ECONOMY & MARKETS

Chinese shares rose on Monday, reversing early losses as Asian markets edged up after last week's dip, with investors gearing up for earnings results from big hitters including banking giant HSBC.

The finance minister announced on Monday a food security bill for 2011/12, a measure that would provide cheap grains for millions of poor but which has sparked worries of a huge fiscal cost.

Swiss commodities trader Glencore has opened up talks with sovereign wealth funds in China and Qatar to bring in a cornerstone investor ahead of its planned listing on the London Stock Exchange, The Sunday Times reported.

Chinese designers will drive catwalk trends more than deep-pocketed Asian buyers as China's creativity becomes fashions' next big thing, top fashion executives and designers told Reuters at Milan fashion week.

Investors in Canada's forestry sector have feasted of late on Chinese demand for lumber and pulp, and a few of them are likely licking their chops at the idea China will also want to buy the mills.

China Construction Bank (CCB) is keen to acquire a stake in Malaysian lender EON Capital Bhd , The Edge weekly newspaper reported on Saturday.

Trading in the shares of SAIC Motor Corp, China's top car maker, will remain suspended for another five working days from Monday, the company said in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday.

Bankers are predicting a burgeoning offshore market for renminbi-denominated bonds as corporates increasingly turn to the Chinese currency to issue debt, making it only a matter of time before the renminbi is on a par with dollars, euros and yen.

South African petrol pump prices in the main inland commercial region will increase by 43 cents a litre, or 4.8 percent, from March 2, the government said on Friday.

Long-term South African bonds rose on Friday after a four-day sell-off fuelled by the government's disappointing budget deficit forecast for next fiscal year.

Are the global markets past the Middle East unrest? The answer is probably yes.

U.S. stocks climbed on Friday, reversing a three-day sell-off on the deepening Libyan crisis, as oil prices appeared to have stabilized after Saudi Arabia increased its oil output.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE), which is seeking to acquire The Toronto Stock Exchange, suffered a four-hour halt in trading today due to some technical glitch.

Shares of Demand Media’s stock were down six percent amid news that Google has changed its algorithm to weed out low quality sites.

RBC Capital Markets upgraded its rating on shares of Intrepid Potash, Inc. to outperform from sector perform and increased its price target to $44 from $38, on higher potash price forecast.

Gold held near $1,400 an ounce in Europe on Friday, supported by interest in the metal as a haven from risk as violence flared in Libya, but struggled to maintain traction as some investors cashed in this week's hefty gains.

US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for fourth quarter 2010 was revised to an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the second estimate, down from the first estimate of 3.2 percent.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: dELiA*s, OmniVision Technologies, Ancestry.com, Crocs, and Savient Pharmaceuticals. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: NutriSystem, MedAssets, Limelight Networks, First Solar, and Hansen Natural.

Google is planning to launch an unlimited subscription of its YouTube movie service in UK, according to a report from NewYork Post.

China's Sinopec clinched the second-largest single Chinese liquefied natural gas deal, and ventured for the first time into a foreign unconventional gas asset to feed a domestic boom for the clean fuel.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Friday are: Salesforce.com, Sandridge Energy, Boeing, Walt Disney, F5 Networks, Wells Fargo, Carnival Corp and First Solar.

Robert W. Baird downgraded its rating on shares of MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDAS) to neutral from outperform and lowered its price target to $18 from $24, on disappointing fourth quarter results and on annoying 2011, long-term outlooks. MedAssets stock plunged 22.61 percent.

Morgan Keegan has upgraded shares of Hub Group to Outperform from Market Perform, saying that the company's share price below $35 presents an attractive opportunity for investors in the current environment.

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

Perennial China Retail Trust lodged the prospectus for its planned S$1.1 billion ($861 million) initial public offering in Singapore, in what is likely to be the first of several large asset-backed trust IPOs in the city-state.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: Salesforce.com, Sandridge Energy, FTI Consulting, Medicis Pharmaceutical and Clean Harbors. The top after-market NYSE losers are: Sturm, Ruger & Co, RailAmerica, Cinemark Holdings, Omnicare and Tyler Technologies.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: OmniVision Technologies, United Online, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, True Religion Apparel, and Questcor Pharmaceuticals. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: NutriSystem, MedAssets, Novatel Wireless, ViroPharma, and Metabolix.

Asian stock markets advanced for the first time in five days on Friday as oil prices fell below $100 a barrel on easing concern about supply disruptions.

Taiwan stocks rose 0.66 percent on Friday, with exporters like smartphone maker HTC up amid hopes the weaker Taiwan currency will bring in forex gains and help them compete better with Korean and other overseas rivals.