Biotech shares were lower Friday, weighed down by bellwether Amgen Inc. in the wake of more restrictive labelling recommendations for its blockbuster anemia drug franchise, while shares of drug stocks posted … via MarketWatch

Original post by MarketWatch

Japanese stocks dropped Friday for a second straight session on selling of blue chips, hurt by an overnight decline on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index shed 183.24 points, or 1.03 percent, to finish at 17,553.72 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. On Thursday, the index slipped 0.06 percent.

Blue chips like Sony moved lower, as did machinery and real estate shares, following Wall Street’s overnight drop in the U.S., a major export market for Japan. Weaker-than-expected earnings forecasts also hit some shares like Casio Computer Co. Read more

Original post by The Associated Press

“Consumers are feeling pressured by higher gasoline prices and a sluggish housing market, particularly low and middle income consumers”

The outlook for consumer spending in the coming months dimmed Thursday after retailers, their sales hurt by rising gasoline prices and the slumping housing market, had one of their worst months ever in April. via Rapid City Journal

Original post by Rapid City Journal

Japan’s foreign currency reserves hit an all-time high in April for a third-straight month, helped by the increasing value of U.S. bond holdings and the rise of the euro against the dollar, the government said … via Forbes

Original post by Forbes