SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc finds itself on unfamiliar ground heading into its earnings report next week: on the defensive.


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A general view of the Apple Flagship Store at Pudong Lujiazui in Shanghai July 9, 2010. Apple Inc will open its second flagship store in China, in the heart of Shanghai's financial district on Saturday, the company said on Thursday. REUTERS/Aly SongReuters - Apple Inc finds itself on unfamiliar ground heading into its earnings report next week: on the defensive.


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LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks hit a 2-1/2 week low on Tuesday while oil and the euro also slipped as investors grew nervous over the funding situation of banks about to repay 442 billion euros ($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank.


President Barack Obama answers questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday May 27, 2010.  (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - Thrown on the defensive, President Barack Obama acknowledged his administration could have done better in dealing with the biggest oil spill in the nation's history and misjudged the industry's ability to cope with a worst-case scenario. Obama will make his second tour of the battered Gulf Coast on Friday.


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President Barack Obama answers questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday May 27, 2010.  (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - Thrown on the defensive, President Barack Obama acknowledged that his administration could have done better in dealing with the biggest oil spill in the nation's history and misjudged the industry's ability to cope with a worst-case scenario. Obama will make his second tour of the battered Gulf Coast on Friday.


Traders are pictured at their desks in front of the DAX board at the Frankfurt stock exchange April 8, 2010. REUTERS/Remote/Amanda AndersenReuters - Strong growth in China and upbeat corporate earnings lifted world stocks on Thursday to a new high for the year, putting them at levels last seen around the collapse of Lehman Brothers.


FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2010 file photo, a Bank of America branch is shown in Charlotte, N.C. A judge on Monday, Feb. 8, 2010 promised to decide by the end of next week whether to approve a $150 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America over civil charges alleging the bank misled shareholders when it acquired Merrill Lynch. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)AP - A judge promised Monday to decide by the end of next week whether to approve a $150 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America over civil charges alleging the bank misled shareholders when it acquired Merrill Lynch.


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow briefly fell below the crucial 10,000 mark on Thursday as stocks suffered their worst losses in more than nine months.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in this September 16, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidReuters - The Dow briefly fell below the crucial 10,000 mark on Thursday as stocks suffered their worst losses in more than nine months.


Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 20, 2010. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidReuters - Stocks capped their worst three-day slide in 10 months on Friday on fears the White House's plan to curb bank risk-taking would cut profits, and tech shares slumped after Google Inc's disappointing results.