Asian stock markets rebounded as hopes China would expand measures to revive its economy countered growing signs of economic trouble in the U.S. and other major countries. The advance followed heavy selling over the last two days and bucked a fifth-straight day of declines on Wall Street. Shanghai’s index jumped more than 6%.

On Thursday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao may announce new stimulus measures, adding to a $585 billion spending. Expectations that China will unveil new initiatives to bolster the world’s third-largest economy gave a boost to other Asian markets, including Japan and Hong Kong.

Source: Associated Press, Bloomberg

A Sign of Hope for China

Already, there was a glimmer of hope in Beijing. China’s closely watched index of manufacturing activity edged up in February, fueling speculation that the economy may have seen the worst of the downturn. The official purchasing managers’ index rose to 49 in February, from 45.3 in January and a low of 38.8 in November. The improvement may have been due in part to a technical rebound, but still underlines the relative resilience of the Chinese economy.

Source: New York Times

GM Calls for EU Aid

General Motors warned that its European arm could run out of money as early as next month, putting up to 300,000 jobs at risk, if emergency funds from European countries did not materialize. Drawing a direct line between its pleas for government aid and possible factory closures, GM estimated that its excess capacity in the continent stood at 30%, or three plants too many.

Source: Financial Times

Tighter H-1B Oversight Worries Tech Employers

The federal government’s tightening oversight of a controversial visa program that allows companies to bring in skilled workers from overseas could make it more difficult for U.S. companies to hire talented foreign workers. Tech giants such as Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM have been active participants in the program known as H-1B visas.

Source: BusinessWeek

Merrill’s $10 Million Earners

Although Merrill Lynch’s net loss ballooned to $27.6 billion in 2008, its top investment banker Andrea Orcel was paid $33.8 million in cash and stock, just shy of his pay in 2007. A group of 11 top executives received more than $10 million in cash and stock last year, and an additional 149 received $3 million or more, according to people familiar with the situation.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Hollywood Seeks Alternatives to Blockbuster

Blockbuster once ruled the Hollywood video rental market, but studios have quietly moved to other distribution outlets as the home entertainment market evolved. The top video chain in the U.S., which has endured no less than four rounds of painful credit refinancing, has hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP to help it again restructure its debt and explore avenues to raise capital.

Source: Reuters

Amazon Brings Kindle Application for iPhone

The owner of an iPhone or iPod Touch will be able to read the same electronic books offered by Amozon.com even without the latest $359 Kindle reader from the Seattle-based online retailer. In a bid to increase its slice of the e-book market, Amazon plans to roll out a free program that brings several of the Kindle’s functions to the Apple devices. The program can be downloaded from Apple’s online application store.

Source: Associated Press

UBS Chairman Resigns

UBS says its embattled Chairman Peter Kurer will step down. The board of the Switzerland’s largest bank nominated former Finance Minister Kaspar Villiger to replace Kurer after one year amid a probe into whether it helped wealthy Americans evade taxes. UBS is being sued by the U.S. to force disclosure of as many as 52,000 client names, after agreeing last month to hand out details of as many as 300 clients to avoid prosecution in a criminal case.

Source: MarketWatch, Bloomberg

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