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WASHINGTON, Apr 16 - Retail sales rose by 0.8% in March and for the third month, 'core' retail showed solid growth. March's gain is some two times larger than expected after February's 1% advance (originally up 1.1%), when the market thought there would be slowed activity after February's accommodative weather had pulled consumption forward.

Stock index futures advanced on Monday ahead of retail sales data, indicating the S&P 500 may climb after suffering its worst weekly decline of the year.

Futures on major US stock indices point to a higher opening on Monday ahead of economic data including retail sales.

As per the ever-increasing rumor mill, South Korean tech giant Samsung's highly anticipated Galaxy S3 smartphone will get a significant power boost up with a much improved processor. At a time when rumors are rife that a quad-core, Exynos processor would be featured in the next Samsung flagship smartphone, another new Android smartphone has been announced sporting the same.

Because of a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly infections, the Moon Marine USA Corp., aka MMI, of Cupertino, Calif., is voluntarily recalling 58,828 pounds of a frozen raw yellowfin tuna product labeled as Nakaochi Scrape AA or AAA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced.

With April 17 being the tax day deadline for 2012, several big companies and retail outlets are bombarding Facebook and social networking sites with special deals and freebies on everything from curly fries to beverages and much more.

On the second day of the Mobile World Congress 2012, held in Barcelona in February, tablet manufacturer Asus unveiled a budget-priced Android tablet -- Asus Transformer Pad 300. When the tech enthusiasts appreciated the official launch of the first 4G LTE tablet by the company, they had no clue about the release date and price tag of the new device.

South Korea's central bank said Friday that it is keeping the key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent, subsequent to the inflationary pressures witnessed by the country.

Reports on retail sales and housing starts in March highlight the economic calendar next week, April 16-20. Economists will be watching for any lingering signs of a positive boost from the recent warm weather, as well as indications of whether the strength in consumer demand continues.

A preliminary survey of consumer confidence for April shows the lackluster job creation seen in March is playing into people's pessimism more than economists had expected. But a recent, tiny, decline in gasoline prices, following a dizzying climb at the beginning of the year, is at least making consumers feel better about inflation and hence, expectations for the future.

Barnes & Noble has invented a GlowLight solution for those who are addicted to bedtime reading and at the same time do not wish to disturb their sleepy spouses. As claimed by the company, NOOK Simple Touch is the world's first E Ink reader flaunting patent-pending lighting technology with a soft, adjustable glow feature -- GlowLight -- which will let the users read in the darkness, giving them just the right amount of light required for reading.

The bank's quarterly profit totaled $5.38 billion, down from $5.56 billion a year earlier. That translated to $1.31 a share, compared with $1.28 a share as the number of shares outstanding declined.

Growth was 8.1 percent in the first quarter, the lowest since the same period in 2009, largely due to weak global demand and reduced investment in domestic real estate.

Bonobos, the largest clothing brand launched on the Internet in the U.S., is stepping out from the digital realm and into Nordstrom stores nationwide.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is expected to report a big jump in quarterly earnings and a small rise in revenue on increasing mortgage refinancing during the first three months of the year.

While Samsung and Apple are still tight-lipped about their plans to release their next flagship smartphones in the market, other major phone manufacturers are taking full advantage of the whole market situation and delivering their best bets to consumers.

On my first visit back to my neighbourhood street after a long stint of living abroad, I felt l was plunging headfirst into the Great Indian melting pot.

Claims for jobless benefits rose to 380,000 last week, giving economists another piece of data to worry about after a gloomy job market showing in March. Meanwhile, a Federal Reserve report published Wednesday painted a picture of a recovery that continues to press ahead, however, modestly, amid concerns of higher fuel prices.

Samsung is not alone to pepper up the market with its next-gen offering, there are others on the showground too. And these Android smartphone manufacturers are prepping up with their latest flagship devices to rival straightforwardly against Galaxy S3.

Bank of America Corp's chief information officer is leaving the company and will be replaced by a consumer banking executive, the bank said on Tuesday.

The U.S. economy expanded at a modest to moderate pace from mid-February through late March, but local industries remain concerned about high gas prices in coming months, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its new Beige Book.