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is reducing its monetary stimulus. The stimulus, in its various guises, has helped shore up markets, particularly in developing countries from Brazil to Turkey to India, since the financial crisis.
• "What we're seeing in the markets so far this year may not be investors panicking about the turmoil in emerging markets, or the ongoing weaknesses in corporate earnings, or even the poor data coming out of the U.S. for December and January," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari.
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Merger of Charter, Time Warner Cable could future-proof operators against Internet's rise
• LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When you buy a TV, sales clerks often pitch you on "future proofing" your set. Turns out, buying a cable TV company relies largely on the same principle.
• Charter Communications Inc.'s $38 billion bid to take over the much-larger Time Warner Cable Inc. is an attempt to future-proof its business by getting its foot in the door of millions more homes wired for Internet service.
• As people use more mobile devices, watch more online video and connect everything from thermostats to refrigerators to the Internet, delivering those Internet services will become increasingly valuable.
• Gone are the days when one's primary reason for hooking up cable was for TV. Now, it's the Internet, which enables countless online services known collectively as the cloud -- everything from movies on Netflix to backup files on Dropbox.
• "Broadband is the gatekeeper to the cloud," says Tony Wible, an analyst with Janney Capital Markets. "There's insatiable demand for broadband."
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Election coverage shows growth of Afghanistan's new media, but will press remain free?
• KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- In a crowded room overlooking a gleaming television studio, Tolo TV's election team is strategizing for Afghanistan's presidential debate when the room suddenly goes dark. The staff doesn't miss a beat.
• The 13 men and three women just keep on talking about soundboards, cameras and the taking of questions via Twitter until the station's generator kicks in and the overhead lights flicker back on.
• "It's just technical difficulties," explains Mujahid Kakar, the Tolo anchor and mod (Continued on page 32)
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