The top aftermarket NYSE gainers on Tuesday were: ESCO Technologies, Fairchild Semiconductor International, Exterran Holdings, Superior Energy Services, Cobalt International Energy, CoreLogic, Harman International Industries, Trinity Industries, Koninklijke Philips Electronics and Tenet Healthcare Corp.
Futures pointed to a slight rebound on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.46 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.41 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.34 percent at 5:28 a.m. ET.
Sheila Bair, former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), is said to be the leading candidate to monitor banks during a nationwide foreclosure settlement.
The rumors about the next generation iPad, dubbed iPad 3, are endless. And the latest rumor is that the highly anticipated iPad 3 will launch in March or April 2012.
Stock in the largest American banks were particularly bullish on the developments, trading up in heavy volume during pre-market action in the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) were up more than 2 percent in very early pre-market trading. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), whose operations are generally considered to be more sensitive to developments out of Europe than its large bank peers in the U.S., was up over 3 percent.
Talk of Greece voluntarily leaving -- or being kicked out of -- the eurozone was once verboten. Now bank economists, investors, and even central bankers are talking about it as though it's a done deal. The divide between rhetoric is also growing. Those predicting the future Greek exit are calling it "manageable," while those saying it won't happen are labeling the possibility "catastrophic."
European shares fell in a choppy afternoon session on Thursday, erasing earlier strong gains, with traders saying the market came under pressure after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi cautioned on the region's economic outlook.
Fewer Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. Thursday's data once again edged back from the 400,000 mark -- the level below which economists say signals a strengthening job market - after popping above it in the prior week.
Citigroup began a round of layoffs among its London-based investment bankers this week after Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the bank will layoff 4,500 employees as it attempts to trim costs.
U.S. equities rallied in the last hour of trading Wednesday, before retreating in the last few minutes, as rumors that a $600 billion International Monetary Fund Bailout of the European sovereigns was about to be announced swirled the market, only to be dispelled just before trading closed for the day.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), which announced Tuesday that it would cut about 4,500 jobs, could get faster regulatory capital than other banks, according to a Wall Street analyst.
Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 up 0.6-0.8 percent.
Citigroup Inc. (C) Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the bank will eliminate 4,500 jobs "over the next few quarters" in an effort to reduce costs, The Associated Press reported.
Bank of America agreed on Tuesday to pay $315 million to settle claims involving mortgage securities issued by Merrill Lynch.
The Citigroup Economic Surprise Index (CESIYUSD), a closely watched index that compares economists' expectations for key indicators and actual results, is at a peak. If trends are to be believed, it's three months from a cyclical nadir -- a point that has signaled a stock market correction in the past.
A strange and winding day for the shares of major U.S. financial companies ended as oddly as it began, as shares of major U.S. banks seemed to brush off bad news on sovereign debt ratings that rattled the wider market and shares of five of the biggest financial institutions traded on the New York Stock Exchange ended the session on a sell imbalance.
In a research note, banking industry analyst Matthew Burnell reduced fourth-quarter earnings estimates for JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). Burnell reduced the earning estimates for JPMorgan and Citi by about 4 percent, but sounded a much more pessimistic note on Goldman and Morgan Stanley.
Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.8-0.9 percent.
In the wake of a lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts attorney general, GMAC Mortgage, a subsidiary of Ally Financial, said on Friday that it would stop buying mortgage loans in the state after Dec. 5.
European shares rose on Friday at mid-day and were headed for their biggest weekly gain in three years on hopes of a bold solution to the euro zone debt crisis at a summit next week.
A bill to let U.S. spy agencies share intelligence on cyber threats with private companies was backed by a House of Representatives intelligence panel on Thursday.
From the time when a statement by Massachusetts' attorney-general announcing a lawsuit against five major banks began appearing on the newswires, shares of the financial institutions being sued actually went up slightly.
