ECONOMY & MARKETS

U.S. stocks gave up gains on Wednesday as the S&P 500 hit a technical barrier near a nine-month high and Apple shares erased a 3 percent advance.

In country after country in Europe the so-called bitter pill approach has been wholeheartedly embraced as the only solution by both conservative and leftwing governments. Problem is, it's looking more and more likely that they're wrong: as a strategy, austerity has by and large failed.

An important leading indicator on the state of national manufacturing revealed a high level of optimism in that economic category, suggesting the recovery underway in that sector could become a rolling trend.

Mitt Romney went on the offensive Tuesday on one of Michigan's biggest industries, the automotive industry, lambasting the bailouts to General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC from President Barack Obama and proclaiming himself a son of Detroit.

Japan Airlines will order 10 additional 787 airplanes from the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) , it said on Wednesday.

U.S. mortgage applications decreased by one percent in the week ending Feb. 10, compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), the world's largest maker of farm tractors and combines, forecasts lower prices for corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton in 2012 and 2013. Deere also expects a drop in U.S. farmers' income for the year.

When 22 bird flu experts meet at the World Health Organization this week, they will be tasked with deciding just how far scientists should go in creating lethal mutant viruses in the name of research.

The Fed revised December's industrial output to show a solid 1.0 percent increase instead of the previously reported 0.4 percent gain, pointing to underlying strength in the economy. Economists polled by Reuters had expected industrial production to increase 0.7 percent last month .

The economic output of the 17-nation Eurozone declined by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 when compared to the previous quarter, a more-optimistic-than-expected data point that is raising hopes Europe will be able to avoid falling into a technical recession.

The euro zone economy's shrunk at the end of 2011 as the sovereign debt crisis crushed a recovery and looked set to push the bloc into mild recession, but a north-south divide was evident as France grew while Italy slumped.

The top after-market NASDAQ losers Tuesday were: Zynga, Sapient, Golar LNG, FormFactor, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Compuware Corp, A123 Systems, Almost Family Inc, Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Quest Software.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Tuesday were: Given Imaging, Crosstex Energy, Syneron Medical, InnerWorkings, Amerco, Perry Ellis International, American Capital, United Community Banks, United Community Banks, Jive Software and Spreadtrum Communications.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has revealed new investments in DaVita Inc. and Liberty Media.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Tuesday were: Hartford Financial Services, First Majestic Silver Corp, Lions Gate Entertainment, ING Group, Rosetta Stone and MetLife. The top aftermarket NYSE losers were: Renren Inc, Lone Pine Resources, Sunrise Senior Living, FXCM, FMC Technologies and China Unicom.

An electronics firm is bidding to block iPad imports in China after winning a copyright suit against Apple, prompting two cites to pull the popular tablets from store shelves.

Early in January 2012, DoubleLine Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach sounded bearish on the U.S. stock market.

Real estate firm Westbrook Partners has bought the 259-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel at 50 Central Park South for $105 million, according to city records.

Xi is slated to become the leader of China by 2013 (which would arguably make him the most powerful man in the world)

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE:AVP), the cosmetics maker, hired consultant McKinsey & Co. to cut costs in its American operations in the wake of a fourth quarter loss, Bloomberg reported.

U.S. gas prices have risen above $3.50 per gallon unusually early this year, foreshadowing an expensive year for motorists looking to fill up the tank.

General Motors is expected to report lower fourth-quarter earnings per share as struggling European operations of the top U.S. automaker offset strong domestic sales.

The 17 member nations of the euro common currency union, dragged down by the flagging economies of Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland, saw factory activity decrease more than expected in December, the statistical office of the European Union announced Tuesday.

Governments in developed countries provide a wealth of information on international business. This is especially true for U.S. businesses looking for help from the U.S. government.

Sales at U.S. retailers climbed slightly in January as Americans took advantage of post-holiday promotions, and although Tuesday's data fell short of economists' median projection, it still provided yet another hopeful sign of a strengthening economy.

The yen fell on Tuesday as the Bank ofJapan eased monetary policy by expanding its asset-buying scheme, but the impact on the currency may prove short-lived while nagging worries over the euro zone crisis keep it supported as a safe haven.

The euro rose to a session high and shares reversed early losses after key German data bolstered hopes that Europe's largest economy was recovering and a strong Italian bond sale added to signs that financing pressures were being contained.

A European finance minister, in Washington for a panel on global business and economics, sent up a flare to U.S. officials Monday afternoon, saying he hoped the U.S. would be more involved in playing a key role to solving the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices pared earlier losses and point to a slightly higher opening Tuesday ahead of of economic data including retail sales.