ECONOMY & MARKETS

Retail brokerage Charles Schwab Corp scored the highest points in customer satisfaction in the US last year, overtaking Fidelity Investments for the first time, an online survey showed.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Monday are: Marriot International, PMI Group, Aspen Insurance Holdings, Sandridge Energy and United Microelectronics. The top after-market NYSE losers are: Gray Television, Masco, DCT Industrial Trust, Mack-Cali Realty and Titanium Metals.

U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed as investors appeared to be underwhelmed by President Obama’s budget proposal, while unrest in the Middle East has spread to Iran and even Bahrain.

Stocks finished narrowly mixed as investors appeared to be underwhelmed by President Obama’s budget proposal, while unrest in the Middle East has spread to Iran and even Bahrain.

Egypt's stock exchange, shut since January 27 because of political unrest, will not reopen until Wednesday, a bourse official said on Saturday.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) has retained its status as the “most respected” public company in the world, as selected by a group of U.S. money managers in a survey conducted by Barron’s magazine.

RBC Capital Markets said in its skilled nursing facilities Q4 earnings preview that pre-announced upsides for the quarter and better-than-expected 2011 guidance combined with Kindred Healthcare Inc.'s (KND) fourth quarter results on the RehabCare Group (RHB) deal announcement, suggest a bright outlook in the near term under Resource Utilization Group, Version Four (RUG-IV).

U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Monday as investors awaited the release of President Obama's budget.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Hercules Offshore, Openwave Systems, STEC, EMCORE, and Falconstor Software. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Seahawk Drilling, MannKind, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Hughes Communications, and Interphase.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Monday are: Nvidia, Expedia, Freeport-McMoRan, Netflix, Nokia, GameStop, Clorox and Wal-Mart Stores.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a mixed opening on Monday, after indices recorded a second straight week of gains on Friday.

China’s trade surplus fell 53.5 percent to $6.45 billion in January, as both exports and imports increased sharply ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in the country, the General Administration of Customs said on Monday.

Chip-maker Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) said future Android devices powered by its latest Snapdragon mobile processors will have access to instant streaming of movies and TV shows from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX).

Motorola Mobility announced the acquisition of Mountain View start-up Three Laws Mobility Inc. (3LM) to expand the security of phones running on Google’s Android mobile operating system.

Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate fell 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 on annual basis, recording its first contraction in five quarters, the Cabinet Office said on Monday.

Indian banks are turning to low-cost deposits, refinancing debt and raising cheap foreign capital to protect margins squeezed by higher interest rates at home, bank officials and analysts said.

Inflation eased slightly in January but was still higher than expected, reinforcing expectations the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will keep tightening policy because price pressures are still above its comfort zone.

Japan officially confirmed on Monday that it lost its rank as the world's second largest economy to China in 2010.

Inflation is likely to rise further in Mauritius, central bank governor Rundheersing Bheenick said on Saturday, reinforcing speculation that the central bank may raise rates at its March meeting.

Stocks rallied after Hosni Mubarak resigned as president of Egypt and the Obama administration announced plans to dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Wheat prices have fallen for the second straight day, despite scares about a drought in China.

Global brands create powerful enduring relationships with consumers across different countries and cultures. They give buyers a sense of security, trust, and familiarity.

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday as data showed the U.S trade deficit widened in December, and jitters over Egypt continued.

The US trade deficit of goods and services rose to $40.6 billion in December compared with a deficit of $38.3 billion in November, the commerce department said on Friday.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Shengkai Innovations, Orthovita, Falconstor Software, Panera Bread, and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Expedia, MannKind, Blue Nile, Optimer Pharmaceuticals, and Cephalon.

Below is the list of earnings from S&P 500 companies relevant to the trading session of Friday, February 11.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Friday are: Big Lots, Tyco International, Tesoro, Ford Motor, Oracle, Expedia, Cephalon, Dean Foods and Kraft Foods.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Expedia, MannKind, Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon, ARM Holdings, JA Solar Holdings, Palomar Medical Technologies, LM Ericsson Telephone, Motricity, and Whole Foods Market.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Orthovita, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Panera Bread, Wright Medical Group, Body Central, JDS Uniphase, Akamai Technologies, Microsoft, Netflix, and Shire.