A Quick Glance at News

v Australian businesses grew less optimistic about near-term prospects, signaling a slowdown in the fastest-growing developed economy that economists predict will force the central bank to cut interest rates again.
v Asian shares rose on Thursday as strong corporate profits from U.S. bellwethers allayed fears of a slowdown in earnings, particularly for the beleaguered tech sector, while the euro steadied after overnight weakness.
v The business conditions index for the next three months dropped to 5, the lowest reading since the second quarter of 2009, National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) said in a survey released today.
v Sales of previously owned U.S. homes probably rose in June, a report may show today, a sign the recent pickup in demand will be sustained.

v Asian shares rose on Thursday as strong corporate profits from U.S. bellwethers allayed fears of a slowdown in earnings, particularly for the beleaguered tech sector, while the euro steadied after overnight weakness.
v Oil rose a seventh day in New York, the longest run of gains since February, after U.S. gasoline supplies unexpectedly shrank and housing starts climbed, signaling fuel demand may increase amid an economic recovery.
v Gold edged up on Thursday after two straight sessions of losses as the dollar weakened, although investors were less than convinced of its direction given the uncertainty over Fed's stimulus measures and persistent worries about Europe.
v Soybeans hit record highs on Wednesday on fear that it will be the next to wither after corn from the worst U.S. drought in 56 years, while oil markets climbed for a sixth day on escalating violence in Syria and tensions over Iran.

v Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday offered $20 billion in loans to African countries over the next three years, boosting a relationship that has been criticized by the West and given Beijing growing access to the resource-rich continent.
v AT&T Inc is following bigger rival Verizon Wireless with a new type of family plan that will significantly raise its fees for data services, such as mobile Internet.
 v Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday its new, touch-friendly Windows 8 operating system will be on sale October 26, almost exactly three years after the launch of Windows 7.
v German Bund futures opened lower on Thursday after hitting their highest in six weeks in the previous session and as a strong performance in U.S. and Asian stocks overnight took the shine off the safe-haven asset.
v IBM said business analytics revenue were up 13% in the first half of the year, while its cloud revenue doubled in the same period. Sterne Agee's Shaw Wu said the cloud and analytics results "show that their focus on growth markets is working.
v Capital One Financial Corp. late Wednesday reported its second-quarter net income available to shareholders slumped to $92 million, or 16 cents a share, from $911 million, or $1.97 a share, in the same period last year. Quarterly results were impacted by a $60 million settlement with regulators related to its card business. The company also set aside $150 million in cash to fund expected customer refunds.

v Yum Brands overcame a slight decline in margins and a higher tax rate with strong same-store sales growth that helped push its second quarter earnings higher, the fast-food chain said Wednesday.
v EBay Inc. on Wednesday cited a strong performance by its marketplaces business as a key reason why it reported a fiscal second-quarter profit of $692 million, or 53 cents a share, on $3.4 billion in revenue
v IBM Corp. on Wednesday reported a second-quarter profit of $3.88 billion, or $3.34 a share, compared with a profit of $3.66 billion, or $3 a share, for the year-earlier period