Asian Shares Skid As Bullish Fed Take Investors By Surprise

By  Reuters on January 29 2015 2:07 AM

A man looks at an electronic stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Jan. 6, 2015. Asian shares tumbled on Tuesday as sliding oil prices and political uncertainty in Greece forced investors out of risk assets and into the safety of government bonds. Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.4 percent. All markets in the region were under water with even high-flying mainland Chinese shares, which hit 5-1/2-year highs earlier in the session, pulling back. Reuters/Issei Kato

(Reuters) - Asian shares extended losses on Thursday after the Federal Reserve took an upbeat view on the U.S. economy and signaled that it remains firmly on track to raise interest rates this year despite an uncertain global outlook.
A greater likelihood of higher U.S. interest rates this year helped Asian stock indexes follow Wall Street into negative territory. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.4 percent, while

North Korea 'demanded $10 billion in cash and food' for summit with South

By Ju-min Park

SEOUL Thu Jan 29, 2015 12:53am EST

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (L) talks with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (C) at the dedication for the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas April 25, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Stone/Files

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(Reuters) - North Korea demanded $10 billion in cash and half a million tons of food in 2009 as a precondition of holding a summit with the South, former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak said, adding that he refused to pay anything for holding talks.
A predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, held the first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in 2000 and was credited with bringing in a period of warming ties, an achievement that was tarnished later by a revelation that he helped channel $500 million to the North.
The two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-53 war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
Lee, president from 2008 to 2013, said in a book to

China January official PMI seen lifting off 1-1/2-year low

BEIJING Thu Jan 29, 2015 3:30am EST

Dam Viet Sinh works with a made in China quilting embroidery machine at his factory producing blankets, sheets, pillows and cushions at a village outside Hanoi January 27, 2015.

Credit: Reuters/Kham

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(Reuters) - China's factory growth likely inched up from a 1-1/2-year low in January, helped by a slight pick-up in momentum the previous month, but the bounce is not expected to last due to unsteady exports and slowing investment, a Reuters poll showed.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, is forecast to inch up to 50.2 from December's 50.1, according to the median forecast of 11 economists in the poll.
A reading above 50-point level indicates an

Flipkart, Indian Online Retailer, Planning US IPO To Raise $5B: Report

By  Harichandan Arakali @bangalorejourno h.arakali@ibtimes.com

A screenshot of Indian online shopping site Flipkart.com. The company is looking to raise around $5 billion via a US IPO, India's Times newspaper reported on Thursday. Web Screenshot

Indian online retailer Flipkart is planning to list itself in the U.S. in the next 18 months to raise about $5 billion, Times of India, a local newspaper, reported on Thursday, citing investment bankers it didn’t name, adding that a final figure for the actual share sale hasn’t been arrived at yet.

The deal, if it comes through, would be the largest listing by an Indian company, valuing Flipkart at between $25 billion and $35 billion, depending on the final amount raised, the newspaper said. A marquee list of Wall Street banks are said to be in talks with the e-commerce firm to win the mandate to run the listing.

Flipkart declined to comment in an email response to a query by International Business Times.

Eight-year-old Flipkart, whose largest shareholder is

Drugmakers receive mysterious invites to White House

Meg Tirrell | @megtirrell

Executives are headed to the White House Friday to discuss President Obama's precision medicine initiative, reports CNBC.

The heads of research at several large drugmakers have received mysterious invitations to the White House for a meeting Friday morning, where more details are expected to be shared on President Barack Obama's plans for the "precision medicine" initiative he mentioned in his State of the Union address.
Vertex, Regeneron and Merck have all received invitations from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, asking for their top researchers to attend the event. Other details weren't shared in the invitation, a copy of which was obtained by CNBC.
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for more information.
Read MoreDrug pricing concerns? Not at Gilead
The president briefly mentioned the "precision medicine" initiative in his Jan. 20 address, prompting questions about what it will entail and how much funding it could bring to medical research and drug development.
"Tonight, I'm launching a new precision medicine initiative to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes—and to give all of us access to the personalized information we need to keep ourselves and our families healthier," Obama said in his address.

"21st century businesses will rely on American science, technology, research and development," he said. "I want the country that eliminated polio and mapped the human genome to lead a new era of medicine—one that delivers the right treatment at the right time. In some patients with cystic fibrosis, this approach has reversed a disease once thought unstoppable."

California declares electronic cigarettes a health threat

The state of California has declared e-cigarettes a health threat. Details, with CNBC's Jane Wells. </p>

California health officials on Wednesday declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products, joining other states and health advocates across the U.S. in seeking tighter controls as "vaping" grows in popularity.
The California Department of Public Health report says e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and get users hooked on nicotine but acknowledges that more research needs to be done to determine the immediate and long-term health effects.
New generations of young people will become nicotine addicts if the products remain largely unregulated, California Health Officer Ron Chapman said.
Read MoreMore smokers, hoping to quit, turn to vaporizers

"Without action, it is likely that California's more than two decades of progress to prevent and reduce traditional tobacco use will erode as e-cigarettes re-normalize smoking behavior," the report says.
E-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine from

Why Apple's gonna roll higher this year

Abigail Stevenson | @A_StevensonCNBC

  Jim Cramer addresses Apple critics. Cramer says to have some faith in Tim Cook and his team. </p>

Apple reported yet another mind-blowing quarter this week, and while Jim Cramer is already hearing the skeptical questions from investors—he thinks this amazing stock could roar even higher this year.
"Staggering, but can it continue?"
"Doesn't it have to run out, now?"
"The law of large numbers says it can't stay like this"
Cramer has heard these questions, but the

Facebook earnings: 54 cents per share, vs estimated EPS of 49 cents

Karma Allen | @iam_karma

Facebook is reporting EPS beat of $0.54 adjusted on revenue beat of $3.85 billion, with CNBC& Julia Boorstin. 

Facebook's quarterly results topped analysts' expectations on Wednesday as mobile ad revenue and daily video views rose significantly.
The company posted fourth-quarter earnings of 54 cents per share, up from 31 cents a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue increased to $3.85 billion from $2.59 billion a year ago.
Analysts had expected the company to report earnings of 49 cents a share on $3.77 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

Read MoreApple blowout may only be the beginning: Analysts

"We got a lot done in 2014. Our community continues to grow and we're making progress towards connecting the world," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO.

In a post-earnings interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company now has 3 billion

Why Cramer's emphatic on McDonald's news

Abigail Stevenson | @A_StevensonCNBC

Cramer emphatic on the McDonaldThe Golden Arches are in flux, but "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer has a clear takeaway.</p>

Jim Cramer is sorry. As hard as he tries, he just can't find a way to take the narrative of lower oil prices into a negative story for the stock market long term. The narrative for McDonald's on the other hand, is due for big changes ahead.
And while those who fear lower oil prices continue to blast out an entire asset classes of stock by selling S&P futures might be stupid, he still has to respect it.
"We must always respect that the damage inflicted by the high-frequency traders who sell all stocks when oil goes down 4 percent as it did today, can totally overwhelm all but the

After-hours buzz: Facebook, Qualcomm and more

Kate Gibson | @CNBCKateGibson

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Check out which companies are making headlines after the bell Wednesday:
Facebook — The social-networking company fluctuated, lately lower, in after-hours trading after posting quarterly earnings and revenue that surpassed expectations.
Las Vegas Sands — The casino operator gained in after-hours trading after it hiked its dividend.
Tractor Supply — The operator of farm-and-ranch stores declined after releasing quarterly results.

Qualcomm — The technology provider fell in after-hours trading after it cut its chip guidance for the second half of 2015.