CHINA

U.S. stocks gained for the third consecutive day on Friday as investors shook off global fears and focused instead on upbeat earnings.

A Chinese activist who published pro-democracy articles online has been handed a 10-year jail term, reports said, as edgy leadership went about killing dissent in the wake of the 'Jasmine Revolution.'

A deadly 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit the mountainous area along Myanmar's borders with Thailand and Laos on Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The tremors were felt in Bangkok, Hanoi, and some areas of China.

[Investors] don't believe in the gold story anymore, declared Kevin Norrish of Barclays Capital on Wednesday, announcing the bank's latest commodity investment survey of institutional players. Not one single respondent chose Gold Bullion as the likely best performer in 2011, Norrish said.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Wet Seal, Zalicus, Oracle, and JetBlue Airways. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: China Finance Online, Research In Motion, Acacia Research, Universal Display, XOMA, and Netflix.

At its annual meeting, Starbucks Corp. (NYSE: SBUX) said it would offer its own value oriented single-serve machine with Courtesy Products.

The triple disaster in Japan and the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa likely would have only a limited impact on the global economy - provided the twin shocks of higher oil prices and the supply chain disruptions from Japan do not get much worse, market research firm IHS said.

The visa-free tourism zone will have tourist movement from China and Vietnam without any requirement for travel permits. Tourists will also be able to cross the border on their vehicles.

In a series of postings from mid to late February on 51Jobs.com (the Monster.com of China), VanceInfo Technologies Inc. (NYSE: VIT) has advertised numerous positions for onsite assignments at Yahoo China. VanceInfo is an information technology (IT) service provider and an offshore software development company in China.

US stocks ended higher on Thursday as investors are shrugged off bad news and focused on some positive developments from the US corporate sector.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Body Central, THQ, Wet Seal, Alkermes, and Oracle. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Gen-Probe, Research In Motion, Move, Acacia Research, and China Finance Online.

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake killed at least 26 people in Tali village in north-east Myanmar on Thursday night, while one woman was reported to have died in Thailand, reports say.

At least 25 people have been killed in Myanmar as a 6.8 earthquake rattled buildings and nerves.

The United States is staging high-profile submarine exercises in the Arctic Ocean this month as evidence mounts that global warming will lead to more mining, oil production, shipping and fishing in the world's last frontier.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev spoke by phone on Thursday morning, discussing developments in the Middle East at length, with a particular focus on Libya, the White House said.

In what appears to be a dramatic change of heart, Turkey has agreed to allow NATO to takeover command of the Western alliance’s military campaign in Libya.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Wednesday that he was 100 percent certain members of the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will face charges of crimes against humanity.

Shares of companies active in Thursday's early trade are: Red Hat, IMAX, Steelcase, Micron Technology, Best Buy, Salesforce.com, Paychex, Hologic, H.B. Fuller Co. and Northern Oil & Gas.

Imax Corp. plans to open 75 new theatres in China as part of joint revenue sharing deal with Wanda Cinema Line Corp., sending its shares up more than 10 percent in NYSE.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: TranS1, Charming Shoppes, China Sunergy, Micron Technology, and TASER International. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: MediciNova, SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Iridium Communications, James River Coal, and Golar LNG.

US stocks defied odds on Wednesday to close slightly positive. The S&P 500 index climbed 3.77 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 1,297.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 67.39 points, or 0.56 percent, to end at 12,086.02. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.54 percent.