Japanese, Australian Stock Futures Advance on Greece Vote, U.S. Economy

June 29 (Bloomberg) — Ed Rogers, chief executive officer at Tokyo-based Rogers Investment Advisors, talks about the outlook for Japan’s stocks and economy. Rogers also discusses the prospects for Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power station. Rogers speaks from Tokyo with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up.” (Source: Bloomberg) June 28 (Bloomberg) — Curtis Freeze, founder of Honolulu-based Prospect Asset Management Inc., which manages $300 million, talks about his investment strategy for Japan’s stocks

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Japanese and Australian stock futures rose amid optimism Greece will avoid default and after U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly expanded at a faster pace in June, easing concern the world’s largest economy is slowing.

American depositary receipts of Canon Inc., a camera maker that counts Europe as its largest market, gained 0.6 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo. Those of Toyota Motor Corp. which gets 28 percent of revenue in North America, climbed 2.1 percent. ADRs of BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, advanced 0.8 percent after metal prices increased.

Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average expiring in September closed at 9,890 in Chicago yesterday, compared with 9,820 in Osaka, Japan. They were bid in the pre-market at 9,890 in Osaka, at 8:05 a.m. local time. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 percent today.

“Investors are relieved that Greece looks like it’s going to be able to rollover debt maturing this month,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed today. The index advanced 1 percent yesterday after Greek lawmakers passed a bill to authorize an austerity plan required to keep rescue aid flowing. U.S. Stocks also gained after a gauge of manufacturing unexpectedly improved and consumer confidence rose to the highest level in 10 weeks.

BOJ Tankan

Japan’s central bank will announce the country’s most- closely watched survey of manufacturer sentiment today at 8:50 a.m. in Tokyo. The Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan index of confidence among big manufacturers probably fell to minus 7 in June from 6 in March, the biggest drop since March 2009, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. A negative number means pessimists outnumber optimists.

The survey is the first to fully reflect the impact of the March 11 magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country’s northeast coast, triggering the worst nuclear accident in 25 years, damaging factories and leaving more than 23,000 people dead or missing.

Futures in Japan and Australia rose after Europe, one of Asia’s biggest export markets, took steps to avoid a Greek default that the International Monetary Fund has said could “spill over,” hurting banks in the region that hold the country’s bonds.

German Rollover

German banks and insurers, including Deutsche Bank AG and Allianz SE, yesterday agreed to roll over at least 2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) Greek bonds maturing through 2014, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said at a press conference in Berlin yesterday. The move will give Greece more time to pay, while stopping short of outright debt forgiveness.

In the U.S., the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said its business barometer climbed to 61.1 this month from 56.6 in May. Economists called for the index to drop to 54, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion.

Shares of Japanese exporters may get a boost after the yen depreciated to 117.20 against the euro, compared with 116.61 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. Against the dollar, Japan’s currency weakened to 80.87 from 80.41. Exporters benefit from a weaker currency because it increases the value of overseas sales.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 2 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a gain of 5 percent by the S&P 500 and a drop of 1.1 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 13.8 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.4 times for the S&P 500 and 11.1 times for the Stoxx 600.

To contact the reporters on this story: Akiko Ikeda in Tokyo at iakiko@bloomberg.net; Satoshi Kawano in Tokyo at skawano1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.

Justin Timberlake: Stealth Silicon Valley angel? (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – As it turns out, Justin Timberlake’s role as Napster founder Sean Parker in “The Social Network” was a wink and nod to the celebrity’s little publicized role in driving Silicon Valley start-ups. But his involvement in the technology industry drew public notice this week with news that Timberlake, whose character in the Oscar-nominated movie helped shape Facebook’s early days, will take a stake in Myspace, the ailing social network website that New Corp is selling at a large loss

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – As it turns out, Justin Timberlake’s role as Napster founder Sean Parker in “The Social Network” was a wink and nod to the celebrity’s little publicized role in driving Silicon Valley start-ups.

But his involvement in the technology industry drew public notice this week with news that Timberlake, whose character in the Oscar-nominated movie helped shape Facebook’s early days, will take a stake in Myspace, the ailing social network website that New Corp is selling at a large loss.

The move — in partnership with Specific Media — is the latest in Timberlake’s quietly expanding business and investment empire. It may also be one of his most high-profile to date, thrusting the singer-actor into a category of celebrity-turned-businessman in the mold of Ashton Kutcher.

“Fame is a highly fungible commodity,” said Paul Levinson, a professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University and an author on media innovation. “It makes anything you do more likely to be successful.”

Timberlake has several publicized business ventures, from jeans and clothing line William Rast and record label Tennman Records, a joint venture with Interscope Records, to 901 Silver Tequila, a name inspired by an area code in Timberlake’s hometown of Memphis.

But Timberlake has been providing relatively under-the-radar angel investing to tech start-ups via his Tennman Digital, an operation based in San Francisco’s tech hub.

It incubates “great ideas that we think will change how we share information, consume media, and interact with the people around us,” in the interactive digital media space, according to a profile posted on techVenture, a website that pairs investors with start-ups.

Tennman Digital has funded start-up Particle, which develops micro-video application Robo.tv, among other things. The group has also provided funding to Apple iPhone gaming application developer Tapulous.

Timberlake’s role at Myspace remains unclear, although he will have his own office and a staff of six that will work for him, according to Specific Media Chief Executive Tim Vanderhook.

Vanderhook said his company’s expertise in technology and advertising would complement the star’s innate creativity to produce a site with “high entertainment value,” with original content from a community of musicians, photographers and other creative professionals.

The combination of money, an iconic image and the business acumen displayed by him in the past all increase the likelihood of success, Levinson said.

That’s good news for Timberlake and Specific Media, whose investment signals optimism that the brand of Myspace can be revived.

“The one thing that’s been underreported is how excited Justin is to do this. I was blown away by his excitement level,” said Vanderhook in a phone interview. “I think he was blown away by his excitement level, too.”

(Editing by Edwin Chan and Steve Orlofsky)

Justin Timberlake: Stealth Silicon Valley angel? (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – As it turns out, Justin Timberlake’s role as Napster founder Sean Parker in “The Social Network” was a wink and nod to the celebrity’s little publicized role in driving Silicon Valley start-ups. But his involvement in the technology industry drew public notice this week with news that Timberlake, whose character in the Oscar-nominated movie helped shape Facebook’s early days, will take a stake in Myspace, the ailing social network website that New Corp is selling at a large loss.

Continued here:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – As it turns out, Justin Timberlake’s role as Napster founder Sean Parker in “The Social Network” was a wink and nod to the celebrity’s little publicized role in driving Silicon Valley start-ups.

But his involvement in the technology industry drew public notice this week with news that Timberlake, whose character in the Oscar-nominated movie helped shape Facebook’s early days, will take a stake in Myspace, the ailing social network website that New Corp is selling at a large loss.

The move — in partnership with Specific Media — is the latest in Timberlake’s quietly expanding business and investment empire. It may also be one of his most high-profile to date, thrusting the singer-actor into a category of celebrity-turned-businessman in the mold of Ashton Kutcher.

“Fame is a highly fungible commodity,” said Paul Levinson, a professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University and an author on media innovation. “It makes anything you do more likely to be successful.”

Timberlake has several publicized business ventures, from jeans and clothing line William Rast and record label Tennman Records, a joint venture with Interscope Records, to 901 Silver Tequila, a name inspired by an area code in Timberlake’s hometown of Memphis.

But Timberlake has been providing relatively under-the-radar angel investing to tech start-ups via his Tennman Digital, an operation based in San Francisco’s tech hub.

It incubates “great ideas that we think will change how we share information, consume media, and interact with the people around us,” in the interactive digital media space, according to a profile posted on techVenture, a website that pairs investors with start-ups.

Tennman Digital has funded start-up Particle, which develops micro-video application Robo.tv, among other things. The group has also provided funding to Apple iPhone gaming application developer Tapulous.

Timberlake’s role at Myspace remains unclear, although he will have his own office and a staff of six that will work for him, according to Specific Media Chief Executive Tim Vanderhook.

Vanderhook said his company’s expertise in technology and advertising would complement the star’s innate creativity to produce a site with “high entertainment value,” with original content from a community of musicians, photographers and other creative professionals.

The combination of money, an iconic image and the business acumen displayed by him in the past all increase the likelihood of success, Levinson said.

That’s good news for Timberlake and Specific Media, whose investment signals optimism that the brand of Myspace can be revived.

“The one thing that’s been underreported is how excited Justin is to do this. I was blown away by his excitement level,” said Vanderhook in a phone interview. “I think he was blown away by his excitement level, too.”

(Editing by Edwin Chan and Steve Orlofsky)

The Permanence Of Posting Online (PC Magazine)

Three recent news stories have made me want to completely re-evaluate my online strategies and persona. Some of the things I can do; with others I have no control

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Three recent news stories have made me want to completely re-evaluate my online strategies and persona. Some of the things I can do; with others I have no control. But let me tell you that the situation is bad and getting worse, and you’d better heed the advice in this column.

The first story was about the explicit photos and tweets and shenanigans done by Representative Anthony Weiner. This story occupied a good two weeks of the news cycle. Personal and lewd pictures, stupid comments, and all sort of things were revealed because he was simply not circumspect about his online chatting.

Second we have the newest Facebook facial-recognition technology. Say you’re at a party, and someone takes a picture with you in the background (doing god knows what), then someone posts that picture on his or her Facebook page; Facebook’s new software will see you and tag you. So now, like it or not, every time you show up anywhere and anytime, Facebook can ID you. Facebook says it is minimizing the use of this software, but the fact that it exists is pretty onerous.

vThird on the list was the revelation that almost every password you can imagine is not secure on today’s computers. The processing power of a Core i7 by itself is enough to crack almost any password whatsoever. Within minutes. Now it’s ridiculous how easy it is to crack into someone’s account. I’m sure various agencies do it all the time just to see what people are up to.

To make matters worse I stumbled upon an obvious flaw on the Apple iPad. I was using someone’s iPad and wanted to install something and was presented with a password block. It wanted to know his iTunes password. I tried a few passwords to no avail and then the message came up saying I obviously had forgotten the password and did I want to reset it? I said yes, and the next thing I knew the message icon lit up saying I had some mail. Since there didn’t seem to be a block to look at it I opened the message and was allowed to reset the password, which gave me the access that was blocked earlier. This was not my machine! And this is called security? Ridiculous.

The fact is all these systems are compromised. The younger crowd pooh-poohs privacy, but let’s see what they think 10 years from now when they can’t get a job because of some photo on Flickr.

Party Photos Are Like Tattoos
I always tell people that posting photos or comments or just about anything is like getting a tattoo. Once it’s on, it’s pretty hard to get rid of it. You’re stuck. As a writer I have old crap thrown back at me forever and have to live with it. But I’m always aware of the tattoo factor and luckily have editors once in a while. And unlike Weiner, I’m not dumb enough to post really stupid pictures of myself unless I want them to be seen by everyone for some reason.

Of course most stuff goes nowhere, at least at the moment. But once it gets on a server it can be dredged up 20 years from now, costing you a job or your social status.

At least one survey is out that says 33 percent of all teens have posted or sent a nude or semi-nude pic of themselves to someone or other. This is an outrageously high number and should be a concern to everyone, especially the teens. And 59 percent of all young adults say they have posted or sent sexually suggestive messages. My advice? Try whispering in the ear instead.

So people need to take action. First, rethink your online strategies. Is being on Facebook all day that necessary? With teens they seem to be in touch 24/7. Why? What are they going to miss out on if they take a break. Parents need to discourage the use of this product.

Next, rethink your password strategy. Always realize that the password can’t only be cracked, but easily cracked. And the nonsense about making sure to use a number and symbol and enough letters is all bull.

Be somewhat circumspect about posting photos of yourself acting like a goofball at a drunkfest. People see these photos and even if it was a once-in-a-lifetime party and you never normally do this, you will be seen as that person forever. “Oh, do you still have that beer cap?”

Now, if your profession is standup comedy, then perhaps none of this is important. But for most people all this is bad and going to get worse. Only you can protect your own privacy. So treat yourself with respect, and think twice before doing something stupid online. It will come back to bite you.

US rules partially against Kodak in Apple dispute (AP)

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a mixed verdict Thursday in Eastman Kodak Co.’s high-stakes patent-infringement dispute with the makers of the iPhone and BlackBerry phones.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a mixed verdict Thursday in Eastman Kodak Co.’s high-stakes patent-infringement dispute with the makers of the iPhone and BlackBerry phones. The ruling disappointed investors.

The trade-dispute arbiter in Washington, D.C., said it is essentially agreeing with one of its judges, who threw out the photography pioneer’s claims.

The federal agency did find limited patent infringement. It also sent some matters back to the judge for further review, and Kodak could still prevail in the remaining claims.

Kodak’s stock fell 16 percent.

“This is a negative for Kodak because they didn’t win,” said analyst Shannon Cross of Cross Research in Livingston, N.J.

Although there’s a chance Kodak could prevail on remaining matters, she said, “it seems like the chances that you’d get a large settlement are much smaller.”

Chief Executive Antonio Perez had hoped Kodak could draw up to $1 billion from its deep-pocketed rivals.

Kodak held out hope.

Kodak is “gratified that the commission has decided to modify in our favor the judge’s initial recommendation,” said Laura Quatela, Kodak’s chief intellectual property officer. “As we have said from the start, we remain extremely confident this case will ultimately conclude in Kodak’s favor.”

Apple and RIM did not return calls or email messages seeking comment.

Kodak, a 131-year-old photography pioneer based in Rochester, N.Y., argued that image-preview technology it patented in 2001 was infringed by iPhone maker Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. of Waterloo, Canada.

The commission decided to “affirm in part” a ruling issued in January by its chief administrative law judge. That decision found no patent violation.

The commission revised definitions for “motion processor” and “still processor” and asked the judge to decide whether Kodak’s patent was infringed with those changes.

The commission also found that Apple and RIM infringed on a patent related to “initiating capture of a still image while previewing a motion image.”

But the commission said that Kodak had waived its rights to pursue that claim with flash photos. It asked the judge to decide whether Kodak had waived the rights for non-flash photos as well.

The commission ruled that Apple and RIM did infringe a Kodak patent under the commission’s revised definition of “at least three different colors.”

It did not rule on any penalties. The commission can order Customs to block imports of products made with contested technology. Monetary settlements often result to avoid such import bans.

A revised decision is expected no earlier than Aug. 30 after the judge rules on pending matters.

The ruling came after the stock market closed. Kodak’s stock fell 56 cents to $3.02 in after-market trading.

The dispute centers on technology Kodak created for extracting a still image while previewing it in the camera’s LCD screen. In 2009, the trade commission ruled that South Korean mobile phone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics infringed the same patent, resulting in $964 million in payouts.

The maker of cameras, film, photo kiosks and inkjet printers is struggling to redefine itself as a 21st-century powerhouse in digital imaging.

It has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents since the 1970s, and almost all of today’s digital cameras rely on those inventions. It has licensed digital technology to at least 30 companies, including cellphone makers such as Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp.

Mining its rich array of inventions for repeated cash infusions has become an indispensable tactic driven in large part by Kodak’s long and painful digital turnaround.

Since 2004, Kodak has reported only one full year of earnings — in 2007 — and anticipates another annual loss this year before crossing back to profitability sometime in 2012. It has trimmed its work force to 18,800 from 70,000 in 2002.

Kodak has a promising array of new businesses, but it needs to tap other sources of revenue before investments in those areas have time to pay off.

It is hoping four growth businesses — consumer inkjet printers, high-speed commercial inkjet presses, workflow software and packaging — will more than double in size to nearly $2 billion in revenue in 2013, accounting for 25 percent of all sales.

Federal judge rejects SEC claims on Morgan Keegan (AP)

ATLANTA – A federal judge in Georgia rejected claims this week by federal regulators who said investment firm Morgan Keegan & Co.

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ATLANTA – A federal judge in Georgia rejected claims this week by federal regulators who said investment firm Morgan Keegan & Co. fraudulently sold auction-rate securities to investors, leaving them to hold the bag on $2.2 billion of the debt when the market collapsed in 2008.

U.S. District Judge William Duffey Jr. said in an order Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission didn’t introduce evidence that the firm backed a company-wide policy that encouraged brokers to mislead investors. He said in his 31-page ruling that “failure to predict the market does not amount to securities fraud.”

The company, owned by Regions Financial Corp., argued that its failure to give customers more strident warning about the risks of investing in the instruments doesn’t amount to security fraud. The SEC countered that the company’s “stubborn refusal” to require brokers to describe the risks was evidence of misconduct.

SEC spokesman John Nester in Washington said late Thursday, “We are considering whether to appeal the court’s decision.”

Duffey’s ruling comes two years after the SEC said in a lawsuit that Morgan Keegan misled thousands of investors about the risks associated with auction-rate securities. The complaint said Morgan Keegan told investors the securities were safe, liquid investments and failed to tell them they were becoming harder to sell by February 2008.

A host of big investment banks, including Wall Street’s biggest names, have reached similar settlements with the SEC and state regulators in recent years over auction-rate securities. The regulators accused the banks of misleading customers into believing that the risky securities were safe, cash-like investments.

Tens of thousands of the banks’ customers bought the auction-rate securities before the $330 billion market for them froze in February 2008.

Under the settlements, the banks agreed to buy back a total of tens of billions of the securities.

The auction-rate securities market involves investors buying and selling instruments that resemble corporate debt, except the interest rates are reset at regular auctions, some as often as once a week. A number of companies invested in the securities because they could treat their holdings almost like cash.

Tens of thousands of investors nationwide — including cities and towns, charities and small businesses — were left holding damaged securities that couldn’t be readily sold for cash once the market collapsed.

In a separate case, Morgan Keegan agreed last week to pay $200 million to settle civil fraud charges that it overstated the value of mortgage investments just as the housing market was collapsing in 2007 and lured buyers of its funds with false sales materials.

Regions Financial Corp. also announced last week that it hired investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore “potential strategic alternatives” for Morgan Keegan. The alternatives could include a sale of the firm or divisions of it.

In a settlement announced Wednesday with the SEC and state regulators, Florida-based investment firm Raymond James Financial Inc. agreed to buy back at least $280 million in auction-rate securities from investors.

___

Associated Press writer Marcy Gordon in Washington contributed to this report.

Trade body backs part of ruling against Kodak (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eastman Kodak shares plunged 15 percent on Thursday after a U.S. trade panel upheld portions of a ruling unfavorable to the company in a patent fight over digital camera technology in cellphones.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eastman Kodak shares plunged 15 percent on Thursday after a U.S. trade panel upheld portions of a ruling unfavorable to the company in a patent fight over digital camera technology in cellphones.

The U.S. International Trade Commission sent portions of the case back to its internal judge for further review.

In January, the judge had found that Apple and Research in Motion did not infringe Kodak’s patented technology because it was invalid.

The commission said it was affirming in part, reversing in part, and remanding in part the prior decision.

Kodak’s Chief Executive Antonio Perez had previously suggested the company could reap $1 billion from a favorable ruling.

Kodak filed its ITC complaint against Apple and RIM in January 2010, arguing Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s camera-enabled Blackberry infringe on a Kodak patent related to a method for previewing images.

It asked the ITC to bar the importation of Apple and RIM mobile phones and other wireless devices with digital cameras.

Apple filed a countersuit at the ITC, accusing Kodak of infringing its patented technology. In an initial ruling, Kodak was found not to have infringed.

The ITC’s notice on Thursday gave a brief summary of an opinion to be issued later.

The internal judge had found in January that Kodak’s patent was invalid, which means it could not be infringed. The full commission, in its statement, asked the internal judge to reconsider the invalidity decision but said it took no position on the question.

On the issue of capturing a still image while previewing a moving image the ITC said: “We find that the Apple iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 do not literally infringe the asserted claim in their non-flash-photography modes of operation.”

But it said the accused products from Apple and RIM did infringe a portion of the technology involving color patterns.

“We are gratified that the commission has decided to modify in our favor the judge’s initial recommendation,” said Laura Quatela, Kodak’s general counsel, in an emailed statement. “As we have said from the start, we remain extremely confident this case will ultimately conclude in Kodak’s favor.”

Kodak also has related lawsuits pending against RIM and Apple in federal courts in Texas and New York.

The ITC set a target date of August 30, 2011, but said the administrative law judge could himself extend the date based on the need for further proceedings.

Shares of Kodak have moved sharply on developments in the case. They rose in March on word the ITC would review the judge’s decision.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Street Fighter IV Volt tops iPhone Games of the Week (Appolicious)

Be warned: The title leading off this week’s Best Games list is a quality release, but it’s going to frustrate you. That’s because Street Fighter IV Volt is merely a slight update to Capcom’s high quality fighting game Street Fighter IV due to the addition of online multiplayer.

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Be warned: The title leading off this week’s Best Games list is a quality release, but it’s going to frustrate you. That’s because Street Fighter IV Volt is merely a slight update to Capcom’s high quality fighting game Street Fighter IV due to the addition of online multiplayer. If it sounds like fun, you’re right, it can be – until you take on some eight-year-old with an insane mastery of Ryu’s fireball move and some kind of supernatural ability to anticipate every time you’re even thinking about jumping. It gets frustrating, and…well, that’s why this is a five-game list instead of just one. We’ve got four other great titles that you can play while you let the bruises to your Street Fighter ego fade.

One of the more impressive games in the App Store in terms of graphics and conversion to touch controls from a classic console gamepad or arcade joystick is Street Fighter IV. Volt is an update of Capcom’s popular 2-D fighting game, with new characters (Balrog, Cody, and Vega) and a phenomenal new feature: online and local multiplayer. You can take on players in ranked or unranked matches using Game Center over a Wi-Fi-enabled connection, or beat on your friends over Bluetooth. It’s a big addition to the earlier version of the game, which only let players battle computer-controlled opponents. Expect to get a little annoyed with the “cheap” special move tactics of the players online, though. Time to practice.

Freemilaum title Tiny Tower succeeds where other games in the same vein annoy. Yes, it’s a time nmanagement game that makes you wait around a lot. As the owner of your own tiny tower, you construct the building layer by layer, adding floors when you earn “coins” and then deciding what to do with those floors. First you’ll add apartments and rent them to “bitizen” characters who frequent your tower, but later, you’ll add businesses based on the demands of your residents. The management aspects have you giving all your bitizens jobs in your stores based on their preferences, and each one will earn money by selling things to customers, which you have to keep stocked. While Tiny Tower makes you wait quite a bit while you stock things and construct floors, it also dishes out the game’s premium currency, TowerBux, with relative frequency, which allow you to cut out some of the waiting. It’s just enough to keep the game engaging without feeling like it’s trying to dupe you into paying for premium content, which is nice. Oh, and Tiny Tower is also an addictive good time.

Continuity 2 mixes two fun game types: slide puzzles, in which you maneuver pieces of a picture arranged in a grid around the screen to make a picture, and platforming as seen in titles like Super Mario Bros. In Continuity 2, each of those sliding pictures on the grid is actually a room in the puzzle, and moving them around makes them match up in different ways. With different matches, you can steer your character into new rooms and use them to collect coins before heading for the exit of each level. The game is at once a combination of skills, allowing you to exercise your video game smarts alongside your puzzle-solving smarts. Add in a few extra-cool mechanics, like rotating your phone to change gravity for your character, and Continuity 2 has a lot of fun and interesting gameplay to offer. It also has 50 levels and Game Center support to offer, as well.

Imagine the popular Mario Kart franchise on your iPhone – but instead of Mario, you’ve got Sonic the Hedgehog. That’s Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing, a kart racer that blends solid 3-D graphics and tried-and-true gameplay with tight tilt controls. The game is filled with popular SEGA franchise characters for you to choose from to race through inventive environments. You get 10 characters to race with and against across 25 levels that make up three Grand Prix cups in Sonic & SEGA. The game also features support from Game Center, so you can log your best times on the Sonic & SEGA online leaderboards and see how good a racer you are compared to players all over the world.

Sequel to Telltale’s acclaimed Puzzle Agent, the second game in the franchise picks up right where the first left off, continuing the story of the last title and adding a bunch more great puzzles, as well. In Puzzle Agent, you play FBI Agent Norman Tethers as he works to solve a case using his skills as a member of the Puzzle Division. But after solving the case last time around, he returns to Scoggins, Minnesota, because he still feels uneasy. Puzzle Agent 2 has the same great storytelling present in other titles from Telltale Games (this is the developer behind Back to the Future, for example), as well as lots of challenging and diverse puzzles to tease your brain.

Shhh: Shanghai Taking On N.Y. (Investor’s Business Daily)

China is quietly chasing deals with Brazil, Russia and other big emerging-market stock exchanges to allow cross-listings, part of its drive to turn Shanghai into a financial center rivaling New York. The Shanghai Stock Exchange and Brazil’s BM&FBovespa, Latin America’s top securities exchange, inked a pact in February that many believe will lead to cross-listings. If that happens, Brazilian giants like iron ore exporter Vale (NYSE:VALE – News) could list yuan-denominated shares in Shanghai and access Chinese capital.

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China is quietly chasing deals with Brazil, Russia and other big emerging-market stock exchanges to allow cross-listings, part of its drive to turn Shanghai into a financial center rivaling New York.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange and Brazil’s BM&FBovespa, Latin America’s top securities exchange, inked a pact in February that many believe will lead to cross-listings. If that happens, Brazilian giants like iron ore exporter Vale (NYSE:VALE – News) could list yuan-denominated shares in Shanghai and access Chinese capital. Chinese firms could list in Brazil.

Gary Kleiman, an emerging-markets analyst, says China is informally discussing similar cross-listing deals with Russia and various Southeast Asian countries.

“You already have major Russian and Brazilian listings (in Hong Kong dollars) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,” said Kleiman, who runs D.C.-based Kleiman International. “It would make sense to carry some alliances and cross-listings generally into (China’s) securities sphere.”

Shanghai has reportedly signed technology and information sharing pacts with 40 other bourses that could lead to closer cooperation, including cross-listings.

If Chinese cross-listings spread, companies from Sao Paulo to Russia’s St. Petersburg will be allowed to access capital directly from what’s expected to be the world’s biggest economy in a few years. Chinese firms can tap these developing market listings to penetrate markets outside China and raise cash.

New York over time could get fewer listings of companies from China, Brazil and elsewhere.

Some say Beijing is just catching up with the U.S. and other Western nations in forging ties with top emerging economies.

But some see sinister motives.

On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with Chinese cross-listings with emerging countries, says Peter Morici, a former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

“But doing that in the context of an undervalued currency makes it part of a new imperialism,” said Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland. “What (China) is trying to do is make the yuan an international currency without subjecting it to float. They are trying to establish a fixed exchange rate system.”

Others see exchange tie-ups as a way to expand business relations with nations that can satisfy China’s hunger for raw materials.

“China is trying to build financial links with emerging economies to access resources,” said Clyde Prestowitz, a Reagan administration trade official and author of “The Betrayal of American Prosperity.”

China is merely protecting its developing securities industry amid a global merger wave, Kleiman says. Deutsche Bourse will buy NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX – News) for $9.53 billion. The London Stock Exchange’s $3.1 billion deal for Toronto’s TMX fell apart this week.

He says Beijing also is promoting cross -listings to bolster its leadership among the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Shanghai lacks an international board for foreign-listed stocks and a mechanism to permit yuan trading in foreign stocks because the currency doesn’t float. But an international board will launch by year-end, Chinese media say.

MICEX, Russia’s leading stock exchange, already does limited Chinese currency trades, providing a possible mechanism for future China-Russia cross-listings.

The cross-listing idea arose out of BRICS summits, Kleiman says, in which the countries seek to coordinate policies, buy each other’s goods and sidestep American dominance. At an April summit in Hainan, China, BRICS nations said they will end mutual payments in dollars. They also will only offer credits to one another in their national currencies .

Reports say FTC investigating Twitter (AP)

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators are looking into the interactions between Twitter and a company called Ubermedia, which develops applications that help users follow and communicate with each other on Twitter’s popular online messaging service, according to two published reports. The Federal Trade Commission inquiry is still at a preliminary stage and the focus remains unclear, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

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WASHINGTON – Federal regulators are looking into the interactions between Twitter and a company called Ubermedia, which develops applications that help users follow and communicate with each other on Twitter’s popular online messaging service, according to two published reports.

The Federal Trade Commission inquiry is still at a preliminary stage and the focus remains unclear, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The Business Insider blog, which first reported the probe, said FTC antitrust investigators are studying how Twitter deals with outside companies that build applications for its messaging platform _such as photo-sharing, URL-shortening and advertising services — and whether it is trying to limit competition by buying or banning outside developers.

The FTC regularly looks into complaints — often filed by rivals — of anticompetitive behavior by companies in the technology sector. The initial probes do not always turn into full-blown investigations.

The Journal reported that Twitter blocked UberMedia from accessing messages on its platform, called “tweets,” earlier this year, but has since restored access.

The FTC and Twitter declined comment. Ubermedia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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