GLOBAL MARKETS

WTI oil prices are pushing $108 per barrel and Brent prices are nearing $120 per barrel. Such prices are unsustainable, according to Credit Agricole.

Wedbush Securities expects VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) to continue to return capital to investors through 2011. The brokerage maintained its neutral rating on shares of VeriSign with a price target of $38.

The US dollar continued to fall in Q1 2011. It lost 2.4 percent against G10 currencies, similar to the pace of decline in Q4 2010 but more moderate compared to the 8.4 percent QE2-induced drop in Q3 2010.

The Gold Price rose early Monday in London, nearing last week's high of $1439 per ounce as energy prices led a surge in commodity prices and Silver Bullion jumped 1.9% to fresh 31-year highs.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Monday as investors looked to extend a two-week winning streak in the major indexes.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, VIVUS, Orexigen Therapeutics, Star Scientific, and Optimer Pharmaceuticals. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: OmniVision Technologies, DepoMed, TD AMERITRADE Holding, Logitech International, and Check Point Software Technologies.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) said it agreed to sell its Capsugel business, a maker of hard capsules, to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Robert & Co. for $2.375 billion in cash.

Kofax Plc said completion of the sale of its non-core hardware business has been delayed by around two months. Jefferies & Co. said the delayed hardware business sale does not impact its investment case.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday on strong jobs data. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.99 points, or 0.46 percent, to 12,376.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 advanced 6.58 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,332.41. The Nasdaq Composite rose 8.53 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,789.60.

Shares of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) touched a new 52-week high of $66.87 on Friday.

The Australian stock market closed higher on Friday on stronger international oil prices and as investors looked past overseas negatives to forthcoming economic data from the United States.

During the height of the financial crisis, banks around the world lined up to borrow money from the discount window of the Federal Reserve. In the few months before and after Lehman Brother’s collapse on September 15, 2008, billions were lent out.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it has downgraded its sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Ireland to 'BBB+/A-2'.

The companies whose shares are actively trading in Friday's morning session include Bank of Ireland, Alexander & Baldwin, NYSE Euronext, SRA International, Logitech International, Office Depot, Ascent Solar and Omeros.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Friday following better-than-expected monthly non-farm payrolls and unemployment data.

The amount of competitive new launches near-term is making it a little bit tougher for Motorola Mobility, especially for its Xoom tablet.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Golar LNG, Star Scientific, Ebix, Sino Clean Energy, and AEterna Zentaris. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Omeros, Atrinsic, Logitech International, Ascent Solar Technologies, Xyratex, and Nasdaq OMX Group.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Friday are: NYSE Euronext, Bristol Myers Squibb, Huntington Bancshares, United Parcel Service, NASDAQ OMX Group, IntercontinentalExchange, Jds Uniphase and Visa.

Auriga USA LLC expects optical transport network to get increasingly crowded with players like PMC-Sierra Inc. (PMCS), Broadcom Corp. (BRCM), NetLogic Microsystems Inc. (NETL), and potentially even FPGA (field-programmable gate array) vendor Altera Corp. (ALTR) vying to build application specific standard products (ASSP) to target this space.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors awaited Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, while slightly weaker-than-expected economic reports on jobless claims and Chicago Purchasing Managers index weighed on the sentiment.

Shares of Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) touched a new 52-week high of $73.53 on Thursday. The company and its partner Knopp Biosciences announced enrollment of the first patient in EMPOWER, a multi-national Phase III study evaluating the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of dexpramipexole in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Shares of Synthesis Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYMX) touched a new 52-week high of $3.12 on Thursday. The company has agreed with China Energy Industry Holding Group Co. Limited for a cash investment of about $83.8 million to support the company's business strategy in China, including project development and investment.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: China XD Plastics Company, CardioNet, Allos Therapeutics, Celldex Therapeutics, and Cninsure. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Omeros, Ascent Solar Technologies, Logitech International, EXFO, and Xyratex.

Oil prices rose above $107 on Friday in Asia, amid concerns that escalating fighting between the rebels and Moammar Gadhafi’s forces in Libya would lead to disruption of oil exports from the OPEC nation for longer than expected.

US stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors awaited Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report and slightly weaker than expected economic reports on jobless claims even as Chicago Purchasing Managers index weighed on the sentiment.

U.S. stocks straddled the line between gains and losses in light volume Thursday, with the Dow industrials not far from their bull-market high in the final session of the index's best first quarter in more than a decade.

US stocks ended mixed in light volume as traders wait for Friday’s all-important Bureau of Labor Statistics obs report.

The companies whose shares are actively trading in Thursday's morning session include Ambassadors International, Tesla Motors, Rubicon Minerals, Meritor and CarMax.

U.S. stocks slightly advanced in early trade on Thursday after official data showed that applications for jobless benefits fell last week.