MERRILL LYNCH

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: USA Technologies, Rediff.com India, Mindspeed Technologies, Sify Technologies, Calamos Asset Management, and Veeco Instruments. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Wilshire Bancorp, Lawson Software, ZST Digital Networks, Tellabs, Netflix, and Express Scripts.

Television journalist Tom Brokaw has found a buyer for his Park Avenue duplex apartment that was listed on the market for $10.75 million.

For the first time in history, private investor [Gold] holdings now exceed official-sector holdings, said Philip Klapwijk - executive chairman of precious-metals consultancy GFMS - at a presentation in London's Canary Wharf today, commenting on last year's strong physical Gold Investment demand.

Level 3 Communications said it agreed to acquire Global Crossing for about $1.9 billion stock deal to boost its service portfolio.

Gold prices jumped vs. a falling Dollar at the start of Asian trade on Monday, hitting near-two-week highs for US investors as crude oil also leapt following the weekend's joint UN air strikes on Libya.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as mounting fears about Japan's escalating nuclear crisis sparked sell-offs in financial markets around the world, but positive remarks from the Federal Reserve helped the indexes rebound from the day’s lows.

The massive earthquake in the Japan and the vulnerability of its nuclear energy sector has raised serious questions about the nation’s preparedness for such a catastrophe and its basic nuclear policy.

Shares of RC2 Corp. (RCRC) touched a new more than 3-year high of $27.59 on Thursday, shortly after the Nikkei business daily first reported that Japan's Tomy Co. Ltd. and RC2 were in merger talks.

U.S. stocks rallied on the back of strength in financial shares after a drop in oil prices on reports that Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi may be negotiating an exit from the country.

U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday as oil prices eased to below $105 a barrel and financials rallied after Bank of America announced plans to increase dividends in the second half of the year.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday, led by declines from technology shares after Wells Fargo downgraded the semiconductors sector.

Shares of TomoTherapy Inc. (NASDAQ: TOMO) touched a new 52-week high of $4.70 on Monday after it agreed to be acquired by Accuray Inc. (NASDAQ: ARAY) for $4.80 a share in cash and stock or a total of about $277 million.

Western Digital said it agreed to buy Hitachi, Ltd.'s (NYSE:HIT) Global Storage Technologies unit for $4.3 billion in a cash and stock deal.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday as a spike in oil prices (driven by deepening unrest in Libya) overshadowed a strong February jobs report.

Investment bankers have been villified by the public since the financial crisis, and regulators are cracking down on their pay, but Britain's university graduates still aspire to become them. At the country's top universities, the generation of students who started their degree just as Lehman Brothers collapsed are still pursuing lucrative

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.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade on Tuesday are: Forest Laboratories, Autozone, Lorillard, Jds Uniphase, Windstream, KeyCorp, Eog Resources, Health Care REIT, Southwestern Energy and Huntington Bancshares.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Novavax, Sonus Networks, SuperGen, Global Defense Technology & Systems, and SuperMedia. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: YRC Worldwide, Hickory Tech, Smith Micro Software, Exterran Partners, and VIVUS.

The proportion of total gold demand accounted for by jewelry fell to just over 50 percent in 2009 from 75 percent in 2004. In the same period investment demand nearly tripled. But jewelry buyers still have a key role to play in the gold market, which they are likely to keep despite any slight fall-off in demand.

Swiss commodities trader Glencore has opened up talks with sovereign wealth funds in China and Qatar to bring in a cornerstone investor ahead of its planned listing on the London Stock Exchange, The Sunday Times reported.

Soaring oil prices will have little impact on Chinese consumer inflation, but will place considerable cost pressure on the country's manufacturers, a government adviser and ministry official said on Thursday.