AP - After three consecutive quarters of losses, homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. says better management of its land inventory should allow the company to post a profit in the fourth quarter and for 2008.

AP - Financial analyst Edouard Morin slid from his lunch seat at the swanky Harry's Cafe around the corner from Wall Street and sized up the latest merger talk that has the business world abuzz.

AFP - The spectacular run of China's stock markets has drawn a barrage of warnings that a sharp correction is imminent, but many analysts believe a downturn will do little economic harm at home and abroad.

Reuters - Stock index futures pointed to a weaker market open on Monday as investors were rattled by an 8 percent decline in the Chinese stock market.

AP - Chinese stocks fell again Tuesday following their sharpest one-day drop in three months, extending declines triggered by government efforts to cool the booming market and avert a price bubble.

FT.com - Chinese stocks rose moderately on Wednesday morning, as calm returned to the market following reassuring comments from the central bank and a major institutional investor.

AP - Japanese stocks inched up Thursday, led by shipbuilding and trading company shares, reversing an early decline.

AP - Asia's major markets tumbled in early trading Friday after shares on Wall Street fell sharply for a third straight session amid growing speculation that a U.S. interest rate cut was unlikely.

FT.com - US stocks clawed back some of their losses on Friday but still suffered their second worst week this year amid a rout in the bond markets.

AFP - After six years of trading equities in China's volatile stock markets, Chen Yali regards the government's latest measure to cool its overheated bourses as wise but its method underhanded.

FT.com - Japanese stocks rose moderately on Monday morning, as investors took heart from revised economic growth figures and export shares responded positively to Friday's rise in US share prices.

FT.com - London equities fell in opening trade on Tuesday, with banking stocks in the vanguard of the decline after news of lower mortgage market share at HBOS and a warning of continued upward pressure on interest rates from the Bank of England.

FT.com - The Japanese stock market fell on Wednesday morning, hit by an overnight fall in US stocks.

Reuters - Stock futures were little changed on Thursday as investors awaited a key inflation report, while keeping close tabs on benchmark bond yields after their recent upsurge fueled concerns about interest rates.

FT.com - London equities continued to make gains in opening trade on Friday, after news of take building in J Sainsbury lit up the retail sector.

Reuters - Signs of an improving economy may have dashed hopes for an interest-rate cut, but the potential for better profits may whet the appetite of stock market investors this week.

Reuters - Wall Street is raising estimates of second-quarter earnings growth, estimating profits will be up 5.9 percent on average, according to Reuters Estimates, which compiles analysts' forecasts weekly for the Standard & Poor's 500 index (.SPX).

FT.com - The recent rise in Japanese stocks was halted on Tuesday morning by an overnight fall in US shares.

Reuters - Stock futures rose on Wednesday, with Home Depot Inc.'s plan for a $22.5 billion share buyback set to underpin demand for equities while investors await a batch of earnings reports, including Morgan Stanley's .

FT.com - Shares in the London Stock Exchange were in focus on news it was preparing a bid for Borsa Italiana as the broader market tracked steep losses on Wall Street at the open on Thursday.

AP - Blackstone Group LP debuts Friday on the New York Stock Exchange in the most talked-about IPO to sweep Wall Street since Google.

AFP - The London Stock Exchange confirmed Saturday it was buying Milan's Borsa Italiana for 1.6 billion euros (2.15 billion dollars) in shares, bolstering the LSE amid takeovers of European stock markets by US rivals.

AP - After weeks of stock market turbulence caused by soaring bond yields, Wall Street will now be able to gauge the chance of an interest rate hike straight from the source: the Federal Reserve.

FT.com - London equities fell in opening trade on Monday, after a profit warning fron car dealer Pendragron resurrected fears about weakeningconsumer spending

AFP - European equities sank on Tuesday, with British defence company BAE Systems leading the fallers in London after it was hit by an anti-corruption probe in the United States, dealers said.

FT.com - Japan's Nikkei 225 share average in morning trade retreated further from last week's seven-year closing high, beleaguered by a sense that Japanese stocks may be overvalued compared with those of other large share markets.

FT.com - London equities started to recover in opening trade on Thursday, taking the lead from strength on US and Asian markets overnight, with property stocks dominating the leaderboard on renewed deal hopes.

FT.com - London equities stayed in positive territory on Friday with shares in BT Group standing out after bullish comment on the company's prospects from its chief executive.