In Tokyo Nikkei 225 Index closed higher 28.12 or 0.19% to 14,528.67, in Hong Kong Hang Seng index closed declined 66.59 or 0.25% to 27,112.90, in Australia ASX 200 closed lower 33.50 or 0.54% to close 6,128.10.

In South Korea Kospi Index decreased 4.91 or 0.27% to close at 1,826.23, in Thailand SET index closed higher 3.38 or 0.42% to 811.69, and Indonesia JSE Index edged increased 9.22 or 0.33% to 2,785.63. Sensex index in India closed higher 60.68 or 0.29% to 20,873.33.

Bond Yields decreased on 10-year U.S. bonds to 3.77% and 30-year bonds increased to 4.30%.

[R]Commodities, Metals, and Currencies[/R]

Crude oil rose $1.18 to close at $96.270 per barrel for a front month contract, natural gas increased 6 cents to $7.94 per mBtu, and gasoline futures increased 4.02 cents to close at 247.000 cents per gallon.

Gold increased $18.30 in New York trading to close at $880.30 per ounce, silver closed up 53 cents to $15.815 per ounce, and copper for front month delivery increased 15.75 cents to 329.85 per pound and in London copper futures decreased $3.50 to $6,877.50.

Dollar edged lower against euro to $1.4706 and higher to 108.9050 yen.


[R]2:00PM New York - The founder Howard Schultz returns to Starbucks as chief executive as stock declines 50% and same store sales falter at domestic locations.[/R]

Howard Schultz has bounced back as Starbucks Corp chief executive replacing Jim Donald who has been asked to leave.

Schultz, currently chairman of the leading coffee retailer, immediately pledged to overhaul the business.

Starbucks said Tuesday that this was part of restructuring plan to streamline under-performing domestic stores and cut expenditure on new store openings. Globally, the retailers would continue expanding, however.

Schultz''s return, eight years after his departure (1987 to 2000) was precipitated by a declining domestic sales and the relentless decline in the share price.


In a letter published on the company web site Schultz said, “I am returning to the position of chief executive officer to help our partners build upon our heritage and our special relationship with you, and lead our company into future.”

Not all companies have been turnaround from the return of founders. While Apple has benefited from the return of Steve Jobs but Dell is struggling to regain its footing in a competitive market. Recent appoint of Jerry Yang as a leader of Yahoo is still playing out in a competitive online world.

Starbucks stock has fallen 50% in the last twelve months as its domestic same store sales have been on the decline. During Schultz''s reign as CEO, the stock rose 1,300%.

In the early morning trading on Tuesday, however, Starbucks stock (SBUX: chart) gained $1.92 or 10.5% to $20.34. Over the past 52 weeks, Starbucks has traded in the range of $36.61 to $18.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had targeted a one-year price of $28.69 which may be too high. Since then the economy has been on the skids, consumer spending is likely to fall, and prices of milk and coffee have jumped.

Schultz explained that he''s going to """"fix"""" the internal business at Starbucks, which had become bureaucratic and """"soft"""" under recent leadership. He did not blame the departing CEO for current problems.

Other initiatives will include new products and store designs and improved staff training.