MANAGEMENT

FBR Capital Markets said Flushing Financial Corp.'s (NASDAQ: FFIC) story was well received by investors given that the company is growing loans, generates reasonable profitability, and its performance through the cycle is evidence of its strong credit quality.

Verizon said it would launch new Digital Media Services that would allow entertainment and media companies capitalize on consumers' growing appetite for live and on-demand on their smartphones, tablets and other devices.

Adobe has launched subscription editions for its new Creative Suite 5.5, a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications including Photoshop, Acrobat and InDesign.

Japanese auto major Toyota Motor Corp and technology giant Microsoft Corp plan to build a global platform for TMC's next-generation telematics services using the Windows Azure platform, the carmaker said in a statement.

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell made historical allusions to the 1995 budget shutdowns on Friday as the current Congress avoided a shutdown of its own by reaching a deal to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year.

President Barack Obama said late Thursday that the federal government is starting to prepare for a shutdown and is seeking an early morning answer from Congressional negotiators on a possible budget deal.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Conns, Expedia, Curis, Seagate Technology, and NXP Semiconductors. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Hercules Offshore, Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Sangamo Biosciences, Qiao Xing Universal Resources, and Costco Wholesale.

Jefferies & Co. upgraded its rating on shares of Parametric Technology (NASDAQ: PMTC) to buy from hold and increased its price target to $28 from $25.

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) touched a new life-time high of $55.17 on Thursday. The company reported a 25 percent growth in fourth quarter earnings, which came in ahead of its expectations as well as Street view.

The Australian share market closed higher for a sixth consecutive trading day with activity subdued after the Reserve Bank (RBA) left interest rates unchanged.

Texas Instruments' major deal for National Semiconductor has drawn criticism and praise.

Companies today are not effectively executing against strategy and the business leaders know it, with 80 percent recognizing that they are not doing their best to communicate strategy through the organization, let alone execute against it, according to new research commissioned by SuccessFactors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFSF), and Accenture (NYSE: ACN).

Jefferies & Co. expects that shares of Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) will sell off modestly on Tuesday as investors contemplate another round of very conservative guidance from the company. The brokerage reiterated its buy rating on shares of Calix, while increasing its price target to $24.50 from $16.

Texas Instruments buys National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion; the latter's stock soars in after-hours trading.

Larry Page takes over as chief executive officer three months after it was announced Eric Schmidt was resigning.

The Tokyo Electric Power Co.(TEPCO) said on Sunday the bodies of two workers at the damaged Fukushia nuclear plant have been found. The bodies of the two young workers, Kazuhiko Kokubo and Yoshiki Terashima, were found a week ago, but they had to be decontaminated before being handed over to the relatives.

The Momentum Project launched initially in Spain and expected to be replicated across Latin America seeks to support the most promising social entrepreneurs and enable them to consolidate, grow and scale up their social impact.

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

As the world keep a close eye on the earthquake-crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, US Department of Energy has released Japan's radiological assessment results.

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.

Acer CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci steps down from his role; wanted to focus on tablets, Acer board wants to stick with PCs.