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.