News Summary for May 17, 2011

Global stocks look weak this morning with European markets potentially posting their fourth straight negative trading session. Asian stocks also took a hit with commodities performance affecting heavyweight miners and oil majors as concerns build over the outlook for global economic growth. The dollar continues to build on its momentum pushing oil and the euro lower. With the debt crisis still looming, the European Union is not yet out of the woods. Silver made a strong stance with a rebound of 5% as gold edged slightly higher. High volatility has been the story for silver for the past few weeks. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, International Monetary Fund chief, was denied bail yesterday as he was sent to New York's Rikers jail for an austere holding period. Investors watched Wal-mart stores

, Dell

, Home Depot

, Hewlett-Packard

and Saks

report earnings this morning. Wal-mart's sales last year fell 1.1% during its first quarter, marking its 8th consecutive quarterly decline. The company earned 98 cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate of 95 cents, however. Home Depot this morning also mimicked the previously disappointing Lowe's earnings report. Home Depot missed estimated quarterly sales as poor weather hampered demand for seasonal goods at the start of the spring selling season. For more on earnings from Benzinga, click

. Last night, BP's Russian off-shore arctic oil deal with Rosneft collapsed. BP failed to resolve a dispute with partners in the international joint venture TNK-BP. Also yesterday, heated debates took place around the United States as the country has legally reached its borrowing authorization limits. The treasury has sent out warnings of a “catastrophic” event if Congress fails to act. For more on the debt ceiling, click

. Finally, on Thursday later this week, LinkedIn is set to IPO on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LKND. The IPO pricing is currently oversubscribed, with pricing up by over 30%.