10 Things You Need To Know This Morning
Mar 15, 2013, 16:53 IST
Reuters/Fred ProuserGood morning. Here's what you need to know.
Advertisement
- Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading with the Nikkei up 1.45 percent to a 4.5 year high, after the parliament approved a new management team for the Bank of Japan. Europe is selling off and U.S. futures are flat.
- The upper house of the Japanese parliament approved three doves to head the Bank of Japan. Haruhiko Kuroda, who had previously received the approval of the lower house, has been appointed the new Bank of Japan governor as expected. Meanwhile, Kikuo Iwata and Hiroshi Nakaso have also been named in the Bank of Japan's management team. Click here for a complete guide to Abeconomics >
- Consumer prices were up 0.7 percent in February, just above expectations for a 0.5 percent rise. Meanwhile, the Empire Fed manufacturing survey fell to 9.24.
- Samsung revealed its Galaxy S4 smartphone at Radio City Music Hall yesterday. The phone has a 5-inch HD display and operates on the latest version of of Android called Jelly Bean. The phone is thinner and lighter than the previous model. Here are the first photos of the Galaxy S4 >
- Outgoing Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has said policy makers are not trying to devalue the pound. He did however say that the weakness had helped boost exports. King also said he thinks a recovery in the UK economy is "in sight" in 2013, according to Bloomberg.
- Euro area consumer prices eased to 1.8 percent in February, from 2 percent the previous month. This was led by a 5.2 percent decline in telecommunication costs.
- Most large U.S. companies and plan providers will pay a total of $25 billion over three years as part of a new health-care law, according to the WSJ. This is aimed at preventing insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Companies want this changed because they think "it subsidizes individually purchased plans that won't cover their workers."
- Industrial production was up 0.7 percent month-over-month in February, beating expectations. Consumer sentiment for March is out at 9:55 a.m. ET. Consensus is for consumer sentiment to stay flat. Follow the release at Business Insider >
- In M&A news, IBM and EMC Corp are in talks to buy SoftLayer Technologies for over $2 billion, according to Reuters. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse have reportedly been hired to make the sale.
- The second round of stress tests revealed that the Federal Reserve sees "weaknesses" in the capital plans of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. It also rejected the capital plans of Ally Financial and BB&T Corp. The Fed approved the plans of 14 of the 18 largest banks, to return capital to shareholders.
- Bonus - Halle Berry told Conan O'Brien that the right way to wear perfume, is to spray it between the thighs.