JAPAN

Investors punished Juniper Networks by selling its shares after the networking equipment maker joined Cisco Systems Inc in warning that this year's results will miss Wall Street projections.

Demand for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell in June and economic activity across much of the nation slowed through mid-July, casting doubt over how quickly the economy might escape its soft patch.

Republicans and Democrats rushed to rework rival deficit reduction plans on Wednesday, but with the fate of both proposals heavily in doubt top lawmakers pursued a behind-the-scenes compromise to avert a crippling U.S. default.

Norwegian killer Anders Behring Breivik has caused potential embarrassment for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin by describing him as worthy of respect and one of the two men he would most like to meet.

Demand for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell in June and a gauge of business spending plans slipped, supporting views that the economy will not emerge quickly from its current soft patch.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell unexpectedly in June, weighed down by weak receipts for transportation equipment, a government report showed on Wednesday.

A Republican proposal to cut the U.S. deficit faced delay and stiff opposition on Wednesday, raising the risk of a debt default and a ratings downgrade as the clock ticks toward a deadline less than a week away.

Japanese authorities know there is not much they can do to turn a broad weak-dollar tide so will judge any intervention a success if it keeps speculative action from driving up the yen too far and too fast.

The first ever smartphone to run on Microsoft's latest Windows Phone mobile operating system (OS) (codenamed Mango) has been unveiled in Japan even as the OS is scheduled for launch around the same time Apple's iOS 5 launches i.e. this Fall. But can it compete with Apple's latest mobile OS?

Olympic champion, Michael Phelps collected all his strength on Wednesday and proved his superiority at the World Swimming Championship in Shanghai by winning 200m butterfly race.

A Republican plan to cut the U.S. deficit faced delay and stiff opposition on Wednesday, raising the risk of default and a ratings downgrade as the clock ticks toward a deadline less than a week away.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell in June and a gauge of business spending plans slipped, supporting views that the economy will not emerge quickly from its current soft patch.

After releasing a ground-up version of its OS for mobiles called Windows Phone 7 in 2010, Microsoft is attempting a second time to capture the turf lost to iPhone and Android devices.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Questcor Pharmaceuticals, CalAmp, Trius Therapeutics, RF Micro Devices, Amazon.com, and Affymax. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Illumina, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, CIENA, JDS Uniphase, Level 3 Communications, and Virgin Media.

The Internet Umbrella acts as a video monitor displaying images from the Internet as the user walks along. The handle of the umbrella fitted with a projector transmits images to the underside of the umbrella so the user can watch it alive while walking in rain.

German car and truck maker Daimler missed quarterly revenue forecasts and warned strong demand for cars in the key emerging markets of China and India is likely to slow sharply.

Car makers showed the impact of the Japan disaster with France's PSA Peugeot Citroen warning 2011 profits would be hit and Japan's Nissan Motor <7201.T> posting a 10 percent profit fall.

Nippon Steel Corp <5401.T>, Japan's top steelmaker, forecast profits to rise this year as a slow global economic rebound bolsters demand, outperforming smaller rival JFE Holdings Inc <5411.T> which expects earnings to dwindle on tough competition in Asia's export markets.

There may be a point at which global investors get indigestion from U.S. money printing.

Drugs and chemicals maker Merck KGaA slashed its profit outlook on sluggish demand for liquid crystals and took hefty one-off charges for a fresh start under its new finance chief.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.1 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.13 percent at 0940 GMT.