Asian stocks markets are mixed as uncertainty over Greece’s debt swap talks continues.

A mixed bag of earnings didn’t help Japan, where the Nikkei fell eased from its three-month high.

Here’s how the markets look:

Japan’s Nikkei 225 is down 0.17%

Korea’s Kospi Index is up 0.12%

China’s Shanghai Composite is down 1.43%

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 0.07%

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.30%

This comes after U.S. stocks closed moderately lower on Monday.

Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• CHART: The 1-Month And 12-Month Return Of Every Major Stock Market In The World
• Raymond James Pulls The Plug On The Great ‘Hope Trade’ Of 2012
• CARLYLE’S RUBENSTEIN: If I Could Put More Money Into China, I Would

That hard landing in China will have to wait another month.

Chinese PMI just came in at 50.5 vs. expectations of 49.6.

That’s still in improvement territory, and it also is an increase from last month’s 50.3. So good news all around.

And here’s the spike in the Aussie dollar via FinViz.

Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• A Map Of Emerging Global Risks From The Past Two Weeks
• DAVID ROSENBERG: The Bull Case For Equities Depends On Three Big Ifs
• Check Out Frank Holmes’ EPIC Presentation On The China Boom, And What It Means For Commodities

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are always a sight to behold, but this year the lights may have been even more spectacular — due to a huge radioactive storm that hit the earth this week.

The storm, apparently the biggest since 2005, hit Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday, creating an “eruption of solar plasma, called a coronal mass ejection”, which created even stronger lights than usually seen.

“It has been absolutely incredible,” a British astronomer told the AP.

We’ve included some of our favorite images of the northern lights from the last year (and the country in which they were taken) below.

Norway

Iceland

Norway

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow Europe on Twitter and Facebook.

See Also:

• A Russian Scientist Claims His Country Discovered Life On Venus In 1982
• Norway Could Be The Key Player To Block China’s Arctic Ambitions
• 2011 GDP: 1.7%

Ads by Pheedo

WSJ is reporting that RIMM’s Co-CEOs are out..

Read full coverage here.

Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• This Article Explains Why Apple Makes iPhones In China And Why The US Is Screwed
• Steve Jobs Freaked Out A Month Before First iPhone Was Released And Demanded A New Screen
• Meet Paul Pittman, Mr. US Economy

The man leading Apple’s expected push into textbooks is Roger Rosner, the head of Apple’s iWork group.

He’s not a very familiar name.

The Wall Street Journal, which reported the news earlier this afternoon, says that Rosner showed up on stage at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference last year to demonstrate iCloud.

But he isn’t one of the big names who shows up on stage at every Apple event like Scott Forstall or Eddy Cue, and he didn’t even make our list of secret Apple execs you’ve never heard of.

Rosner and Cue are expected on stage in New York on Thursday to announce the new push.

The announcement is expected to include tools that developers can use to create new textbooks, rather than for reading existing ones.

Don’t miss: Why Apple Will Have A Hard Time Revolutionizing The Textbook Business.

Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• iPad 3 Production Just Started!
• LEAKED MEMO FROM APPLE CEO: Here’s What We’re Doing To Protect Apple Factory Workers
• Tim Cook Speaks! ‘I Think We Were All Taken By Surprise’ By The iPhone 4S Demand In China

Earlier I posted some housing forecasts from analysts at Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and added two more forecasts from Merrill Lynch and John Burns.

David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders has put out his forecasts (excel) calling for new home sales to increase to 360 thousand in 2012 (from 304 thousand in 2011), and for housing starts to increase 17% to 709 thousand. He forecasts single family starts will also increase 17% to 501 thousand. Crowe expects a significant increase in new home sales in 2013.

But here is the most optimistic forecast I’ve seen from Moody’s via Julie Schmit at USA Today: Housing outlook is more upbeat

Existing home sales will rise 12% this year after a 2% increase last year, and new home sales, coming off a horrid year, will jump 74% this year, Moody’s Analytics predicts.

Single-family housing starts will rise 37% this year, Moody’s predicts, after falling 9% last year.

That would put single family starts (not total starts) at 687 thousand in 2012, and new home sales at 530 thousand.

Here is a table of some recent forecasts. I expect some increase in 2012 for both starts and new home sales, but I think the Wells Fargo / John Burns / NAHB forecasts are probably the upper range for 2012.

Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Get This: There Were A Record Number Of Vegas Home Sales In 2011
• The Rise Of Dark Inventory In Housing And Oil
• How China Could Easily Have A Hard Landing With Any Slowdown In Construction Growth

In the latest issue of Time magazine, Warren Buffett makes an unusual proposal: he will voluntarily contribute additional taxes to help pay down the national debt, but only if Republicans in the Senate do the same.

Buffett has pledged to match all donations on a one-to-one basis, with one exception: for Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, he’ll make it three-for-one.

Buffett’s move comes after several Republicans criticized an August op-ed in The New York Times in which he criticized tax policy towards the rich. As an example, Buffett highlighted the fact the he, with his $45 billion net worth, pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Senator John Thune responded by saying that if Buffett felt ‘guilty’, he should voluntarily give to the government. Thune introduced the “Buffett Rule Act”, allowing the rich to voluntarily contribute to pay down the national debt.

In speaking with The Times, Buffett called Thune’s plan, “a tax policy only a Republican could come up with.” But he has now put the issue back back in the court of Republican Senators.

Republicans in the Senate, it should be noted, have a combined net worth of approximately $387 million, according to Media Matters.

Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Warren Buffett Will Now Be Taking His Hidden Talent To China
• Brunch Conversation: The Stories Everyone Will Be Talking About This Weekend
• Why Every Company Needs To Be More Like IBM And Less Like Apple

A group of 300 Foxconn employees threatened to throw themselves off the top of a building last week after a manager reneged on a compensation agreement, WantChinaTimes.com reports based on a story from China Jasmine Revolution an anti-Chinese government site.

The story has since been picked up at The Atlantic Wire and Kotaku.

According to the reports, employees at a Foxconn plant that makes Xbox 360s asked their boss for a raise. The boss told them they could either quit and get some compensation, or they could continue to work at the same pay rate.

Most employees opted to quit and take some compensation. When they did that the boss changed his mind and said they would get nothing.

In response, 300 employees went to the roof of the building on January 2 and threatened to jump. The mayor of the town came and talked them off the ledge.

We’re not sure what to make of this story — it comes from sources that we’re unfamiliar with. If it’s true, it shows that it still sucks to work at Foxconn, despite the fact that it says it’s making improvements in the working conditions for employees.

Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• THE MICROSOFT INVESTOR: Acquisition Of Nokia’s Smartphone Business Heat Up Again
• No, Microsoft Is STILL Not Working On A Deal To Buy Nokia
• The Man Who Bill Gates Once Hired To Replace Him Has A New Startup

Groupon has acquired stealthy startup Campfire Labs, TechCrunch reports.

The acquisition is for talent. The founders, former Google Sakina Arsiwala and social search expert Naveen Koorakula, are married. Campfire Labs was reportedly building a social networking service to improve engagement.

Groupon is a pretty social service itself, so adding anyone with expertise in social is a smart move.

Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• GOOD RIDDANCE: 9 Bad Tech Ideas That Expired In 2011
• ROBERT REICH: Get Ready For A Obama-Clinton Presidential Ticket
• The Big China Fraud Is About To Become Apparent To Everyone

Delta Airlines released a video showing exactly what happens to your bag once you check it at the airport. This is smart, especially after the negative publicity airlines got when a baggage handler told Fox News what really happens to bags in airports — like how they get lost and “Fragile” stickers are a joke.

In any case, this video — which was made with six cameras — is pretty cool, even though Delta probably took extra care with this particular bag.

Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• ROBERT REICH: Get Ready For A Obama-Clinton Presidential Ticket
• The Big China Fraud Is About To Become Apparent To Everyone
• It’s 2012–It’s Just Absurd That We’re Still Addicted To Middle-Eastern Oil