sapphire sales. on a winning wednesday in the big apple, an aptly name couple went bigger than expected. it was a tech triumph, sending soaring sharing in the u.s. and also in asia. as if to highlight the importance of the sector, "time" magazine's person of the year in 2008 paid a visit to the person of the year from 2010. president obama perhaps sensing that making this facebook friend could win him a few more followers. we'll have all the details in just a moment. nina? >> pauline, european stock markets have been trading for a little bit over an hour and they're all on the positive side for a third day in a row. strong earnings reports from the united states continue to perk up the technology sector in particular. >> the tech effect from those u.s. earnings gave the asian markets some nice momentum on wednesday.