CHINA

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) touched a new life-time high of $54.98 on Thursday. The company's first quarter revenue exceeded Street view boosted by growth in China, which helped offset weakness in its U.S. operations.

POSCO's <005490.KS> earnings might remain under pressure due to fragile demand and a jump in coking coal and iron ore prices after the world's No. 3 steelmaker missed expectations with a 36 percent fall in quarterly profit.

Striking truck drivers protested for a third day on Friday in Shanghai's main harbor district amid heavy police presence and signs the action has already started to curb exports from the world's busiest container port.

POSCO <005490.KS>, the world's No. 3 steelmaker, reported a 36 percent fall in quarterly operating profit, missing forecasts, hit by high raw materials costs and low demand.

The dollar hovered around three-year lows on Friday and looked set to come under further pressure next week, while a stronger yen weighed on Tokyo stocks in holiday-thinned Good Friday trade.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Polycom, Mentor Graphics, ZST Digital Networks, EZCORP, and Stein Mart. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Radio One, Asia Entertainment & Resources, Pool Corp., Penn National Gaming, Universal Display, Cymer, and Rambus.

US Treasuries are called the “risk-free assets” of the financial world. However, the moniker of “risk-free asset” may actually belong to another country.

U.S. videoconferencing company Polycom Inc forecast strong second-quarter sales as it continued to benefit from its partnerships with companies like Microsoft and from business disruptions at bigger rival Cisco.

To get exposure, most investors immediately considered equities, which have been historically correlated with economic growth. However, an even better option may be the forex carry trade.

McDonald's Corp forecast higher prices for beef, dairy and other items and said it would cautiously raise prices to keep attracting diners, who are grappling with higher grocery and gas bills.

Silver Prices extended their Dollar gains to 7.7% for this week alone, also reaching new multi-decade and all-time highs vs. the world's other major currencies.

Truck drivers in Shanghai, China have been staging a protest against rising fuel prices which they claim is deeply hurting their businesses.

McDonald's Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as the world's largest restaurant company posted March sales that topped analyst expectations.

US stocks rallied on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing near three-year highs, as upbeat earnings from major technology companies’ boosted sentiment for corporate-profit trends.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the United States will reaccelerate, and reach 3.5–4 percent in the second half of this year, IHS Global Insight said in its April World Flash report.

US stocks rallied on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing near three-year highs, as upbeat earnings from major technology companies’ boosted sentiment for corporate-profit trends.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Wednesday are: China Security & Surveillance, SLM Corp, Tempur-pedic International, Yum! Brands and Gardner Denver. The top after-market NYSE losers are: Goodrich Corp, Tele Norte Leste Participacoes, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Elan Corp and General Growth Properties.

McDonald's power to raise prices as food and fuel costs climb will be in focus on Thursday when the world's biggest hamburger chain reports quarterly results.

Luxury automaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars should more than double sales in the second quarter, in large part because of its Ghost model, David Archibald, president of Rolls-Royce in North America, said on Wednesday.

Yum Brands Inc , the parent of the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut fast-food chains, reported higher-than-expected quarterly sales, boosted by growth in China, helping to send its shares up 4.9 percent in after-hours

Gold rallied above $1,500 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday, extending this week's record run as investors hedged growing inflation risks and bought into a broad commodities rally as the dollar slumped.