Morning MoneyBeat Asia: U.S. Stocks Turns Lower on Liftoff Talk

        By Paul Vigna
        Market Snap: At the New York close: S&P 500 down 0.6% at 2091.50 DJIA down 0.6% at 18011.14. Nasdaq Comp down 0.3% at 4994.73. Treasury yields declined; 10-year at 1.878%. Nymex crude oil up 0.1x% at $47.51. Gold up 0.3% at $1,191.70/ounce.
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        How We Got Here: U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday, after a flurry of Federal Reserve speakers attempted to reset the market's expectations for the first rate increase. It's all couched in caveats and nuance, but it seems like a second stab at delivering a message that wasn't quite received when the Fed took the code word "patient" out of its policy statement.
        The bottom line, as the St. Louis Fed's James Bullard pointed out, is that interest rates at zero simply aren't appropriate for the U.S. economy anymore. The question is, how and when does the Fed get away from zero. San Francisco Fed president John Williams felt the bank should start debating the exact timing this summer, and Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, in a speech Monday afternoon, seemed ready to get monetary policy back to something that could be considered "normal."
        The problem for the market, though, is something Mr. Bullard warned about: "There's going to be a reconciliation and that could be violent."
        Coming Up: On a quiet Wednesday for Asian data, South Korea will release its revised fourth-quarter GDP figures. The country's preliminary GDP data showed 0.4% expansion over the previous quarter and 2.7% growth over the prior year.
        What You Missed Overnight
        Germanwings Passenger Plane Crashes in French Alps The crash of an Airbus A320 carrying 150 people from Barcelona to Düsseldorf plunged Germany and Spain into mourning as France rushed to mount a complex search-and-recovery operation in this steep Alpine region.
        U.S. Stocks End Lower U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, capping off a quiet trading session as the most recent push toward record highs ran out of steam.
        Google Turns to Wall Street for New Finance Chief Its stock lagging and investors grumbling, Google reached out to Wall Street, hiring Morgan Stanley's Ruth Porat as its new finance chief.
        Inflation, New-Home Sales Firm Up, Signal Better Economy A pickup in consumer prices and higher demand for new homes point to a firming in two areas of recent concern for the economy, potentially reassuring the Federal Reserve as it considers raising interest rates later this year.
        From The Wall Street Journal
        Telefonica Agrees to Sell O2 for $13.83 Billion Telefónica SA said Tuesday that it has reached a deal to sell British cellphone operator O2 to Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. of Hong Kong, a deal that might help the Spanish telecommunications company to focus attention on its primary growth markets of Latin America.
        Developing Countries See Hope in Beijing-Led bank In opposing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the U.S. has not only set itself up for a diplomatic rift with its closest Western allies, it's also dealt a blow to America's image in developing countries like Vietnam.
        Indian Supreme Court Overturns Law Barring 'Offensive Messages' Online India's Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down legislation barring "offensive messages" online, saying it violated constitutional guarantees of free expression.
        Falling Sales Threaten Thailand's Car-Making Supremacy in Southeast Asia Falling car sales and political uncertainty in Thailand are raising concerns that Southeast Asia's leading car-manufacturing nation could lose out to competitors in the region, especially Indonesia.
        From MoneyBeat
        Fed to Markets: Get Ready for Higher Rates (But Not Too High) The Fed has something to say. They won't say it directly, of course. They won't say: "We are going to raise rates." But if one theme has emerged from the flurry of Fed speakers over the past two days, it's this: Unless the economy goes careening off the rails, the central bank is going to raise rates this year.
        How Long Can Central Bankers Ignore Bubbles? No one ever said a central banker's life was easy. But the balancing act required to manage the tricky scenario of falling inflation and rocketing asset prices has many a policymaker sounding nervous, and with good cause.
        Talking Allergan at Tulane On a steamy Thursday night, more than a dozen corporate advisers clinked glasses in this city's French Quarter. Over roasted oysters and petit filets, they toasted their recent success: pulling off last year's largest corporate merger.
        Will Apple Be the First Trillion-Dollar Company? One of Apple Inc.'s biggest believers on Wall Street is getting even more bullish.
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        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        March 24, 2015 19:11 ET (23:11 GMT)

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