GLOBAL MARKETS

Gold climbed to a record high above $1,440 an ounce on Monday as the threat of violence spreading in the Middle East and North Africa pushed oil prices to 2-1/2 year highs and burnished the metal's safe-haven appeal.

Western Digital said it agreed to buy Hitachi, Ltd.'s (NYSE:HIT) Global Storage Technologies unit for $4.3 billion in a cash and stock deal.

Pent-up demand has resulted in a surge in Iraqi stocks due to political gains and lifting of UN sanctions, says investment management company Global Capital Investments.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: TomoTherapy, Geomet, RAM Energy Resources, James River Coal, and Seagate Technology. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Repligen, CIENA, JDS Uniphase, News Corp., and SanDisk.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Monday are: Family Dollar Stores, Lorillard, Frontier Communications, Ameren, PNC Financial Services, MetLife, Novellus Systems, Novellus Systems, Marshall & Ilsley and Pfizer.

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) said it has closed its acquisition of news and opinion site The Huffington Post, creating a premier content network with local, national and international reach.

U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has exclusive authority under the Natural Gas Act to authorize the siting of facilities for imports or exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to FBR Capital Markets.

Shares of Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) touched a new 52-week high of $45 on Friday. The compay said March 1 that it still predicts first quarter sales to decline 1 percent to 5 percent sequentially.

Shares of EXFO Inc (NASDAQ: EXFO) touched a new 52-week high of $12.86 on Friday. The company said it extends its optical transport network testing capabilities to qualify 100G/40G Ethernet client services.

Blackberry maker Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) said its chief marketing officer Keith Pardy will be leaving in six months, just weeks ahead of its PlayBook tablet launch.

Zurich-based travel group Kuoni Reisen Holding AG announced an agreement to acquire Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) for $720 million from New York-based Travelport to boost its online offerings.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday as a spike in oil prices (driven by deepening unrest in Libya) overshadowed a strong February jobs report.

Asian stock markets declined first time in three days on Monday as sentiment was dampened by higher oil prices amid continuing political unrest in the Middle East.

Nervous analysts have worried for years that the stellar stock prices of technology giants Apple Inc and Google Inc could tumble back to earth.

Shares of Union Drilling, Inc. (NASDAQ: UDRL) and Bronco Drilling Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: BRNC) touched a new 52-week high of $10.35 each on Friday. The onshore drillers reported a narrower loss for the fourth quarter on strong drilling activity.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) reported positive interim results on March 2 from a Phase 2 two-part study of 'telaprevir' combination therapy for treatment of hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HCV-HIV co-infection. The shares of the drugmaker touched a new 52-week high of $51.10 on Friday.

Hong Kong stocks edged lower on Monday as higher oil prices weighed but a buoyant day in Shanghai shielded the market from bigger declines and underscored the growing optimism for Chinese shares.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday as a spike in oil prices (driven by deepening unrest in Libya) overshadowed a strong February jobs report.

Time Inc.'s Fortune magazine released its fourteenth annual World's Most Admired Companies list.

Gold rose above $1,430 an ounce on Friday, while silver surged 3 percent to 31-year highs, as soaring oil prices fueled by widening clashes in Libya prompted investors to pile into safe havens.

U.S. stocks dropped as a spike in oil prices (driven by deepening unrest in Libya) overshadowed a strong February jobs report.

China could be producing as much as 4 billion tonnes of coal by 2015, up from an estimated 3.2 billion last year, the head of one of China's leading coal firms said on Friday.Wu Yongping, the chairman of Datong Coal Mine Group, the country's third biggest producer, said despite China's efforts to reduce its dependence on coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels, it would continue to play a dominant role in China's energy mix.I can't see coal's position in China's energ...

After the financial crisis, US dollar-bashing has become en vogue. Marc Chandler, however, has emerged as a defender of the US dollar and “empire,” as he calls it.

The Gold Price eased back for Dollar investors on Friday in London, but recovered one third of yesterday's sharp sell-off – and was heading higher for the fifth weekly gain in a row – as official data said US unemployment retreated to 8.9% last month.

Gold rose toward $1,425 an ounce on Friday as U.S. February payrolls data supported expectations the Federal Reserve will hold off tightening monetary policy and as unrest in North Africa continued.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: ZST Digital Networks, Flow International, Spreadtrum Communications, Allos Therapeutics, and G-III Apparel Group. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Cerus, Energy Recovery, Marvell Technology Group, EV Energy Partners, and WPP.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Friday are: Capital One Financial, Deere & Co, Chesapeake Energy, Bank of America, Apple, Massey Energy, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

Shares of PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) touched a new 52-week high of $43.39 on Thursday. The company reported a 20 percent growth in fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday, helped by more customer transactions and a strong holiday season.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening on Friday ahead of key monthly non-farm payrolls and unemployment data from the government.