CHINA

East Asia is rife with new military activity as maritime disputes highlight persistent tensions between neighbors.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), the second-largest U.S. carmaker, is expected to report Friday its first-quarter earnings plunged by 42.6 percent as gains in North America couldn't offset a slump in vehicle demand in Europe and slowing sales growth in South America and Asia.

Echoing the anchor babies argument heard here in the United States, Hong Kong's Chief Executive-elect Leung Chun-ying has proposed a zero quota policy that will prevent Chinese women from crossing into Hong Kong to give birth.

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.

Palladium prices are bouncing back from a big decline that started in February in what could be a sign of rising investor confidence in the U.S. recovery, thanks to rising auto sales, and concerns over Russian supplies.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), the largest maker of construction and mining equipment, reported a 29 percent jump in its first-quarter profit that topped analysts' estimates and boosted its full-year outlook, as U.S. builders replaced their aging machinery and demand for mining equipment boomed.

Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, skyrocketed 10 percent before the markets opened Wednesday on forecasts of further recordbreaking earnings. That sent overall U.S. markets up.

The missile?s impact point was somewhere in the Indian Ocean, according to the military unit.

Nissan Motors' Sentra variants may not have left much of an impression with the consumers. However, a redesigned version of the compact sedan is notably a cause for excitement.

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.

A senior North Korean military officer has claimed that Pyongyang is equipped with powerful modern weapons capable of defeating the US. This declaration coincides with speculation that the reclusive Asian nation may be planning to conduct a nuclear test, following its failed rocket launch on April 13.

In a joint military exercise, nearly 7,000 U.S. and Philippine troops staged combat maneuvers in the disputed South China Sea region.

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.

Samsung enthusiasts have been so distracted by event announcements and teasers for the Galaxy S3 that they have lost sight of the fact they probably won't get their hands on the device until at least June.

For the 19th time in the last 20 quarters, Apple reported sales that exceeded Wall Street's estimates. Not bad for a company started out of a garage. On Tuesday, Apple followed-up its most successful quarter in company history with its Q2 2012 financial results.

Western observers latch onto possible new developments in the Bo Xilai case as China remains silent on the political scandal that brought down Bo and his wife.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, reported second-quarter financial results that blew past analyst expectations.

Over the past three decades, South Korea has catapulted itself from Third World-caliber poverty to becoming a technologically superior economic powerhouse.

At the Beijing Auto Show on Monday Lamborghini unveiled their first sports utility vehicle (SUV) in almost 20 years, the Urus, which will cost $200,000 and likely be available for purchase in 2015. Research and development director Maurizio Reggiani revealed details and specs regarding the new model in an interview with Automobile Magazine. Check out the interview and photos of the car here.

U.S. regulators are investigating major U.S. movie studios' dealings with China as the entertainment companies try to get a greater foothold in one of the fastest-growing movie markets in the world.

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.