ECONOMY & MARKETS

Asian shares inched up Friday, tracking U.S. stocks which jumped overnight on strong U.S. housing data and earnings, but concerns over the health of European banks weighed on investor risk appetite after Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's rating.

The bond market focused Thursday on weak economic data while equity investors responded to news that an unexpectedly high number of people sought first-time jobless benefits, leaving both types of securities higher.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), the largest gold miner, said Thursday it sold its 20.4 percent stake in Russian company Highland Gold Mining Ltd. (London: HGM) for $130 million as it seeks to unload non-core business.

HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) plans to cut more than 2,200 jobs in the United Kingdom, where it's most profitable, in a bid to lower costs and boost profit margins, according to published reports.

At a Groupon staff meeting held yesterday, CEO Andrew Mason had all-hands on deck to talk about how he believes that, since the company went public, it has been making an ass out of itself. While Mason may have been referring to the embarrassing restatement of its first quarterly results, staffers and business insiders are now looking at Mason himself as the root of the problem.

U.S. pending home sales increased 4.1 percent in March compared to the prior month, signaling improvement in the national housing market and beating forecasts, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), the largest U.S. mall landlord, is expected to have higher profits in the first quarter as its strong properties drive higher revenue.

More Americans than expected filed for jobless benefits last week, adding to a recent batch of soft economic data, stoking fresh concerns about the recovery's strength.

Royal Dutch Shell, the world's third largest oil and gas company, reported a $7.7 billion profit in the first quarter on Thursday, giving the company an 11 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago.

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor reported Thursday a profit of 2.45 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in the first quarter, which is up 31 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Asian shares gained on Thursday, retaining positive momentum as the Federal Reserve reassured markets that it will keep its highly accommodating stance to support growth, and optimism grew over strong corporate earnings after Apple Inc's robust results.

Joran Van Der Sloot, who is the only suspect in the 2005 disappearance case of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, will reportedly be extradited from Peru to the U.S. within the next three months to face extortion charges. But will the US also charge him for murder?

Britain's economy contracted in the first quarter, its second such consecutive decline, sending Europe's third-largest economy into a double-dip recession and giving ammunition to critics of Prime Minister David Cameron's austerity measures.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN), Penkse Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: PAG) and Sonic Automotive Inc.( NYSE: SAH), the three largest auto dealer groups, each reported profit growth in the first quarter, demonstrating the quarter's strong auto sales.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rattled financial markets Wednesday afternoon, as the top U.S. central banker hemmed and hawed his way through a tough round of questioning from a cadre of economic reporters.

Strong first-quarter earnings and a slightly more positive view of the U.S. economy by the central bank offset disappointing durable goods numbers for March to boost equities and trim bonds.

Americans are still shying away from stocks, an attempt to be more secure in regard to their financial security, new numbers indicate, but their view on investing in the stock market remains tepid at best.

Starbucks Corp. is expected to report a higher second quarter profit as the company's expansion efforts and growing line of products, as well as the diminishing cost of coffee, continue to add revenue sources for the company.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday repeated its promise to leave interest rates on hold until at least late 2014 but offered few clues into whether it might offer additional stimulus later this year.

The United Kingdom, Europe's third-largest economy, fell into recession in the first quarter when its gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent, a contraction that followed the fourth-quarter's 0.3 percent decline.

Orders for long-lasting goods sank in March by the largest margin in three years, hurt by falling demand for commercial aircraft, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Wednesday are: Apple Inc, Arm Holdings, Broadcom Corp, Sprint Nextel, Eli Lilly, Amgen Inc, Harley-Davidson, Baidu Inc, ABB Ltd and FMC Technologies.

Asian stock markets ended mixed Wednesday as market participants awaited the Fed meeting outcome for any hint at monetary easing.

Futures on major US stock indices point to higher opening on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve?s meeting and durable goods order data.

Asian stock markets advanced Wednesday as signs of an improvement in the US housing market and better-than-expected quarterly earnings from corporate majors buoyed sentiment.

Wipro, India's third largest information technology services provider, reported 7.7 percent rise in profit in the quarter ending March 31, but forecast slower growth in the next quarter with the global economy continuing to be weak.

China's dominant search engine Baidu Inc reported $677.1 million revenue for the first quarter, which is up 75 percent compared to the same period a year ago, but disappointed the market with a bleak outlook for the next quarter.

European and U.S. stocks rose Tuesday as a negative sentiment the day before gave way to an upbeat, risk-on sentiment, despite weak economic news from the United States.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, is expected to report strong first-quarter profit on mining company demands and consumers' need to replace aging equipment.