BUSINESS

Stock euphoria over Amazon.com's (Nasdaq: AMZN) first-quarter earnings surprise sent shares of the No. 1 e-retailer soaring, triggering a big rise in the Nasdaq and other averages that eased slightly by midday.

The U.S. economy expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in the first quarter, reflecting a deceleration in inventories and nonresidential fixed investment that was partly offset by the biggest gain in consumer spending in more than a year.

Gold prices slipped back towards $1,650 an ounce on Friday as investors cashed in gains after a three-session rally, with confidence in the metal still soft as consumers in major Asian bullion-buying centres held off making fresh purchases.

Egyptian daily Al Ahram Thursday published an opinion piece that contained news about a new law known as the Farewell Intercourse Law which Egypt's parliament is considering to enact.

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), the world's largest consumer-goods company, said its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 16 percent, weighed down by higher commodity prices and restructuring-related costs.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Friday are: Expedia, Amazon.com, Zynga Inc, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Ford Motor, Western Digital, Seagate Technology, Starbucks Corp and Fedex Corp.

Child-marriages have been illegal in India since the 2006 passage of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, but the practice persists unabated, particularly among the rural poor.

Asian stock markets ended lower Friday as renewed concerns about the debt-laden Eurozone offset better-than-expected US pending home sales data and corporate earnings.

After reporting record profit for the first quarter of 2012, South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics has achieved yet another outstanding feat. The company has become the world's number one handset vendor, thereby ending Finnish firm Nokia's 14-year run as the global leader, according to a latest research from Strategy Analytics.

Futures on major US stock indices remained range-bound Friday ahead of the release of the economic data, which include key GDP figures.

As far as the name and features of the new Galaxy phone is concerned, the Korean electronics giant had managed successfully to keep them under wraps until Thursday when senior vice-president Robert Yi revealed the name of what the company calls its Next Galaxy. And, yes, we predicted it right, the names is indeed Samsung Galaxy S3!

With sleek body and exceptionally well performing camera, HTC One S is one smartphone that left critics drooling over it. The latest HTC flick is perhaps one of the very nicest phones in 2012 (until of course Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 hit the market), managing Ice Cream Sandwich, Sense 4 user interface and boasting of slim avatar.

Wireless communication operators are trying to win the battle against each other by introducing more and more killer smartphones.

Sharp Corp, the Japanese manufacturer of electronic products, reported Friday a record net loss of 376.1 billion yen ($4.66 billion) in the first quarter of the year.

Despite global credit rating agency S&P's negative outlook of India's long-term credit rating, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that the country has a long-term growth potential of 8 to 9 percent.

Asian stock markets declined Friday as sentiment was subdued after Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's rating.

Indian stock markets gained Friday as shares of ICICI Bank and Axis Bank rallied ahead on expectations of good quarter four earnings.

The Bank of Japan said Friday that it is further easing the monetary policy so that the economy could recover from deflation and grow more strongly.

PetroChina Co, the world's second largest oil and gas firm, reported a $6.21 billion profit in the first quarter on Thursday, giving the company a 5.8 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago.

Asian shares rose on Friday, tracking U.S. stocks which jumped overnight on strong U.S. housing data and earnings, but concerns over the health of European banks weighed on investor risk appetite after Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's rating.

Gold struggled to make headway Friday as the euro came under pressure after Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's credit rating, while investors waited for a monetary policy decision by the Bank of Japan later in the day for further trading cues.

Asian shares inched up Friday, tracking U.S. stocks which jumped overnight on strong U.S. housing data and earnings, but concerns over the health of European banks weighed on investor risk appetite after Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's rating.

Sen. James Inhofe is launching an investigation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over comments a top EPA administrator made about enforcement of environmental laws.

S&P downgrades Spain, citing debt worries.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition Thursday released suggestions it hopes will standardize how the oil and natural gas industry approaches future drilling operations, including the use of the controversial practice of fracking.

Nintendo revolutionized the gaming industry with its Wii console, which was the first commercial gaming device to incorporate motion-censored controls heavily into gaming. However, strong price cuts made to the Wii and the 3DS hand held video game device have lead the company to post its first annual loss in more than three decades, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX), the world's largest coffee shop chain, said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit jumped 18.5 percent on rising sales at stores open at least one year and higher efficiency.

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, reported first-quarter results that easily beat analysts? estimates because of soaring sales of its Kindle Fire tablet.

Envision vast open desert, towering snow-capped mountains, and deep craggy gorges. Picture Buddhist temples, mysterious ruins, felt homes, and the caw of an eagle. Sprinkle on top of it all the legend Genghis Khan.