GLOBAL MARKETS

As the Greek debt crisis continues to worsen, the euro looks poised to slip further.

U.S. stocks declined in early trade on Thursday as disappointing outlook from Cisco Systems and lower commodity prices weighed.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Thursday are: Flotek Industries, Symantec Corp, CVS Caremark, TJX Companies, Northstar Realty Finance, Silvercorp Metals, Cisco Systems, Nvidia, Emerson Electric, AU Optronics and Iamgold Corp.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: IncrediMail, VeriSign, Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Symantec, and JetBlue Airways. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Wilshire Bancorp, Cisco Systems, Shire, ARM Holdings, and Sohu.com.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Dynavox, Sino Clean Energy, Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Pacific Mercantile Bancorp, Toreador Resources, and VeriSign. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Clearwire, Cisco Systems, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Gulfport Energy, and Aeterna Zentaris.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: Aegean Marine Petroleum, Teekay Tankers, Flotek Industries, Hovnanian Enterprises and AU Optronics Corp. The top after-market NYSE losers are: Northstar Realty Finance, Iamgold, NetQin Mobile, Silvercorp Metals and Talisman Energy.

The CME Group raised margin requirements on oil futures for May 10 for the fourth time since February to $6,250 per contract. In response, oil futures plunged more than 5 percent to $98.5 per barrel on May 11.

The boss of Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) said the company is planning some workforce reductions.

U.S. stocks dropped sharply (wiping out this week’s advances) in tandem with plunging commodity prices

The Chinese economy may be in trouble and the stock market seems to acknowledge the dangers.

Gold rallied to one-week highs at $1526 per ounce in Wednesday morning trade - a gain of 4.3% from last Friday's low - before falling back as world stock markets also cut their rally. Silver has now regained a third of its losses since falling over 30% from a 31-year peak of $48.70 at the end of April.

A commodities crash – or at least a severe correction – may be coming in 2011.

HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) said it plans to save up to £2-billion (or $3.5-billion) over the next two years. by downsizing its wealth management and retail segments

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Wednesday are: Capital Trust, Macy's, Rosetta Stone, Netapp, Carnival, Magic Software Enterprises, Aircastle, Walt Disney and Molycorp.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Rovi, Amtech Systems, ZAGG, Halozyme Therapeutics, and Magic Software Enterprises. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: STEC, Ener1, Star Scientific, Harbin Electric, and ASML Holding.

Jefferies & Co. believes the Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) announcement of Android Ice Cream Sandwich is positive for Android handset original equipment manufacturers like Motorola Mobility, Samsung, and LG.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Rovi, Imperial Sugar, Pegasystems, ZAGG, and Amtech Systems. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Conceptus, STEC, Scientific Games, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, and Mattson Technology.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Tuesday are: Federal Agricultural Mortgage, ExamWorks Group, Capital Trust, Rosetta Stone and Hovnanian Enterprises. The top after-market NYSE losers are: Molycorp, Diana Shipping, Aircastle, AMB Property and F.N.B. Corp.

The US government can’t possibly pay back its $14-trillion debt. Not fairly, at least. Instead, its strategy is to devalue the US dollar so that the nominal value of the $14-trillion debt becomes less in real terms.

If you can help it, don’t buy US Treasuries. The main reason is that you’ll lose real value by doing so.

Gold’s decline last week provides a good opportunity for investors to buy on the dip.

The Japanese yen has been on a wild ride ever since the 2011 T?hoku earthquake. Now, as USD/JPY hovers around 80, it’s time to sell the yen (by buying USD/JPY), stated a Credit Agricole report.

RBC Capital Markets said Xoma Ltd. (NASDAQ: XOMA) continues to make steady albeit measured progress toward initiating a pivotal trial in Behcet’s disease, which could begin by year-end 2011, pending regulatory feedback.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: CKX, China Valves Technology, Synthesis Energy Systems, China Information Technology, and Fossil. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Nanosphere, BioMimetic Therapeutics, SmartHeat, MannKind, and USA Technologies.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Tuesday are: Dean Foods, InterContinental Hotels Group, Carnival Corp, Xerox Corp, Advanced Micro Devices, Medtronic, Barclays, Thompson Creek Metals, Dice Holdings and Archer Daniels Midland.

Investors around the world, more so the Chinese, are buying up gold assets to cover against rising inflation risk, macroeconomic uncertainties, a possible currency doom and the ever worsening U.S. debt scenario. The gargantuan demand from China can cause the yellow metal's prices to skyrocket, analysts feel. If the Chinese buying trend is ably supplemented with a fall in the value of dollar, this could result in a skyrocketing of prices.

Wedbush Securities expects April U.S. retail video game console software sales data to be released by the NPD Group after the market close on May 12. The brokerage said April may be an anomalous month for software sales, with a rebound likely due to an outstanding lineup of blockbuster title.

Caris & Co. said Kindle is a multi-billion dollar opportunity for Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). The brokerage said Kindle remains the most compelling eBook device and a material contributor to Amazon's non-core business growth.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Cray, Yongye International, Orthovita, Integrated Device Technology, and Sino Clean Energy. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Nanosphere, MannKind, Wilshire Bancorp, Sequenom, and American Science & Engineering.