DEUTSCHE BANK

U.S. stocks weakened a bit in choppy trading and unfolding events in Libya and their impact on oil prices seem to be the overriding factors to most investors.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Wednesday are: Regions Financing, Tyson Foods, Carnival, Pultegroup, Prudential Financial, Jds Uniphase, Juniper Networks and Corning.

The European Central Bank will exercise strong vigilance over rising inflation, President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Thursday, deploying a phrase that in the past signaled a rate rise was only a month away.

Spot gold rose to a session peak at $1,421.35 an ounce and was up 0.6 percent at $1,419.66 an ounce by 1240 GMT. It rose 6 percent in February, its largest monthly rise since August, when the U.S. Federal Reserve first indicated that it would continue the massive money printing by monetizing government bonds.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Novavax, Sonus Networks, SodaStream International, Akorn, and A123 Systems. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Central European Distribution, YRC Worldwide, Avago Technologies, Exterran Partners, and Partner Communications.

Rosneft (ROSN.MM) is set to take on Gazprom (GAZP.MM) when Russia puts the Kovykta gas field on the block on Tuesday as the country's top crude producer aims to muscle in on the gas export monopoly's plans to supply China.

The U.S. government owes nearly a third more money to China than previously thought, the Treasury Department said on Monday as it revised Beijing's December holdings of U.S. Treasury debt sharply higher to $1.160 trillion.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced on Monday a food security bill for 2011/12, a budget measure that would provide cheap grains for millions of India's poor but which has sparked worries over its huge cost.

Hutchison Whampoa's ports unit is looking to raise as much as $5.8 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore, allowing investors to tap into China's booming infrastructure business.

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.

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.

Oil prices continue to rise amidst fears that violent unrest in Libya will not only cut off supplies from that nation, but perhaps spread to other, larger oil producers, including Saudi Arabia.

Gold steadied near seven-week highs on Thursday, as investor fears over inflation stemming from the spike in crude oil were partially offset by pockets of profit-taking after the market's 6 percent rise this month.

Western investment banks are keen to underwrite more IPOs on China's Shenzhen exchange this year as a surging economy turns the once insignificant market into a fundraising hotbed.

Australia's government launched a third attempt on Thursday to make carbon polluters pay for their emissions, unveiling plans for a fixed-price scheme from 2012 and vowing not to surrender this time in the face of fierce opposition.

China may not have been first to a launch social networking site, but it might be first to float one. Renren.com is eyeing an initial public offering in New York. Owner Oak Pacific is thought to want a valuation of $500 million. The potential for new internet darlings is huge, if they can avoid some old-school problems.

Temasek Holdings has hired former China International Capital Corp (CICC) investment banking head Ding Wei to lead its China operations, the Singapore state investor said late on Monday.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Friday are: Consolidated Edison, Molex, AK Steel Holding, Allergan, Jds Uniphase, Campbell Soup, PepsiCo and American International Group.

U.S. Stocks climbed on Wednesday, supported by some solid earnings reports and a number or M&A deal-making, as the Dow and S&P 500 reached 31-month highs.

Factory gate inflation rose twice as fast as expected last month, and the cost of raw materials soared, heaping pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates sooner rather than later.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Thursday are: Chipotle Mexican, Cambrex, Emulex, Liz Claiborne and Nexen. The top after-market NYSE losers are: Och-Ziff Capital Management, Leapfrog Enterprises, Regal Entertainment, Trueblue and Ingram Micro.