reach a deal that demands more from the banks.

European stocks hit their highest close since early August on Monday, with euro zone banks gaining sharply following a report that France and Germany were calling for a relaxation of global bank capital rules to prevent a credit crunch.

Is a proposed Napoleon Bonaparte-themed amusement park Napoleonland the answer to France's economic woes?

Coach Inc., the New York-based luxury clothing and accessories retailer, is expected to report a 15 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit on strong sales of handbags and women's accessories.