ECONOMY & MARKETS

Shares of CoStar Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) touched a new life-time high of $66.09 on Thursday, while LoopNet Inc. (NASDAQ: LOOP) touched a new 52-week high of $18.55.

Shares of Vital Images Inc. (NASDAQ: VTAL) jumped a new 52-week high of $18.71 on Thursday. The company said Wednesday it agreed to be acquired by a subsidiary of Toshiba Medical Systems Corp. for $18.75 per share, or about $273 million, through a cash tender offer followed by a merger.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: PDF Solutions, Oclaro, Research In Motion, Ensign Group, Deckers Outdoor, Internap Network Services, CoStar Group, CROCS, Oncothyreon, TeleCommunication Systems, and Microsoft.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: SunPower, Netgear, LodgeNet Interactive, TeleNav, Skyworks Solutions, Silicon Motion Technology, Ancestry.com, On Assignment, and True Religion Apparel.

Tornadoes and thunderstorms, termed catastrophic by U.S. President Barack Obama, that swept across the southern United States the past few days, left a trail of death and destruction - properties worth millions of dollars were damaged, nearly 300 people are dead and hundreds of thousands injured.

Gold prices jumped after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s press conference because he confirmed that he doesn’t understand monetary inflation.

Gold Investing prices extended last night's strong gains on Thursday, hitting fresh all-time highs at $1534 per ounce as new US data showed inflation accelerating sharply.

U.S. stocks declined in early trade on Thursday after government reports showed that US economic activity slowed significantly in the first quarter and applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly increased.

FBR Capital Markets upgraded its rating on shares of Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) to "outperform" from "market perform" and raised its price target to $2 from $1.75, after its reassessment of the company's burn-down book value.

US GDP growth in 2011 first quarter slowed to an annual rate of 1.8 percent, compared to a rate of 3.1 percent in fourth quarter 2010 and 3.7 percent in first quarter 2010.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Vital Images, InfoSpace, Fortinet, Micromet, and Citrix Systems. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Akamai Technologies, Flextronics International, InterMune, Mellanox Technologies, and Urban Outfitters.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Thursday are: Titan International, Constellation Energy, Sprint Nextel, Aetna, Pultegroup, Dow Chemical, LSI Corp, Teradyne, Liz Claiborne, Procter & Gamble, Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices remained range-bound on Thursday ahead of economic data including key US GDP figures from the government.

Jefferies & Co. said LM Ericsson Telephone Co.'s (NASDAQ: ERIC) strong first quarter results reinforce its view that Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) will report solid -- if not strong -- first quarter results.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: Titan International, Constellation Energy, LSI Corp, Hudbay Minerals, Allstate, Norfolk Souther, Tyco International, Occidental Petroleum, United Microelectronics and Precision Drilling.

The top after-market NYSE losers on Wednesday are: Owens-Illinois, Teradyne, Liz Claiborne, Skechers USA, Community Health Systems, Sony Corp, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, MetLife and Moody's Corp.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Akamai Technologies, Affymetrix, Arris Group, Flextronics International, TriQuint Semiconductor, Mellanox Technologies, Cornerstone OnDemand, CompuCredit Holdings, Novellus Systems, and Telestone Technologies.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Vital Images, LoopNet, InfoSpace, NutriSystem, Newport, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Fortinet, Encore Wire, Citrix Systems, and Sino Clean Energy.

The Australian share market closed lower amid concerns about a tough upcoming federal budget, strong local dollar and possible interest rate rises sparked by higher inflation figures.

With today’s gain, the S&P 500 index has now more than doubled in value from the Mar. 9, 2009 bear market low.

U.S. stocks slightly higher in early trade on Wednesday after a government report showed that new orders for manufactured durable goods rose better-than-expected in March.

Prices to Buy Gold rose but silver held flat in Asian and London trade on Wednesday, while the Dollar fell, European equities rose, but peripheral Eurozone debt sank to new record lows.

RBC Capital Markets upgraded its rating on shares of Cardiome Pharma Corp. (NASDAQ: CRME) (TSX: COM) to outperform from sector perform on recent weakness and upcoming catalysts, with a price target of $8.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: LM Ericsson Telephone, Silicon Image, SAVVIS, ShoreTel, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Questcor Pharmaceuticals, and Vical. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: MIPS Technologies, Broadcom, SuccessFactors, Entropic Communications, and RF Micro Devices.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Wednesday are: Corning, Baker Hughes, Carnival Corp, Boeing, Hess Corp, Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline, LDK Solar, FMC Technologies, Rockwell Automation and Johnson & Johnson.

Barclays Capital said Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) capital expenditure growth could point towards revenue upside. The brokerage reiterated its overweight rating on shares of Apple with a price target of $465.

Barclays Capital said Canon Inc.'s (NYSE: CAJ) outlook for 2011 seems like a positive sign for Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (NYSE: HPQ) laser printer business.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening on Wednesday ahead of US Federal Reserve’s meeting and Census Bureau's durable goods orders report.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: LCA-Vision, Keynote Systems, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, ReachLocal, and ShoreTel. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: MIPS Technologies, Broadcom, RF Micro Devices, MAKO Surgical, and DDI Corp.