Cathay Pacific

Asian markets rose Wednesday on news that Japan's economy may finally be bouncing back. Figures released yesterday show that machinery orders in Japan jumped 4.2% in January over December, sending the Nikkei up 0.6%. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index edged up 0.4% and China's Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1%.

Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler says when airlines last raised fares in 2008, most travelers kept on flying. But as Mideast upheavals send oil prices skyward and airlines hike fares again, the impact on the bottom line could be quite different.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 2% to 24,145 Wednesday -- a two-year high -- after Goldman Sachs predicted the index could reach 29,000 in the next year. That, combined with expectations of a new $500 billion round of U.S. economic stimulus, was good news for Asian markets.

The biggest gains in the Asian markets were scored in Japan where the Nikkei moved up 2 percent today to close at 10,513, posting its largest one-day rise in two weeks. There were increases across the board, with bank stocks climbing in reaction to a general feeling that the economy is truly on the...

You've probably already seen the video by now. A woman somewhere in Asia misses her flight and she freaks out. For three operatic minutes, she swoons over the desk, she wails and stomps, she writhes on the floor and wails in multi-octave grief. "They have no compassion!" the woman shouts. "They're...