ECONOMY & MARKETS

While it is still early in the recovery process for Hurricane Irene, given weaker-than-expected wind speeds, particularly for the New York metro area landfall, FBR Capital Markets believes it is safe to say that loss expectations are lower than many investors thought last Thursday and Friday when forecasts shifted to show a more inland path for the storm.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 1 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 1 percent at 0930 GMT (5:30 a.m. ET).

European shares gained in early trading Monday morning, tracking a late rally in Wall Street Friday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke raised hopes for more economic stimulus.

The top after-market NYSE Losers on Friday are: Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Quanta Services, KBR, Chicago Bridge & Iron, Pier 1 Imports, Kronos Worldwide, UDR, Alere, Nucor and Temple-Inland.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Friday are: Banco Santander, Brookfield Office Properties, Jaguar Mining, Sandridge Energy, Radioshack, Toll Brothers, General Growth Properties, Endeavour Silver Corp, Bank of America and CVR Energy.

The New York Stock Exchange will open Monday, a spokesman said.

Major petroleum pipelines in the United States began partial shutdowns Friday, the result of terminals supplied by those pipelines closing ahead of Hurricane Irene's arrival.

Toronto's main stock market cut early losses in volatile trade on Friday morning as investors deemed an earlier sharp selloff overdone as they digested remarks by the Federal Reserve chairman.

Higher tax revenues helped Canada cut its budget deficit in the first three months of the year to C$5.49 billion from C$7.23 billion a year earlier, the Finance Department said on Friday.

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd , the country's largest coal producer, posted a 16.5 percent increase in first-half profit, buoyed by rising sales volume on the back of rising energy demand in the world's second-largest economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday stopped short of detailing further action to boost the U.S. recovery but said the central bank would consider what more it could do to fight high unemployment, giving some comfort to investors.

Wall Street stocks rebounded on Friday as investors digested Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks about the economy and regained hope the door was still open for more monetary stimulus down the road.

The economy grew much slower than previously thought in the second quarter as business inventories and exports were less robust, a government report showed on Friday, although consumer spending was revised up.

Jobs owns about 5.5-million shares of Apple stock (which, based on Thursday’s closing price, would be valued at just above $2-billion)

Billionaire Warren Buffett would invest $5 billion in Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), expressing his biggest vote of confidence in the banking giant.

Stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open for equities Friday after declines in the previous session, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 all up 0.2 percent.

Hurricane Irene has left the Bahamas and is now churning toward the East Coast of the United States.

Hong Kong shares were higher by midday Thursday, mainly driven by several Chinese companies that reported forecast-beating interim earnings, magnifying the lift from Wall Street gains on encouraging U.S. economic data.

Copper climbed on Thursday underpinned by expectations of returning demand from top consumer China, but caution over measures that may be unveiled by the U.S. monetary authorities in yoming this week kept gains in check.

The German DAX dropped 4 percent in about 15 minutes in Friday afternoon trading, on a rumor that the German Government's credit rating will be downgraded.

Gold prices tumbled for the past days, falling around 10 percent from its peak reached on Tuesday.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: TiVo, Clean Energy Fuels, F5 Networks, SodaStream International, and Prospect Capital. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Sigma Designs, Applied Materials, Infosys Technologies, Vodafone Group, Randgold Resources, and Apple.

Most analysts seem rather unconcerned by Jobs departure, citing that Apple is a behemoth that is loaded with brilliant managers and boasts more stellar products in the pipeline.

Brent crude steadied around $110 a barrel Thursday, boosted by reduced U.S. crude stocks and positive manufacturing data but countered by economic growth uncertainties.

NOAA has released the updated and impoverished list of the costliest tropical cyclones in the United States during 1900-2010. These hurricanes caused huge property damage worth billions.

Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple CEO

Stocks rallied for a second day on Wednesday as investors bought beaten-down financial shares and unloaded gold, but tech stocks could fall on Thursday after late news about Apple's Steve Jobs stepping down as CEO.

Welcome to the Camry Chronology -- everything you've ever wanted to know about one of the world's most popular cars.

Heavy rain from the path of Hurricane Irene will do little to alleviate severe drought conditions that have plagued the nation’s midsection throughout the spring and summer.