Mamta Badkar

 Mar. 22, 2013

Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were mostly lower in overnight trading with the Nikkei down 2.35 percent, posting its biggest weekly loss since November. Europe is lower and U.S. futures are modestly higher.

• Cyprus failed to secure aid from Russia and has now been left to arrive at a deal with the EU by March 25. Meanwhile, Luke Baker at Reuters reports that Angela Merkel has said Cyprus "must realize its current business model is dead." And a government spokesman has said that the island nation's talks with the troika - the EU, IMF and ECB - are in the final stage and the next few hours will be crucial. 

• German business confidence fell to 106.7 in March, from 107.4 the previous month. This missed expectations of a rise to 107.8.

• Nike reported adjusted earnings of $0.73 per share, on revenue of $6.19 billion. Analysts were looking for earnings of $0.67 per share, on revenue of $6.23 billion. This sent the stock up over 8 percent in after-hours trading.

• BP is repurchasing $8 billion of shares. The company plans to return the amount that was invested in TNK-BP to shareholders. BP's announcement comes after its October agreement to sell its 50 percent stake in the venture to Rosneft. 

• BlackBerry's latest smartphone, the Z10, goes on sale in the U.S. today. The phone is now said to have 100,000 apps, up from 70,000 when the phone was announced. BlackBerry is also planning its biggest marketing campaign for the all-touch Z10 device.

• Today marks the deadline for bids that challenge CEO Michael Dell's offer to take computer maker Dell, private. Dell and a group led by Silver Lake Partners are looking to buy the company for $24.4 billion, and Blackstone Group has reportedly been considering a higher offer.

• A marine opened fire at a base in Quantico, Virginia killing two people. The second victim was a female marine, but no other details about the victims have been disclosed. The alleged shooter is reported to have killed himself.

• Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan got a 34 percent pay hike last year, even though the company reported a decline in net profit. This comes at a time when EU members have drafted legislation that prevents bankers' bonuses from exceeding their fixed salary.

• At his first press conference as Bank of Japan governor, Haruhiko Kuroda said he expects to meet the 2 percent inflation target. He also said the central bank could act sooner on its open-ended asset purchases that are currently set to begin in 2014.