REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Tourists take pictures at Mai Khao Beach, as a plane approaches the Phuket International Airport in Phuket, Thailand March 17, 2016. With its palm-fringed beaches, Buddhist culture and racy nightlife, Thailand has been the poster child for Asian tourism for decades, attracting a range of visitors from backpackers and adventure-seekers, to families and culture vultures. But dark clouds could be forming even as a record of 32 million tourists are expected this year.
Stocks in Asia are up. Asian shares rose on Thursday, taking early cues from Wall Street gains overnight, as receding worries of near-term US interest rate hikes continued to buoy risk sentiment.
Fidelity increased its valuation of Snapchat. Fidelity Investments boosted its estimated value of free mobile messaging app Snapchat by 62% in February, despite recent concerns the company is struggling to gain traction with advertisers.
America is adding jobs. US private employers added 200,000 jobs in March, above economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.
Refugees are still flowing in to Greece. Arrivals of refugees and migrants to Greece from Turkey rose sharply just over a week since the EU and Turkey struck a deal intended to cut off the flow. Greek authorities recorded 766 new arrivals between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, up from 192 the previous day.
The Syrian conflct has a huge economic cost. The conflict in Syria has cost the country more than $200 billion, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Russia's RIA news agency.
Former top civil servant, Gus O'Donnell, weighed in on Brexit. Britain would struggle to negotiate an exit from the European Union within a two-year deadline if voters decide to leave the bloc in June's referendum, the country's former top civil servant said.
Foxconn will clear out Sharp's management. Taiwan's Foxconn is planning to overhaul Sharp Corp's management including replacing its CEO after a multi-billion-dollar takeover of the Japanese display maker.
The Brazilian president is fighting a "coup." Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff she was the victim of a coup as her allies horse-traded frantically for enough votes to ride out an impeachment drive.
BlackRock is slashing jobs. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is planning to cut about 400 jobs, or 3% of its workforce, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Argentina is looking to settle default claims. Argentina's Senate voted on a deal to repay disgruntled creditors, as the government seeks to end a 15-year battle in the US courts over a catastrophic debt default.