THE WORLD'S FINANCIAL NEWS ON APRIL 24, 2015

U.S. stock futures were higher in early trading, after the Nasdaq closed at an all-time high, surpassing its March 2000 tech bubble record. The S&P 500hit a new intraday high, but didn't close there. The Dow was about 1 percent away from a new high. The Apple Watch officially goes on sale, though many customers who pre-ordered one won't actually get it today. The devices won't be sold yet at Apple(AAPL) stores, but some luxury retailers will have them. | Apple Watch unboxed (USA Today & CNBC) Amazon (AMZN) broke out sales for its robust Web services business for the first time. The e-commerce giant's loss was in line with estimates. Revenue for the quarter beat. But guidance was light. (CNBC) Google (GOOG) reported quarterly earnings, revenue, and advertising metrics that missed expectations. The search giant blamed the strong dollar for hampering profits and sales. But margins improved. (CNBC) Microsoft (MSFT) topped forecasts on the top and bottom lines, boosted by strong growth in its hardware and cloud sectors. Sales of Windows to computer manufacturers to install on new PCs fell 19 percent. (Reuters) Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) has agreed to pay $26.5 million to settle aclass-action lawsuit involving its bungling of Facebook's (FB) $16 billion IPO, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs. (Reuters) Comcast (CMCSA), parent of NBCUniversal and CNBC, is preparing to dropits plans to acquire Time Warner Cable (TWC), facing too much opposition from regulators, particularly the FCC. (CNBC) HSBC Holdings (HSBC), Europe's biggest bank, has started a review ofwhether to move its headquarters out of Britain, following regulatory and structural changes in the industry. (CNBC) Greece is top of the agenda as euro zone finance ministers gather in the Latvia today, but neither the ministers involved nor analysts following the bailout drama are holding out hope for a deal. (CNBC) President Barack Obama says he's ordered a review of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan that inadvertently killed two hostages, an American and an Italian who were held by al Qaeda. (AP) Italian police mounted a vast counterterrorism operation today against an al Qaeda-inspired terror network with ties to Osama Bin Laden, the lead investigator told NBC News.

	BY THE NUMBERS

There's one major economic report today: March durable goods at 8:30 a.m. ET. Demand for big-ticket items, such as appliances and autos, is expected to rebound after a big dip in February. The weekly rig count report from oilfield services giant Baker Hughes (BHI) is out at 1 p.m. ET. Analysts expect a decline, as companies continue to cut production, amid falling crude prices. The earnings flood of this week ends with a trickle today. American Airlines(AAL) is among the few companies reporting quarterly results this morning.

	STOCKS TO WATCH

Starbucks (SBUX) reported earnings that were in line with projections, while revenue came in better-than-expected. Global comparable-store sales also topped projections. Chipmaker Altera (ALTR) missed expectations on the top and bottom lines. In late March, the Wall Street Journal reported Intel (INTC) was in talks to buy Altera. But since then the possible deal fizzled. Music streaming service Pandora (P) reported a narrower-than-expectedfirst-quarter loss of 12 cents a share on $231 million revenue, which also beat estimates. But key user metrics missed projections.