ECONOMY & MARKETS

Manufacturing activity in the eurozone accelerated to a near 11-year high in February but input costs continued to rise, signaling inflationary pressures in the region.

Honda and Subaru still make the best vehicles overall, but Ford posted the largest gain in the past year, improving in its road-test and reliability scores, Consumer Reports said. Newer models such as the Flex SUV pumped up Ford's overall road-test score.

Shares of Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) touched a new 52-week high of $59.80 on Monday, compared to its previous high of $59.43 on Feb. 18.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Monday are: Dex One, Swift Energy, Ashford Hospitality, Calix and Lorillard. The top after-market NYSE losers are: Youku.com, iStar Financial, Warnaco Group, Clear Channel and Excel Maritime Carriers.

U.S.-based discount coupon site Groupon.com has launched a group-buying site in China, called Gaopeng.com.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) announced positive results on Wednesday from a late-stage STRIVE study of its oral drug VX-770 for treatment of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that impairs the lung. The shares of the drugmaker touched a new 52-week high of $46.75 on Monday.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Novavax, Sonus Networks, SuperGen, Global Defense Technology & Systems, and SuperMedia. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: YRC Worldwide, Hickory Tech, Smith Micro Software, Exterran Partners, and VIVUS.

Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC Holdings Plc fell more than 5 percent on Tuesday, the biggest single-day decline in almost a year after Europe's biggest bank cut its profitability target citing the cost of tougher banking regulations.

Shanghai and Hong Kong look set for a collision course as they seek to attract yuan listings by foreign firms, in a battle where the mainland market may have the upper hand initially.

Casino revenue in Macau jumped 47.7 percent in February to 19.86 billion patacas ($2.5 billion), the Macau government said on Tuesday, driven by a torrent of gamblers from mainland China to the world's largest gaming market.

The BSE Sensex is expected to open higher on Tuesday, tracking firm Asian equities, and after the finance minister said he expects the economy to grow by nearly 9 percent in the next fiscal year.

Lending by Chinese banks during the past two years has been excessively fast, topping the extreme upper limit set by regulators, the country's banking chief said at an internal meeting, a source told Reuters on Tuesday.

Chinese shares rose on Tuesday on decent volume suggesting further strength ahead, while markets in Hong Kong struggled to hold gains under pressure from a near 5 percent slide in heavyweight HSBC.

Indian Oil Corp, the country's biggest fuel retailer, said on Tuesday there was a need to raise petrol prices, a day after the federal budget failed to announce any measures to stem revenue losses of state oil firms.

India will quadruple export duty on iron ore fines as it seeks to curb exports, mostly to China, in a budget move announced on Monday that hit domestic producer shares and could push spot prices to new record levels.

What's the secret to Canada's success? A major one is natural resources

Gold was little changed near $1,410 an ounce on Monday but notched its biggest monthly gain since August as chaos in Libya and rising tensions across the Middle East prompted investors to buy the metal as a safe haven. The US dollar lost its status and is at November lows.

U.S. stocks got a boost from some bullish comments by uber-investor Warren Buffett over the weekend and a number of M&A deals. The stock market rose in February, marking the third consecutive month of equity price gains.

The Middle East unrest has been bad for the global markets. The following are stock markets that have been pummeled by the Middle East revolts; unrest either happened there or is expected to happen in the future.

Senegalese telecom operator Sonatel saw 2010 net profits slip as tougher competition nibbled at its margins and it was hit by a temporary tax surcharge on incoming traffic, the group said.

RBC Capital Markets upgraded its rating on shares of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE: MRX) to outperform with above average risk from sector perform and increased its price target to $32 from $30.

BMO Capital Markets has downgraded shares of FMCG giant Procter & Gamble to market perform from outperform, saying that the earnings growth in the second half will be slower than its expectations.

US stocks opened higher in early trade on Monday, with S&P 500 Index gaining 7.54 points, or 0.57 percent, to trade at 1,326.97 at 09:55 a.m. EST. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 76.82 points, or 0.63 percent, to trade at 12,207.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.49 percent to trade at 2,795.40.

RBC Capital Markets upgraded its rating on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (NYSE: SHO) to "outperform" with above average risk from "sector perform" and increased price target to $14 from $11.

Irrespective of whether the new government will be able to renegotiate a better bailout deal, the outlook for the country remains grim owing to looming fiscal squeeze and waning consumer confidence.Irish outlook to remain grim even if Fine Gael wins better bailout deal

Fears over the Middle East unrest have continued to subside. Monday’s markets, which struck a mildly positive tone, indicate that it is ready to move on from the waves of protests of the Middle East.

Personal income in the U.S. rose sharply in January while spending increased less than expected, indicating that consumers are still cautious over economic recovery.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: 51job, Sangamo Biosciences, PDL BioPharma, Glu Mobile, and FX Energy. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Santarus, Seagate Technology, Linn Energy, First Solar, and Amazon.com.

Gold rose to $1,413 an ounce in Europe on Monday as turmoil in the Middle East region lifted safe-haven buying and fueled a fresh spike in oil prices, stoking concerns over U.S. growth and knocking the dollar.